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;V.I-IVIO.-L'  /j;i- 1 

JO  UK  I'.  CO  01. ,  i 

Ll'VVIU  CO  I- 1 

SKII  ll'i-   (Sli.H  K 


</v^T*sr^ 


[May,  1859.1 


THE 


LIFE    AND     LETTERS 


OF 


JOHN   BROWN; 

LIBERATOR    OF  KANSAS,  AND    MARTYR    OF 
VIRGINIA. 


Copyright,    1885, 
BY   F.   B.   SANBORN. 


EDITED    BY  F.   B.   SANBORN, 


THIRD    EDITION. 


CONCORD,   MASSACHUSETTS: 

F.    B.    SANBORN,    Publisher. 
1910. 


TO 

JOHN    BROWN    THE    YOUNGER, 

Eldest  Son  of  the  Martyr; 
TO 

OWEN    BROWN, 

The  Last  Survivor  of  the  Virginia  Foray; 

TO 

RUTH  THOMPSON, 

Eldest  Daughter  of  John  Brown; 
AND    TO 

HIS   OTHER   CHILDREN  AND   DESCENDANTS, 


Cfjt'0  Uolume  te 

BY    THEIR    FATHER'S    FRIEND, 

F.   B.   SANBORN. 


CONCORD,  MASS.,  May  9,  1885. 


^  /  " 


THE  TOUCHSTONE. 

A  MAN  there  came,  whence  none  could  tell, 

Bearing  a  touchstone  in  his  hand, 

And  tested  all  things  in  the  land 
By  its  unerring  spell. 

A  thousand  transformations  rose 

From  fair  to  foul,  from  foul  to  fair ; 

The  golden  crown  he  did  not  spare, 
Nor  scorn  the  beggar's  clothes. 

Of  heirloom  jewels  prized  so  much, 

Were  many  changed  to  chips  and  clods  ; 
And  even  statues  of  the  gods 

Crumbled  beneath  its  touch. 

Then  angrily  the  people  cried, 

"  The  loss  outweighs  the  profit  far,  — 

Our  goods  suffice  us  as  they  are, 
We  will  not  have  them  tried." 

But  since  they  could  not  so  avail 
To  check  his  unrelenting  quest, 
They  seized  him,  saying,  "  Let  him  test 

How  real  is  our  jail  !  " 

But  though  they  slew  him  with  the  sword, 

And  in  the  fire  the  touchstone  burned, 

Its  doings  could  not  be  o'erturned, 
Its  undoings  restored. 

And  when  to  stop  all  future  harm, 

They  strewed  its  ashes  to  the  breeze, 

They  little  guessed  each  grain  of  these 
Conveyed  the  perfect  charm. 

WILLIAM  ALLINGHAM. 


INTRODUCTION. 


IN  that  " History  of  Napoleon  I."  which  he  never  lived 
to  complete,  Lanfrey  says :  "  Do  not  misconstrue 
events ;  history  is  not  a  school  of  fatalism,  but  one  long 
plea  for  the  freedom  of  man."  In  this  pleading  chronicle 
there  are  few  chapters  more  pathetic  than  the  career  of 
my  old  friend  JOHN  BROWN,  which  I  long  since  undertook 
to  set  forth,  though  strangely  delayed  in  completing  my 
task.  It  was  begun  in  those  dismal  years  when  the 
Southern  oligarchy  and  their  humble  followers  at  the 
North  still  controlled  our  degraded  politics  ;  and  it  has 
been  continued  through  all  the  vicissitudes,  the  anxieties, 
and  the  assured  repose  of  subsequent  years.  More  than 
once  in  those  earlier  days  recurred  to  me  that  gloomy 
magniloquence  of  the  Eoman  annalist,  where  Tacitus 
complains  that  the  tyranny  of  Domitian  had  suppressed 
the  unheralded  renown  of  Agricola :  "  Patient  sufferance 
we  showed,  no  doubt.  Our  ancestors  saw  the  extreme 
of  license,  but  we  of  servility ;  for  our  inquisitors  would 
permit  us  neither  to  hear  nor  to  tell,  —  and  we  might 
have  lost  the  use  of  memory  along  with  free  speech,  if  to 
forget  had  been  no  harder  than  to  forego  praise.  Now  at 
last  the  occasion  has  returned,  and  we  speak  out ;  .  .  .  but 
few  of  us  are  left,  survivors  of  others,  and  even  of  our  old 
selves,  so  many  years  have  passed  over  us  in  silence, 

689620 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

bringing  the  young  to  old  age,  and  the  old  to  the  very 
sunset  of  life."  l 

Since  the  printing  of  these  pages  began,  four  months 
ago,  two  of  those  who  stood  with  us  in  the  contest  against 
slavery  have  died,  —  Dr.  CABOT,  of  Boston,  and  the  famous 
VICTOR  HUGO  ;  and  every  year  removes  the  actors  and  the 
witnesses  of  memorable  deeds.  I  have  therefore  sought 
to  preserve  the  record  of  one  hero's  life,  in  his  own  words 
(when  I  could),  and  in  the  contemporary  evidence  of  those 
who  saw  and  bore  witness  to  what  he  did,  —  mingling  my 
self  with  the  account  as  little  as  possible,  except  for  attes 
tation  and  comment,  when  doubt  might  else  arise.  The 
plan  was  at  first  to  print  all  the  extant  letters  of  BROWN, 
which  I  fancied  would  easily  find  place  in  a  volume  of  four 
hundred  pages  ;  but  I  have  in  my  hands  letters  enough  to 
fill  another  book,  and  have  not  been  able  to  use  them. 
Those  selected,  however,  exhibit  his  life  sufficiently ;  it 
was  straightforward  and  all  of  a  piece,  so  that  even  the 
details  which  are  here  given  may  seem  tedious  to  some 
readers.  In  a  second  volume,  should  I  live  to  publish  it, 
on  "  The  Companions  of  John  Brown,"  I  may  carry  the 
story  further,  and  complete  the  record  of  a  remarkable 
episode  in  American  history.  I  have  aimed  at  accuracy, 
but  of  course  have  not  always  succeeded  ;  and  have  neces 
sarily  omitted  much  that  other  writers  will  supply.  My 
intention  has  been  to  put  the  reader  in  possession  of  evi 
dence  which  either  verifies  itself  or  can  readily  be  verified 

1  Dedimus  profeeto  grande  patientise  documentum  ;  et  sicut  vetus 
setas  vidit  quid  ultimum  in  libertate  esset,  ita  nos  quid  in  servitute,  — 
adenipto  per  inquisitiones  etiara  loquendi  audiendique  commercio.  Memo- 
riam  quoque  ipsam  cum  voce  perdidissemus,  si  tarn  in  nostra  potestate 
esset  oblivisci  quara  tacere.  Nunc  demum  redit  animus,  .  .  .  pauci,  ut 
ita  dixerim,  non  modo  aliorum,  sed  etiam  iiostri  superstites  sumus,  ex- 
emptis  e  media  vita  tot  annis,  quibus  juvenes  ad  senectutem,  senes  prope 
ad  ipsos  setatis  terminos  per  silentiam  veniraus.  —  TACITUS,  Agricola,  ii. 


INTRODUCTION.  vii 

by  a  little  research.  Holding  the  key  to  much  that  has 
heretofore  been  obscure  or  ill  related,  I  have  furnished 
the  true  connection  between  events  and  persons  where,  in 
some  cases,  this  had  escaped  notice.  I  shall  gladly  receive 
any  correction  of  mistakes,  but  shall  not  pay  much  regard 
to  inferential  and  distorted  statements  which  traverse  my 
own  clear  recollections,  —  supported,  as  these  often  are, 
by  written  evidence  which  I  have  not  here  printed,  but 
hold  in  reserve. 

I  could  not  have  completed  this  task  of  nearly  thirty 
years  but  for  the  constant  and  friendly  aid  of  the  family  of 
JOHN  BROWN,  who  have  placed  without  reserve  their  papers 
in  my  hands.  I  have  had  also  the  co-operation  of  Colonel 
Higginson,  Edwin  Morton,  Mrs.  Stearns,  Lewis  Hay  den, 
Thomas  Thomas,  and  other  friends  among  the  living ;  and 
of  the  late  Dr.  Howe,  Wendell  Phillips,  George  L.  Stearns, 
F.  J.  Merriam,  Osborn  Anderson,  and  many  more,  who 
are  now  dead.  To  all  these,  named  and  unnamed,  I  would 
here  return  my  acknowledgments.  Particularly,  I  must 
thank  those  gentlemen  of  Kansas,  my  college  friend  and 
brother  journalist  Mr.  D.  W.  Wilder,  and  Mr.  F.  G. 
Adams  of  the  Kansas  Historical  Society,  who  by  their 
accurate  knowledge  of  Kansas  history  and  topography, 
and  the  free  access  they  have  given  me  to  important 
papers,  have  made  it  possible  for  me  to  write  the  chap 
ters  that  concern  their  State.  I  am  also  indebted  to 
Mr.  James  Eedpath,  Mr.  Kicharcl  Hinton,  Mr.  Frederick 
Douglass,  Mr.  W.  S.  Kennedy,  and  to  many  correspond 
ents  and  admirers  of  JOHN  BROWN  whose  names  are 
mentioned  in  the  pages  that  follow.  I  might  include  in 
this  acknowledgment  a  few  malicious  slanderers  and 
misjudging  censors  of  BROWN,  who  by  their  publica 
tions  have  caused  the  whole  truth  to  be  more  carefully 
searched  out. 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

I  cannot  hope  that  all  my  readers  will  take  the  same 
view  of  BROWN  that  I  do ;  but  I  assure  them,  from  long 
acquaintance  with  his  character,  that  the  more  they  know 
it  the  more  they  will  honor  it.  As  for  the  conspiracy  in 
which  he  lost  his  life,  should  any  imagined  regard  for  the 
reputation  of  persons  living  or  dead  tempt  kinsmen  or 
friends  to  disown  the  share  of  any  man  in  this  affair,  let 
them  remember  what  Sir  Kenelm  Digby  says  of  his  father. 
"  All  men  know,"  pleads  the  fair  Stelliana,  "  that  it  was 
no  malitious  intent  or  ambitious  desires  that  brought  Sir 
Everard  Digby  into  that  conspiracy,  but  his  too  inviolable 
faith  to  his  friend  that  had  trusted  him  with  so  dangerous 
a  secret,  and  his  zeal  to  his  country's  antient  liberties." 


IP  T£  a 

CONCORD,  June  2,  1885. 


PREFATORY  NOTE   TO  THE   SECOND  EDITION. 

SINCE  the  above  was  written,  OWEN  BROWN  has  died  in 
California  (1888),  LEWIS  HAYDEN  in  Boston  (1889),  and 
JAMES  REDPATH  in  New  York  (1891).  There  is  now  no 
survivor,  so  far  as  I  know,  of  John  Brown's  Company  at 
Harper's  Ferry ;  and  few  of  those  now  living  can  testify 
of  their  own  knowledge  to  the  early-formed  plans  of  Brown 
for  attacking  slavery  by  force.  A  controversial  writer  in 
the  "Andover  Review"  has  lately  questioned  the  exactness 
of  any  statement  on  this  point ;  but  he  has  since  confessed 
himself  satisfied,  by  the  emphatic  testimony  of  John  Brown, 
Jr.  Many  interesting  facts  have  come  to  light  since  1885, 
but  none  requiring  any  material  correction  of  this  book. 

F.  B.  S. 
CONCORD,  March  2,  1891. 


TO  JOHN  BKOWN.1 


MARBLE  nor  brass,  nor  granite  from  the  shore 

Which  thy  grave  fathers  trod  with  Pilgrim  feet, 
Thy  fame  shall  never  need  ;  the  hollow  roar 

Of  Time's  vast  ocean  will  thy  name  repeat, 
"When  we  and  all  our  works  are  buried  low 

Under  the  whelming  of  his  restless  tide. 
In  generous  hearts  thy  praise  shall  ever  glow 

With  theirs  that  earlier  for  sweet  Freedom  died. 
Leonidas  claims  kindred  with  thy  line, 

Rome's  firmest-rooted  courage  thou  hast  shared  ; 
Not  Sempach  saw  a  nobler  deed  than  thine, 

When  Winkelried  his  high  achievement  dared  ! 
Nay,  who  sad  Afric's  kneeling  race  shall  blame, 

Blending  with  thine  Judea's  holiest  name  ? 

II. 

YET  'must  we  give  what  thou  so  well  couldst  spare. 

Thine  earnest  features,  carved  in  whitest  stone,  — 
Best  symbol  of  a  life  as  firm  and  fair,  — 

Shall  grace  this  house,  to  thee  so  friendly  known. 
Here  didst  thou  turn  aside,  a  -pilgrim  gray  ; 

Here  didst  thou  lay  that  heavy  burden  down  ; 
Here  slept  in  peace,  and  with  the  breaking  day 

Departed  hence  to  win  thy  noblest  crown. 
Now,  while  the  opening  year  leads  Freedom  in, 

And  war's  wild  earthquake  bursts  the  prison  gate, 
Our  hearts,  atoning  for  a  nation's  sin, 

Give  earnest  of  the  honors  that  await. 
And  thou,  blest  Spirit  !  from  thy  calm  retreat, 

Give  us  Godspeed,  and  New  Year's  welcome  sweet. 

F.  B.  SANBORN. 
CONCORD,  Jan.  1,  1863. 

1  These  sonnets  were  read  by  Wendell  Phillips  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
Stearns,  in  Medford,  when  the  marble  bust  of  Brown  was  unveiled,  Eman 
cipation  Day,  Jan.  1,  1863. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PA.GB 

^1.    ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD I 

II.    YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD 31 

III.  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN  . 54 

IV.  PIONEER  LIFE  IN  THE  ADIRONDACS 90 

V.  /'PREPARATIONS   FOR  THE    CONFLICT 116 

VI.    FAMILY  COUNSELS  AND  HOME  LIFE 139 

VII.X  KANSAS,  THE  SKIRMISH-GROUND  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  .  160 

VIII.    THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS 187 

IX.    THE  POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS 247 

X.    THE  KANSAS  STRUGGLE  CONTINUED 283 

XL  /JOHN  BROWN  AND  THE  KANSAS  COMMITTEES     ...  344 

XII.    THE  PLANS  DISCLOSED 418.x- 

XIII.  FROM  CANADA,  THROUGH  KANSAS,  TO  CANADA  ...  469 

XIV.  JOHN  BROWN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS 495 

,/3tV.    THE  FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA 519 

XVI.    JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON 576 

XVII.    THE  DEATH  AND  CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  BROWN.    .    .  621 


INDEX 


THE 

LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN. 


CHAPTER    I.  •-•.•a'.J 

ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD. 


WHEN  a  man  of  mark  is  to  appear  in  the  world  and 
give  a  new  turn  to  the  affairs  of  men,  there  has  always 
been  preparation  made  for  him.  Even  the  weeds  and  ver 
min  of  the  field  have  their  heredity  and  evolution,  —  much 
more  a  predestined  hero  like  John  Brown,  of  Kansas  and 
Virginia.  His  valor,  his  religion,  his  Saxon  sense,  his 
Calvinistic  fanaticism,  his  tender  and  generous  heart  were 
inherited  from  a  long  line  of  English,  Dutch,  and  American 
ancestorSj,-—  men  and  women  neither  famous  nor  powerful, 
nor  rich,  but  devout,  austere,  and  faithful ;  above  all  free, , 
and  resolved  that  others  should  be  free  like  themselves. 

No  genealogist  has  yet  traced  the  English  forefathers 
of  Peter  Brown  the  carpenter,  who  came  over  in  the  "  May 
flower/'  and  landed  at  Plymouth  with  the  other  Pilgrims 
in  December,  1620 ;  but  his  presence  in  that  famous  band 
is  evidence  enough  of  his  character,  even  if  the  deeds  of 
his  descendants  had  not  borne  witness  to  it.  He  drew  his 
house-lot  on  Leyden  Street  in  the  little  town,  with  Bradford, 
Standish,  and  Winslow,  and  like  them  soon  migrated  to 
Duxbury,  at  the  head  of  Plymouth  Bay,  where  his  family 
dwelt  after  his  early  death,  in  1633,  not  far  from  Stan- 
dish's  abode  at  the  foot  of  "  Captain's  Hill."  A  brother  of 
Peter,  John  Brown,  a  weaver  (sometimes  confounded  with 
a  more  distinguished  John,  who  became  a  magistrate),  also 
lived  at  Duxbury,  and  took  some  care  of  his  deceased 

1 


LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1620. 

brother's  four  children,  —  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  — 
who  survived  him.  Peter  Brown  was  unmarried  when  he 
landed  at  Plymouth,  but  within  the  next  thirteen  years  he 
was  twice  married,  and  died,  —  as  we  learn  from  unques 
tionable  authority,  the  "  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation," 
left  in  manuscript  by  William  Bradford,  who  succeeded 
Carver  in  1621  as  governor  of  the  colony,  and  died  in 
1657.  Writing  about  1650,  Bradford  says :  "Peter  Brown 
married  twice.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  two  children,  who 
are  living,  ar.d  both  of  them  married,  and  one  of  them  hath 
two  children;  by  his  second  wife  he  had  two  more.  He 
died  a.bout  sixteen  years  since."  It  is  supposed  that  his 
first  wife  was  named  Martha,  and  that  Mary  and  Priscilla 
Brown  were  her  daughters, — the  two  who  are  mentioned 
by  Bradford  as  married  in  1650.  In  1644  they  were  placed 
with  'their  uncle  John,  and  in  due  time  received  each  £15, 
which  their  father  had  left  them  by  will.  The  rest  of 
Peter's  small  estate  went  to  his  second  wife  and  her  two 
sons,  of  whom  the  younger,  born  in  1632,  at  Duxbury,  was 
the  ancestor  of  the  Kansas  captain.1  He  was  named  Peter 
for  his  father,  removed  from  Duxbury  to  Windsor  in  Con 
necticut  between  1650  and  1658,  and  there  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Gillett,  by  whom  he  had  thirteen 
children.  He  died  at  Windsor,  March  9,  1692,  leaving  to 
his  family  an  estate  of  £409.  One  of  his  children,  John 
Brown,  born  at  Windsor,  Jan.  8,  1668,  married  Elizabeth 
Loomis  in  1691,  and  had  eleven  children.  Among  these 
was  John  Brown  (born  in  1700,  died  in  1790),  who  was 
the  father  and  the  survivor  of  the  Revolutionary  Captain 
John  Brown,  of  West  Simsbury.  He  lived  and  died  in 
Windsor,  there  married  Mary  Eggleston,  and  Captain  John 
Brown  just  mentioned,  the  grandfather  of  our  hero,  was  his 

1  It  would  be  curious  to  trace  the  English  ancestry  of  Captain  Brown, 
which,  some  suppose,  goes  back  to  that  stout-hearted  John  Brown  of 
Henry  VIII. 's  time,  who  was  one  of  the  victims  of  Popish  persecution  in 
the  early  years  of  that  king.  Fox,  in  his  "  Book  of  Martyrs,"  tells  the 
story  of  his  martyrdom  at  the  stake,  in  the  early  summer  of  1511,  at  Ash- 
ford,  where  he  dwelt  ;  and  adds  that  his  son,  Richard  Brown,  was  impris 
oned  for  his  faith  in  the  latter  days  of  Queen  Mary,  and  would  have  been 
burned  .but  for  the  proclaiming  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  1558. 


1728.1  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  3 

oldest  son,  born  Nov.  4,  1728.  He  married  Hannah  Owen, 
of  Welsh  descent,  in  1758,  whose  father  was  Elijah  Owen,  of 
Windsor,  and  her  first  ancestor  in  this  country  John  Owen, 
a  Welshman  who  married  in  Windsor  in  1650,  just  before 
young  Peter  Brown  went  thither  from  Duxbury.  A  few 
years  afterward  an  Amsterdam  tailor,  Peter  Miles  or  Mills, 
came  to  Connecticut  from  Holland,  settled  in  Bloomfield 
near  Windsor,  and  became  the  ancestor  of  John  Brown's 
grandmother,  Euth  Mills,  of  West  Simsbury.  Thus  three 
streams  of  nationality — English,  Welsh,  and  Dutch  —  united  ' 
in  New  England  to  form  the  parentage  of  John  Brown. 
His  forefathers  were  mostly  farmers,  and  among  them  was 
the  proper  New 'England  proportion  of  ministers,  deacons, 
squires,  and  captains.  Both  his  grandfathers  were  officers 
in  the  Connecticut  contingent  to  Washington's  army,  and 
one  of  them,  Captain  John  Brown,  died  in  the  service.  It 
is  his  gravestone  which  the  pilgrim  to  his  grandson's  grave, 
in  the  Adirondac  woods,  sees  standing  by  the  great  rock 
that  marks  the  spot ;  and  among  the  other  inscriptions  l 
which  there  preserve  the  memory  of  his  slaughtered  de 
scendants,. that  of  the  Revolutionary  captain  stands  first. 

Owen  Brown,  —  "  Squire  Owen,"  —  son  of  this  captain, 
and  father  of  the  Kansas  captain,  was  named  for  his  mother's 

1  These  remarkable  epitaphs,  several  of  which  were  written  by  John 
Brown,  of  Kansas,  are  as  follows  :  — 

In  Born  Dec.  31,  1830,  and 

Memory  of  Murdered  at  Osawatomie, 

CAPT.  JOHN  BROWN,  Kansas,  Aug.  30,  1856, 

who  Died  at  For  his  adherence  to 

New  York,  Sept,  ye  the  cause  of  freedom. 
3,  1775,  in  the  48 

year  of  his  age.  WATSON  BROWN 

Born  Oct.  7,  1835,  was  wounded 

JOHN  BROWN  at  Harper's  Ferry, 

Born  May  9,  1800  Oct.  17,  and  Died 

Was  executed  at  Charlestown  Oct.  19,  1859. 
Va.,  Dec.  2,  1859. 


OLIVER  BROWN 


In  memory  of  Born  May  9,  1839,  was 

FREDERICK,  Killed  at  Harper's  Ferry 
Son  of  John  and  Dianthe  Oct.  17,  1859. 

BROWN, 


4  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1771. 

family,  and  was  the  earliest  of  these  Browns  who  seems  to 
have  left  any  written  memoirs.  He  migrated  from  Con 
necticut  to  Ohio,  among  the  first  of  those  who  settled  on 
the  Western  Keserve,  early  in  the  century,  and  when  nearly 
eighty  years  old,  while  living  at  Hudson,  Ohio,  wrote  an 
autobiography  for  his  children's  perusal,  which  gives  some 
characteristic  details  of  the  state  of  society  where  he  lived, 
and  where  his  renowned  son  was  born. 


OWEN  BROWN'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 

t(  My  life  has  been  of  little  worth,  mostly  filled  up  with  vanity. 
I  was  born  at  West  Simsbury  (now  Canton),  Connecticut,  Feb.  16, 
1771.  I  have  but  little  recollection  of  what  took  place  until  the  years 
'75  and  r76.  I  remember  the  beginning  of  war,  and  some  things  that 
took  place  in  1775 :  but  only  a  little  until  T76,  when  my  father  went 
into  the  army.1  He  was  captain  in  the  militia  of  Connecticut,  and 
died  in  New  York,  with  the  dysentery,  a  few  weeks  after  leaving 
home.  My  mother  had  ten  children  at  the  time  of  my  father's  death, 
and  one  born  soon  after,  making  eleven  of  us  all.  The  first  five 
were  daughters,  the  oldest  about  eighteen  ; 2  the  next  three  were 
sons ;  then  two  daughters,  and  the  youngest  a  son.  The  care  and 
support  of  this  family  fell  mostly  on  my  mother.  The  laboring  men 
were  mostly  in  the  army.  She  was  one  of  the  best  of  mothers; 
active  and  sensible.  She  did  all  that  could  be  expected  of  a  mother ; 
yet  for  want  of  help  we  lost  our  crops,  then  our  cattle,  and  so  became 
poor.  I  very  well  remember  the  dreadful  hard  winter  of  1778-79. 
The  snow  began  to  fall  in  November,  when  the  water  was  very  low 
in  the  streams ;  and  while  the  snow  was  very  deep,  one  after  another 
of  our  hogs  and  sheep  would  get  buried  up,  and  we  had  to  dig  them 
out.  Wood  could  not  be  drawn  with  teams,  and  was  brought  on 
men's  shoulders,  they  going  on  snow-shoes  until  paths  were  made 
hard  enough  to  draw  wood  on  hand-sleds.  The  snow  was  said  to 
be  five  feet  deep  in  the  woods.  Milling  of  grain  could  not  be  had, 
only  by  going  a  great  distance :  and  our  family  were  driven  to  the 
necessity  of  pounding  corn  for  food.  We  lost  that  winter  almost 
all  of  our  cattle,  hogs,  and  sheep,  and  were  reduced  very  low  by 
the  spring  of  1779. 

1  He  entered  the  army  of  Washington  in  the  summer  of  1776,  and  died 
shortly  before  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  in  which  his  regiment  took  part. 

2  John  Brown  married  Hannah  Owen  in  1758,  and  his  eldest  daughter 
was  but  little  more  than  seventeen  at  his  death  in  1776. 


1784.]  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD.  5 

"  I  lived  at  home  in  1782;  this  was  a  memorable  year,  as  there  was 
a  great  revival  of  religion  in  the  town  of  Canton.  My  mother  and  my 
older  sisters  and  brother  John  dated  their  hopes  of  salvation  from 
that  summer's  revival,  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Edward  Mills. 
I  cannot  say  as  I  was  a  subject  of  the  work ;  but  this  I  can  say,  that 
I  then  began  to  hear  preaching.1  I  can  now  recollect  most,  if  not 
all,  of  those  I  heard  preach,  and  what  their  texts  were.  The  change 
in  our  family  was  great  j  family  worship,  set  up  by  brother  John, 
was  ever  afterward  continued.  There  was  a  revival  of  singing  in 
Canton,  and  our  family  became  singers.  Conference  meetings  were 
kept  up  constantly,  and  singing  meetings,  —  all  of  which  brought 
our  family  into  a  very  good  association,  — a  very  great  aid  of  restrain 
ing  grace. 

"  About  1784  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock2  became  the  minister  at 
Canton.  I  used  to  live  with  him  at  different  times,  and  received  a 
great  deal  of  good  instruction  from  him.  About  this  time  I  began  to 
make  shoes,  and  worked  mostly  winters  at  shoeinaking,  and  at  farm 
ing  at  home  summers.  In  the  winter  of  1787  I  took  a  trip  into 
Massachusetts,  through  Granville,  Otis,  and  Blandford.  In  these 
towns  I  worked  at  shoeinaking  over  half  of  the  winter.  I  was  but  a 
bungling  shoemaker,  yet  gave  good  satisfaction,  was  kindly  treated 
as  a  child,  and  got  my  pay  well,  in  clothing  and  money.  1  then 
went  to  Great  Harrington,  Sheffield,  and  Salisbury.  Here  I  hired 
out  to  a  very  good  shoemaker,  at  about  half  price,  with  a  view  of 
learning  to  be  a  better  workman.  I  returned  home  in  the  spring  of 
1788  and  worked  on  the  farm  through  the  summer.  In  1789  I  lived 
at  home,  but  in  the  fall  I  went  to  Norfolk,  and  worked  at  shoemakiug 
all  winter,  mostly  around  at  houses,  for  families. 

1  He  was  then  in  his  twelfth  year;  his  brother  John  was,  perhaps, 
fifteen  or  sixteen.      This  brother  was  a  faithful  and  honored  deacon  of 
the  church  in  New  Hartford,  Conn.,  for  many  years.    Another  brother, 
Frederick,  born  Aug.  14,  1769,  in  Canton,  Conn.,  represented  the  neigh 
boring  town  of  Colebrook  in  the  State  Legislature  during  the  war  of  1812, 
but  in  1816  removed  to  Wadsworth,  Medina  County,  Ohio,  and  assisted  in 
founding  that  town.     On  the  organization  of  the  county,  he  was  chosen 
senior  Associate  Judge  for  fourteen  years.      During  this  term  of  office,  the 
Presiding  Judge  having  a  large  circuit,  most  of  the  business  in  "Wadsworth 
carne  before  Judge  Brown,  who  gained  a  high  reputation  as  a  magistrate 
and  citizen.     "He  never  spoke  disparagingly  of  a  neighbor,  nor  of  any 
other  church  than  his  own."    Two  of  his  sons  were  physicians  of  celebrity; 
another  a  successful  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

2  The  Hallock  family  were  connected  by  marriage  with  the  Browns,  and 
we  shall  find  them  mentioned  hereafter,  —  John  Brown  having  studied  for 
a  while  with  the  Rev.  Moses  Hallock. 


6  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1793. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1791  we  as  a  family  were  rising  in  the  gain  of 
property ;  we  had  good  crops  j  our  stock  had  increased,  and  we  felt 
able  to  make  a  small  purchase  of  land;  our  credits  were  good  for  the 
payment  of  debts.  In  all  this,  we  must  acknowledge  the  kind  provi 
dence  of  God.  Our  former  poverty  had  kept  us  out-of  the  more  loose 
and  vain  company,  and  we  appeared  to  be  noticed  by  the  better  class 
of  people.  There  was  a  class  of  young  men  and  ladies  that  were  a 
little  older  than  my  brothers,  who  had  rich  parents  that  dressed  their 
families  in  gay  clothing,  giving  them  plenty  bf  money  to  spend,  and 
good  horses  to  ride.  Oh,  how  enviable  they  appeared  to  me,  while 
my  brothers  and  sisters  lacked  all  these  things  !  Now,  while  I  write, 
I  am  thinking  what  was  the  change  of  fifteen  or  twenty  years  with 
these  smart  young  folks.  I  cannot  think  of  more  than  one  or  two 
that  became  even  common  men  of  business,  but  a  number  of  them  did 
become  poor  drunkards,  and  three  came  to  their  end  by  suicide.  God 
knows  what  is  best. 

"  In  the  spring  of  1790  I  returned  and  hired  out  to  the  Rev.  Jere 
miah  Hallock  for  six  months.  Here  I  had  good  instruction  and  good 
examples.  I  was  under  some  conviction  of  sin,  but  whether  I  was 
pardoned  or  not,  God  only  knows ;  this  I  know,  I  have  not  lived 
like  a  Christian. 

"About  this  time  I  became  more  acquainted  with  Ruth  Mills 
(daughter  of  the  Rev.  Gideon  Mills),  who  was  the  choice  of  my 
affections  ever  after,  although  we  were  not  married  for  more  than 
two  years.  In  March,  1793,  we  began  to  keep  house  ;  and  here  was 
the  beginning  of  days  with  rne.  I  think  our  good  minister  felt  all 
the  anxiety  of  a  parent  that  we  should  begin  right.  He  gave  us 
good  counsel,  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  with  a  praying  spirit.  And  I 
will  say,  never  had  any  person  such  an  ascendancy  over  my  conduct 
as  my  wife.  This  she  had  without  the  least  appearance  of  usurpa 
tion  or  dictation ;  and  if  I  have  been  respected  in  the  world,  I  must 
ascribe  it  to  her  influence  more  than  to  any  one  thing.  We  began 
with  very  little  property,  but  with  industry  and  frugality,  which  gave 
us  a  comfortable  support  and  a  small  increase.  We  took  children  to 
live  with  us  very  soon  after  we  began  to  keep  house.  Our  own  first 
child  was  born  at  Canton,  June  29,  1794,  —  a  son,  we  called  Salmon, 
a  thrifty,  forward  child. 

"  We  lived  in  Canton  about  two  years,  I  working  at  shoemaking, 
tanning,  and  farming;  we  made  butter  and  cheese  on  a  small  scale, 
and  all  our  labors  turned  to  good  account;  we  were  at  peace  with  all 
our  neighbors,  and  had  great  cause  for  thanksgiving.  We  were 
living  in  a  rented  house,  and  I  felt  called  to  build  or  move.  I  thought 
of  the  latter,  and  went  directly  to  Norfolk,  as  I  was  there  acquainted, 
and  my  wife  had  taught  school  there  one  summer.  The  people  of 


3    8 

1-5     «. 

si 


1804.J  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD.  7 

Norfolk  encouraged  me,  and  I  bought  a  small  farm  with  a  house  and 
barn  on  it.  I  then  sold  what  little  I  had,  and  made  a  very  sudden 
move  to  Norfolk.  We  found  friends  in  deed  and  in  need.  I  there  set 
up  shoemaking  and  tanning,  employed  a  foreman,  did  a  small  good 
business,  and  gave  good  satisfaction. 

"  Feb.  18,  1796,  my  little  son  Salmon  died.  This  was  a  great 
trial  to  us.  In  the  spring  of  1796  my  business  was  very  much  in 
creased,  but  owing  to  sickness  of  wife  and  self,  I  could  not  get  but  a 
small  part  of  the  leather  out  in  the  fall.  The  people  became  some 
what  dissatisfied  with  me,  and  things  went  hard  that  winter ;  but 
when  spring  returned,  my  leather  came  out  well,  and  from  that  time  I 
gave  good  satisfaction  to  the  people,  as  far  as  I  knew.  July  5,  1798, 
my  daughter  Anna  was  born  in  Norfolk.  Soon  after  this,  my  wife 
and  I  made  a  public  profession  of  religion,  which  I  have  so  poorly 
manifested  in  my  life. 

"  In  February,  1799,  I  had  an  opportunity  to  sell  my  place  in 
Norfolk,  which  I  did  without  any  consultation  of  our  neighbors,  who 
thought  they  had  some  claim  on  my  future  services,  as  they  had  been 
very  kind  and  helped;  and  they  questioned  whether  I  had  not  been 
hasty.  But  I  went  as  hastily  to  Torrington  and  bought  a  place, 
although  I  had  but  little  acquaintance  there.  I  was  quick  on  the 
move,  and  we  found  there  good  neighbors,  and  were  somewhat  pros 
perous  in  business.  In  1800,  May  9,  John  was  born,  one  hundred 
years  after  his  great  grandfather ;  nothing  else  very  uncommon.  We 
lived  in  peace  with  all  men,  so  far  as  I  know.  (I  might  have  said 
the  years  of  '98  and  '99  were  memorable  years  of  revivals  of  religion 
in  the  churches  of  our  town  and  the  towns  about  us.  Perhaps  there 
has  never  been  so  general  a  revival  since  the  days  of  Edwards  and 
Whitfield.)  April  30,  1802,  my  second  son  Salmon  was  born. 

11  In  1804  I  made  my  first  journey  to  Ohio.  I  left  home  on  the  8th 
of  August,  came  through  Pennsylvania  and  saw  many  new  things. 
Arrived  in  Hudson  about  the  1st  of  September;  found  the  people  very 
harmonious  and  middling  prosperous,  and  mostly  united  in  religious 
sentiments.  I  made,  a  small  purchase  of  land  at  the  centre  of  Hud 
son,  with  the  design  of  coining  at  a  future  day.  I  went  to  Austin- 
burg,  and  was  there  taken  sick,  which  proved  to  be  the  fever  and 
ague ;  was  there  a  month,  very  sick  and  homesick.  I  started  for 
home  against  counsel,  and  had  a  very  hard  journey,  —  ague  almost 
every  day  or  night,  —  but  arrived  home  on  the  16th  of  October.  I 
had  the  ague  from  time  to  time  over  one  year ;  yet  my  determination 
to  come  to  Ohio  was  so  strong  that  I  started  with  my  family  in  com 
pany  with  Benjamin  Whedon,  Esq.,  and  his  family,  on  the  9th  of 
June,  1805.  We  came  with  ox  teams  through  Pennsylvania,  and  I 
found  Mr.  Whedon  a  very  kind  and  helpful  companion  on  the  rpad. 


8  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1808. 

li  We  arrived  in  Hudson  on  the  27th  of  July,  and  were  received 
with  many  tokens  of  kindness.  We  did  not  come  to  a  land  of  idle 
ness  ;  neither  did  I  expect  it.  Our  ways  were  as  prosperous  as  we 
had  reason  to  expect.  I  came  with  a  determination  to  help  build  up, 
and  be  a  help  in  the  support  of  religion  and  civil  order.  We  had  some 
hardships  to  undergo,  but  they  appear  greater  in  history  than  they 
were  in  reality.  I  was  often  called  to  go  into  the  woods  to  make 
division  of  lauds,  sometimes  sixty  or  seventy  miles  from  home,  and 
be  gone  some  weeks,  sleeping  on  the  ground,  and  that  without  serious 
injury. 

"  When  we  came  to  Ohio  the  Indians  were  more  numerous  than 
the  white  people,  but  were  very  friendly,  and  I  believe  were  a  benefit 
rather  than  an  injury.  In  those  days  there  were  some  that  seemed 
disposed  to  quarrel  with  the  Indians,  but  I  never  had  those  feelings. 
They  brought  us  venison,  turkeys,  fish,  and  the  like ;  sometimes 
they  wanted  bread  or  meal  more  than  they  could  pay  for  at  the  time, 
but  were  always  faithful  to  pay  their  debts.  In  September,  1806, 
there  was  a  difficulty  between  two  tribes;  the  tribe  on  the  Cuya- 
hoga  River  came  to  Hudson,  and  asked  for  assistance  to  build  them 
a  log- house  that  would  be  a  kind  of  fort  to  shelter  their  women  and 
children  from  the  firearms  of  their  enemy.  Most  of  our  men  went 
with  teams,  and  chopped,  drew,  and  carried  logs,  and  put  up  a  house 
in  one  day,  for  which  they  appeared  very  grateful.  They  were  our 
neighbors  until  1812,  but  when  the  war  commenced  with  the  British, 
the  Indians  left  these  parts  mostly,  and  rather  against  my  wishes. 

"  In  Hudson  my  business  went  on  very  well,  and  we  were  some 
what  prosperous  in  most  of  our  affairs.  The  company  that  we  re 
ceived  being  of  the  best  kind,  the  missionaries  of  the  gospel  and 
leading  men  travelling  through  the  country  called  on  us,  and  I  became 
acquainted  with  the  business  people  and  ministers  in  all  parts  of  the 
Western  Reserve,  and  some  in  Pennsylvania.  In  1807  (Feb.  13) 
Frederick,  my  sixth  child,  was  born.  I  do  not  think  of  anything  else 
to  notice  but  the  common  blessings  of  health,  peace,  and  prosperity, 
for  which  I  would  ever  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  God  with 
thanksgiving.  I  had  a  very  pleasant,  orderly  family,  until  Dec.  9, 
1808,  when  all  my  earthly  prospects  seemed  to  be  blasted.  My  be 
loved  wife  gave  birth  to  an  infant  daughter  who  died  in  a  few  hours ; 
as  my  wife  expressed  it,  *  She  had  a  short  passage  through  time.' 
My  wife  followed  a  few  hours  after.  These  were  days  of  affliction. 
I  was  left  with  five  small  children  (six,  including  Levi  Blakesly, 
my  adopted  son),  the  eldest  but  about  ten  and  a  half  years  old.  The 
remembrance  of  this  scene  makes  my  heart,  bleed  now.  These  were 
the  first  that  were  buried  in  the  ground  now  occupied  as  a  cemetery 
at  the  centre  of  Hudson.  I  kept  my  children  mostly  around  me, 


1812.]  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD.  9 

and  married  my  second  wife,  Sally  Root,  Nov.  8,  1809.  Through  all 
these  changes  I  experienced  much  of  the  goodness  of  God  in  the 
enjoyment  of  health  in  myself  and  family,  and  general  prosperity  in 
my  business.  April  19,  1811,  Sally  Marian  was  born. 

"  In  July,  1812,  the  war  with  England  began ;  and  this  war  called 
loudly  for  action,  liberality,  and  courage.  This  was  the  most  active 
part  of  my  life.  We  were  then  on  the  frontier,  and  the  people  were 
much  alarmed,  particularly  after  the  surrender  of  General  Hull  at 
Detroit.  Our  cattle,  horses,  and  provisions  were  all  wanted.  Sick  sol 
diers  were  returning,  and  needed  all  the  assistance  that  could  be  given 
them.  There  was  great  sickness  in  different  camps,  and  the  travel 
was  mostly  through  Hudson,  which  brought  sickness  into  our  families. 
By  the  first  of  1813  there  was  great  mortality  in  Hudson.  My  fam 
ily  were  sick,  but  we  had  no  deaths.  July  22,  1813,  Watson  Hughs, 
my  seventh  son  was  born ;  he  was  a  very  thrifty,  promising  child. 
We  were  mostly  under  the  smiles  of  a  kind  Providence.  Florilla, 
my  fourth  daughter,  was  bora  May  19,  1816.  From  this  time  I  had 
many  calls  from  home,  and  was  called  to  fill  some  places  of  trust 
which  others  were  more  capable  of  filling.  I  now  believe  it  was  an 
injury  to  my  family  for  me  to  be  away  from  them  so  much  ;  and  here 
I  would  say  that  the  care  of  our -own  families  is  the  pleasautest  and 
most  useful  business  we  can  be  in.  Jeremiah  Root,  my  eighth  son, 
was  born  Nov.  8,  1819,  and  Edward,  my  ninth  son,  July  13,  1823. 

"  Nothing  very  uncommon  in  this  period,  save  that  there  was  a 
change  in  general  business  matters.  Money  became  scarce,  property 
fell,  and  that  which  I  thought  well  bought  would  not  bring  its  cost. 
I  had  made  three  or  four  large  purchases  in  which  I  was  a  heavy 
loser.  I  can  say  the  loss  or  gain  of  property  in  a  short  time  appears 
of  but  little  consequence  j  they  are  momentary  things,  and  will  look 
very  small  in  eternity.  Job  left  us  a  good  example.  About  this 
time  my  son  Salmon  was  studying  law  at  Pittsburgh.  I  had  great 
anxiety  and  many  fears  on  his  account.  Sept.  21,  1825,  Martha, 
our  fifth  daughter,  was  born  ;  Sept.  18,  1826,  she  died  from  whoop 
ing-cough.  Lucian,  my  tenth  son,  was  born  Sept.  18,  1829.  Here 
I  will  say  my  earthly  cares  were  too  many  for  the  good  of  my  family 
and  for  my  own  comfort  in  religion.  I  look  back  upon  my  life  with 
but  little  satisfaction,  but  must  pray,  *  Lord,  forgive  me  for  Christ's 
sake,  or  I  must  perish.'  Jan.  29, 1832,  my  son  Watson  died,  making 
a  great  breach  in  my  family.  He  had  not  given  evidence  in  health 
of  being  a  Christian,  but  was  in  great  anxiety  of  mind  in  his  sickness ; 
we  sometimes  hope  he  died  in  Christ.  Martha,  my  sixth  daughter, 
was  born  June  18,  1832;  and  Sept.  6,  1833,  Salmon,  my  third  son, 
died  in  New  Orleans  with  yellow  fever.  He  was  a  laAvyer,  and  editor 
of  a  French  and  English  newspaper  called  the  '  New  Orleans  Bee; ' 


10  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1840. 

was  of  some  note  as  a  gentleman,  but  I  never  knew  that  he  gave 
evidence  of  being  a  Christian.  Aug.  11,  1840,  my  second  wife  died 
with  consumption,  which  she  had  been  declining  under  for  a  long 
time.  I  think  she  died  a  Christian.  Here  my  old  wounds  were 
broken  open  anew,  and  I  had  great  trials. 

11  Some  little  time  before  this  there  had  been  great  speculation  in 
village  lots,  and  I  had  suffered  my  name  to  be  used  as  security  at  the 
banks.  My  property  was  in  jeopardy;  I  expected  all  to  be  lost. 
I  had  some  to  pity  me,  but  very  few  to  help  me  ;  so  I  learned  that 
outward  friendship  and  property  are  almost  inseparably  connected. 
There  were  many  to  inform  me  that  I  had  brought  my  troubles  upon 
myself.  April,  1841,  I  was  married  to  the  Widow  Lucy  Hinsdale. 
My  worldly  burdens  rather  increased,  but  I  bore  them  with  much  pa 
tience.  April,  1843 :  about  this  time  my  family  had  so  scattered  — 
some  by  marriage  and  other  ways  —  that  I  thought  best  to  leave  my 
favorite  house  and  farm,  and  to  build  new  at  the  centre  of  Hudson. 

...  I  have  great  reason  to  mourn  my  unfaithfulness  to  my  chil 
dren.  I  have  been  much  perplexed  by  the  loss  of  property,  and  a 
lone:  tedious  lawsuit ;  while  my  health  has  been  remarkably  good 
for  one  of  my  age,  and  I  have  great  reason  for  thanksgiving." 

This  artless  narrative,  written  by  Owen  Brown  at  the  age 
of  seventy-eight,  discloses  his  character,  and  sketches  in 
some  manner  the  conditions  of  life  under  which  John 
Brown  was  born  and  bred.  But  another  paper  from  the 
same  hand  shows  how  naturally  the  son  inherited  from  his 
Connecticut  ancestors  his  hatred  of  slavery.  Owen  Brown 
thus  described,  about  1850,  some  events  of  which  he  had 
been  cognizant  sixty  or  seventy  years  earlier  :  — 

"I  am  an  Abolitionist.  I  know  we  are  not  loved  by  many  ;  I 
have  no  confession  to  make  for  being  one,  yet  I  wish  to  tell  how  long 
I  have  been  one,  and  how  I  became  so.  I  have  no  hatred  to  negroes. 
When  a  child  four  or  five  years  old,  one  of  our  nearest  neighbors  had 
a  slave  that  was  brought  from  Guinea.  In  the  year  1776  my  father 
was  called  into  the  army  at  New  York,  and  left  his  work  undone. 
In  August,  our  good  neighbor  Captain  John  Fast,  of  West  Sims- 
bury,  let  my  mother  have  the  labor  of  his  slave  to  plough  a  few  days. 
I  used  to  go  out  into  the  field  with  this  slave,  —  called  Sam,  —  and 
he  used  to  carry  me  on  his  back,  and  I  fell  in  love  with  him.  He 
worked  but  a  few  days,  and  went  home  sick  with  the  pleurisy,  and 
died  very  suddenly.  When  told  that  he  would  die,  he  said  he 
should  go  to  Guinea,  and  wanted  victuals  put  up  for  the  journey. 
As  I  recollect,  this  was  the  first  funeral  I  ever  attended  in  the  days 


1798.]  ANCESTRY   AND   CHILDHOOD.  11 

of  my  youth.  There  were  but  three  or  four  slaves  in  West  Simsbury. 
In  the  year  1790,  when  I  lived  with  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock,  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins,  D.D.  came  from  Newport,  and  I  heard  him 
talking  with  Mr.  Hallock  about  slavery  in  Rhode  Island,  and  he  de 
nounced  it  as  a  great  sin.  I  think  in  the  same  summer  Mr.  Hallock 
had  sent  to  him  a  sermon  or  pamphlet-book,  written  by  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Edwards,  then  at  New  Haven.  I  read  it,  and  it  denounced 
slavery  as  a  great  sin.  From  this  time  I  was  antislavery,  as  much 
^  as  I  be  now.  \  In  the  year  1798  I  lived  in  Norfolk.  There  was  a 
Presbyterian  or  Congregational  minister  settled  in  Virginia  at  the 
begin oing  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  by  the  name  of  Thomson,  who 
on  account  of  the  war  came  to  North  Canaan  with  slaves,  and  not 
knowing  how  long  the  war  would  last,  he  bought  a  small  farm  in 
North  Canaan,  and  lived  on  it  till  the  close  of  the  war;  he  then 
moved  back  to  Virginia,  and  left  a  family  of  blacks  on  the  farm. 
About  1798  he  came  up  to  sell  his  farm  and  move  back  his  slaves,  as 
he  called  them.  Some  time  before  this,  slavery  had  been  abolished 
in  Connecticut.  Mr.  Thomson  had  difficulty  in  getting  away  his 
slaves.  One  man  would  not  go,  and  ran  into  the  woods,  and  Mr. 
Thomson  hired  help  to  catch  him.  He  was  secreted  among  blacks 
that  lived  in  a  corner  of  Norfolk.  Mr.  Thomson  preached  for  Mr. 
Robbins  at  Norfolk,  assisted  in  the  administration  of  the  sacrament, 
etc.  There  were  blacks  who  belonged  to  the  church,  that  absented 
themselves.  Mr.  Thomson  attended  meetings,  I  think,  three  Sab 
baths  ;  preached  about  twice.  The  last  Sabbath  it  was  expected  he 
would  preach  in  the  afternoon ;  but  there  were  a  number  of  the 
church  members  who  were  dissatisfied  with  his  being  asked  to  preach, 
and  requested  Deacon  Samuels  and  I5eacon  Gaylord  to  go  and  ask 
Mr.  Robbins  not  to  have  Mr.  Thomson  preach,  as  it  was  giving  dis 
satisfaction.  There  was.  some  excitement  amongst  the  people,  some 
in  favor  and  some  against  Mr.  Thomson ;  there  was  quite  a  debate, 
and  large  numbers  to  hear.  Mr.  Thomson  said  he  should  carry  the 
woman  and  children,  whether  he  could  get  the  man  or  not.  An  old 
man  asked  him  if  he  would  part  man  and  wife,  contrary  to  their 
minds.  He  said  :  *  I  married  them  myself,  and  did  not  enjoin  obe 
dience  on  the  woman.'  He  was  asked  if  he  did  not  consider  marriage 
to  be  an  institution  of  God  ;  he  said  he  did.  He  was  again  asked 
why  he  did  not  do  it  in  conformity  to  God's  word.  He  appeared 
checked,  and  only  said  it  was  the  custom.  He  was  told  that  the 
blacks  were  free  by  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut ;  he  replied 
that  he  belonged  to  another  State,  and  that  Connecticut  had  no  con 
trol  over  his  property.  I  think  he  did  not  get  away  his  l  property,' 
as  he  called  it.  Ever  since,  I  have  been  an  Abolitionist ;  and  I  am 
so  near  the  end  of  life  I  think  I  shall  die  an  Abolitionist." 


12  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1800. 

To  these  papers  of  his  father  should  now  be  added  John 
Brown's  own  account  of  his  childhood  and  youth,  written 
for  Harry  Stearns,  a  boy  of  thirteen.  This  is  printed  and 
punctuated  exactly  as  Brown  wrote  it. 

THE    CHILDHOOD    OF    JOHN    BROWN. 

RED  ROCK,  IA.,  15th  July,  1857. 
MR.  HENRY  L.  STEARNS. 

MY  DEAR  YOUNG  FRIEND,  —  I  have  not  forgotten  my  promise  to 
write  you  ;  but  my  constant  care,  &  anxiety  have  obliged  me  to 
put  it  off  a  long  time.  I  do  not  flatter  myself  that  I  can  write  any 
thing  which  will  very  much  interest  you  :  but  have  concluded  to 
send  you  a  short  story  of  a  certain  boy  of  my  acquaintance  :  &  for 
convenience  &  shortness  of  name,  I  will  call  him  John.  This  story 
will  be  mainly  a  narration  of  follies  and  errors;  which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  you  may  avoid ;  but  there  is  one  thing  connected  with  it, 
which  will  be  calculated  to  encourage  any  young  person  to  perse 
vering  effort  ;  &  that  is  the  degree  of  success  in  accomplishing  his 
objects  which  to  a  great  degree  marked  the  course  of  this  boy  through 
out  my  entire  acquaintance  with  him  ;  notwithstanding  his  moderate 
capacity;  &  still  more  moderate  acquirements. 

John  was  born  May  9th,  ]800,  at  Torrington,  Litchfield  Co.  Con 
necticut  ;  of  poor  but  respectable  parents :  a  deceudant  on  the  side 
of  his  father  of  one  of  the  company  of  the  Mayflower  who  landed  at 
Plymouth  1620.  His  mother  was  decended  from  a  man  who  came 
at  an  early  period  to  New  England  from  Amsterdam,  in  Holland. 
Both  his  Father's  and  his  Mother's  Fathers  served  in  the  war  of  the 
revolution :  His  Father's  Father ;  died  in  a  barn  in  New  York  while 
in  the  service  ;  in  1776. 

I  can  not  tell  you  of  anything  in  the  first  Four  years  of  John's  life 
worth  mentioning  save  that  at  that  early  age  he  was  tempted  by 
Three  large  Brass  Pins  belonging  to  a  girl  who  lived  in  the  family 
&  stole  then}.  In  this  he  was  detected  by  his  Mother ;  &  after  hav 
ing  a  full  day  to  think  of  the  wrong;  received  from  her  a  thorough 
whipping.  When  he  was  Five  years  old  his  Father  moved  to  Ohio ; 
then  a  wilderness  filled  with  wild  beasts,  &  Indians.  During  the 
long  journey,  which  was  performed  in  part  or  mostly  with  an  ox- 
team;  he  was  called  on  by  turns  to  assist  a  boy  Five  years  older 
(who  had  been  adopted  by  his  Father  &  Mother)  &  learned  to  think 
he  could  accomplish  smart  things  in  driving  the  Cows;  &  riding 
the  horses.  Sometimes  he  met  with  Rattle  Snakes  which  were  very 
large;  &  which  some  of  the  company  generally  managed  to  kill. 
After  getting  to  Ohio  in  1805  he  was  for  some  time  rather  afraid  of 


1805.]  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  13 

the  Indians,  &  of  their  Rifles;  but  this  soon  wore  off:  &  he  used 
to  hang  about  them  quite  as  much  as  was  consistent  with  good 
manners  ;  &  learned  a  trifle  of  their  talk.  His  father  learned  to 
dress  Deer  Skins,  &  at  6  years  old  John  was  installed  a  young  Buck 
Skin.  He  was  perhaps  rather  observing  as  he  ever  after  remem 
bered  the  entire  process  of  Deer  Skin  dressing  ;  so  that  he  could  at 
any  time  dress  his  own  leather  such  as  Squirel,  Raccoon,  Cat,  Wolf 
and  Dog  Skins,  and  also  learned  to  make  Whip  Lashes,  which 
brought  him  some  change  at  times,  &  was  of  considerable  service  in 
many  ways.  At  Six  years  old  he  began  to  be  a  rambler  in  the 
wild  new  country  finding  birds  and  squirrels  and  sometimes  a  wild 
Turkey's  nest.  But  about  this  period  he  was  placed  in  the  school  of 
adversity  ;  which  my  young  friend  was  a  most  necessary  part  of  his 
early  training.  You  may  laugh  when  you  come  to  read  about  it ; 
but  these  were  sore  trials  to  John :  whose  earthly  treasures  were 
very  few  &  small.  These  were  the  beginning  of  a  severe  but  much 
needed  course  of  dicipline  which  he  afterwards  was  to  pass  through ; 
&  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  has  learned  him  before  this  time  that  the 
Heavenly  Father  sees  it  best  to  take  all  the  little  things  out  of  his 
hands  which  he  has  ever  placed  in  them.  When  John  was  in  his 
Sixth  year  a  poor  Indian  boy  gave  him  a  Yellow  Marble  the  first  he 
had  ever  seen.  This  he  thought  a  great  deal  of;  &  kept  it  a  good 
while  ;  but  at  last  he  lost  it  beyond  recovery.  It  took  years  to  heal 
the  wound  &  I  think  he  cried  at  times  about  it.  About  Five  months 
after  this  he  caught  a  young  Squirrel  tearing  off  his  tail  in  doing  it ; 
&  getting  severely  bitten  at  the  same  time  himself.  He  however 
held  on  to  the  little  bob  tail  Squirrel ;  &  finally  got  him  perfectly 
tamed,  so  that  he  almost  idolized  his  pet.  This  too  he  lost ;  by  its 
wandering  away;  or  by  getting  killed;  &  for  a  year  or  two  John 
was  in  mourning  ;  and  looking  at  all  the  Squirrels  he  could  see  to 
try  &  discover  Bobtail,  if  possible.  I  must  not  neglect  to  tell  you  of 
a  verry  bad  &  foolish  babbit  to  which  John  was  somewhat  addicted. 
I  mean  telling  lies  ;  generally  to  screen  himself  from  blame;  or  from 
punishment.  He  could  not  well  endure  to  be  reproached  ;  &  I  now 
think  had  he  been  oftener  encouraged  to  be  entirely  frank  ;  by 
making  frankness  a  kind  of  atonement  for  some  of  his  faults ;  he 
would  not  have  been  so  often  guilty  of  this  fault ;  nor  have  been  (in 
after  life)  obliged  to  struggle  so  long  with  so  mean  a  habit. 

'John  was  never  quarehome  ;  but  was  excessively  fond  of  the  hard 
est  &  roughest  kind  of  plays ;  &  could  never  get  enough  [of]  them. 
Indeed  when  for  a  short  time  he  was  sometimes  sent  to  School  the 
opportunity  it  afforded  to  wrestle  &  Snow  ball  &  run  &  jump  & 
knock  off  old  seedy  Wool  hats  ;  offered  to  him  almost  the  only  com 
pensation  for  the  confinement,  &  restraints  of  school.  I  need  not 


14  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1812. 

tell  you  that  with  such  a  feeling  &  but  little  chance  of  going  to 
school  at  all:  he  did  not  become  much  of  a  schollar.  He  would 
always  choose  to  stay  at  home  &  work  hard  rather  than  be  sent  to 
school;  &  during  the  warm  season  might  generally  be  seen  bare 
footed  &  bareheaded :  with  Buck  skin  Breeches  suspended  often  with 
one  leather  strap  over  his  shoulder  but  sometimes  with  Two.  To 
be  sent  off  through  the  wilderness  alone  to  very  considerable  dis 
tances  was  particularly  his  delight  ;  &  in  this  he  was  often  indulged 
so  that  by  the  time  he  was  Twelve  years  old  he  was  sent  off  more 
than  a  Hundred  Miles  with  companies  of  cattle ;  &  he  would  have 
thought  his  character  much  injured  had  he  been  obliged  to  be  helped 
in  any  such  job.  This  was  a  boyish  kind  of  feeling  but  characteristic 
however. 

At  Eight  years  old,  John  was  left  a  Motherless  boy  which  loss 
was  complete  &  pearmanent  for  notwithstanding  his  Father  again 
married  to  a  sensible,  intelligent,  and  on  many  accounts  a  very  esti 
mable  woman;  yet  he  never  adopted  her  in  feeling  ;  but  continued 
to  pine  after  his  own  Mother  for  years.  This  opperated  very  unfa 
vourably  uppon  him  ;  as  he  was  both  naturally  fond  of  females  ;  &, 
withall,  extremely  diffident ;  &  deprived  him  of  a  suitable  connecting 
link  between  the  different  sexes ;  the  want  of  which  might  under 
some  circumstances,  have  proved  his  ruin. 

When  the  war  broke  out  with  England,  his  Father  soon  com 
menced  furnishing  the  troops  with  beef  cattle,  the  collecting  &  driv 
ing  of  which  afforded  him  some  opportunity  for  the  chase  (on  foot) 
of  wild  steers  &  other  cattle  through  the  woods.  During  this  war 
he  had  some  chance  to  form  his  own  boyish  judgment  of  men  &  mea 
sures  :  &  to  become  somewhat  familiarly  acquainted  with  some  who 
have  figured  before  the  country  since  that  time.  The  effect  of  what 
he  saw  during  the  wrar  was  to  so  far  disgust  him  with  Military  affairs 
that  he  would  neither  train,  or  drill ;  but  paid  fines ;  &  got  along  like 
a  Quaker  until  his  age  finally  has  cleared  him  of  Military  duty. 

During  the  war  with  England  a  circumstance  occurred  that  in  the 
end  made  him  a  most  determined  Abolitionist:  &  led  him  to  declare, 
or  Swear :  Eternal  war  with  Slavery.  He  was  staying  for  a  short 
time  with  a  very  gentlemanly  landlord  since  a  United  States  Marshall 
who  held  a  slave  boy  near  his  own  age  very  active,  inteligent  and 
good  feeling ;  &  to  whom  John  was  under  considerable  obligation 
for  numerous  little  acts  of  kindness.  The  master  made  a  great  pet 
of  John:  brought  him  to  table  with  his  first  company;  &  friends; 
called  their  attention  to  every  little  smart  thing  he  said  or  did:  & 
to  the  fact  of  his  being  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  home  with  a 
company  of  cattle  alone ;  wrhile  the  negro  boy  (who  was  fully  if  not 
more  than  his  equal)  was  badly  clothed,  poorly  fed  ;  &  lodged  in  cold 


1815.]  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  15 

weather  ;  &  beaten  before  his  eyes  with  Iron  Shovels  or  any  other 
thing  that  came  first  to  hand.  This  brought  John  to  reflect  on  the 
wretched,  hopeless  condition,  of  Fatherless  &  Motherless  slave  chil 
dren  :  for  such  children  have  neither  Fathers  or  Mothers  to  protect, 
&  provide  for  them.  He  sometimes  would  raise  the  question  is  Gofl 
their  Father  f 

At  the  age  of  Ten  years  an  old  friend  induced  him  to  read  a  little 
history,  &  offered  him  the  free  use  of  a  good  library ;  by ;  which 
he  acquired  some  taste  for  reading :  which  formed  the  principle  part 
of  his  early  education  :  &  diverted  him  in  a  great  measure  from  bad 
company.  He  by  this  means  grew  to  be  verry  fond  of  the  company, 
&  conversation  of  old  &  intelligent  persons.  He  never  attempted  to 
dance  in  his  life;  nor  did  he  ever  learn  to  know  one  of  a  pack  of  Cards 
from  another.  He  learned  nothing  of  Grammer  j  nor  did  he  get  at 
school  so  much  knowledge  of  common  Arithmetic  as  the  Four  ground 
rules.  This  will  give  you  some  general  idea  of  the  first  Fifteen  years 
of  his  life;  during  which  time  he  became  very  strong  &  large  of  his 
age  &  ambitious  to  perform  the  full  labour  of  a  man  ;  at  almost  any 
kind  of  hard  work.  By  reading  the  lives  of  great,  wise  &  good  men 
their  sayings,  and  writings;  he  grew  to  a  dislike  of  vain  &  frivolous 
conversation  &  persons;  &  was  often  greatly  obliged  by  the  kind 
manner  in  which  older  &  more  iuteligent  persons  treated  him  at 
their  houses :  &  in  conversation ;  which  was  a  great  relief  on  account 
of  his  extreme  bashfulness. 

He  very  early  in  life  became  ambitious  to  excel  in  doing  anything 
he  undertook  to  perform.  This  kind  of  feeling  I  would  recommend 
to  all  young  persons  both  male  &  female:  as  it  will  certainly  tend 
to  secure  admission  to  the  company  of  the  more  inteligeut  ;  &  better 
portion  of  every  community.  By  all  means  endeavour  to  excel  in 
some  laudable  pursuit. 

I  had  like  to  have  forgotten  to  tell  you  of  one  of  John's  misfortunes 
which  set  rather  hard  on  him  while  a  young  boy.  He  had  by  some 
moans  perhaps  by  gift  of  his  father  become  the  owner  of  a  little  Ewe 
Lamb  which  did  finely  till  it  was  about  Two  Thirds  grown  ;  &  then 
sickened  &  died.  This  brought  another  protracted  mourning  season  : 
not  that  he  felt  the  pecuniary  loss  so  much :  for  that  was  never  his 
disposition ;  but  so  strong  &  earnest  were  his  atachments- 

John  had  been  taught  from  earliest  childhood  to  "  fear  God  and 
keep  his  commandments  j  "  &  though  quite  skeptical  he  had  always 
by  turns  felt  much  serious  doubt  as  to  his  future  well  being ;  &  about 
this  time  became  to  some  extent  a  convert  to  Christianity  &  ever 
after  a  firm  believer  in  the  divine  authenticity  of  the  Bible.  With 
this  book  he  became  very  familiar,  &  possessed  a  most  unusual 
memory  of  its  entire  contents. 


16  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1816. 

Now  some  of  the  things  I  have  been  telling  of;  were  just  such 
as  I  would  recommend  to  you :  &  I  would  like  to  know  that  you  had 
selected  these  out ;  &  adopted  them  as  part  of  your  own  plan  of  life ; 
&  I  wish  you  to  have  some  deffinite  plan.  Many  seem  to  have 
none  ;  &  others  never  stick  to  .any  that  they  do  form.  This  was  not 
the  case  with  John.  He  followed  up^with  tenacity  whatever  he  set 
about,  so  long  as  it  answered  his  general  purpose :  &  hence  he  rarely 
failed  in  some  good  degree  to  effect  the  things  he  undertook.  This 
was  so  much  the  case  that  he  habitually  expected  to  succeed  in  his 
undertakings.  With  this  feeling  should  be  coupled  ;  the  consciousness 
that  our  plans  are  right  in  themselves. 

During  the  period  I  have  named,  John  had  acquired  a  kind  of 
ownership  to  certain  animals  of  some  little  value  but  as  he  had  come 
to  understand  that  the  title  of  minors  might  be  a  little  imperfect :  he 
had  recourse  to  various  means  in  order  to  secure  a  more  independent; 
&  perfect  right  of  property.  One  of  those  means  was  to  exchange 
with  his  Father  for  something  of  far  less  value.  Another  was  by 
trading  with  others  persons  for  something  his  Father  had  never 
owned.  Older  persons  have  some  times  found  difficulty  with  titles. 

From  Fifteen  to  Twenty  years  old,  he  spent  most  of  his  time  work 
ing  at  the  Tanner  &  Currier's  trade  keeping  Bachelors  hall }  &  he 
officiating  as  Cook  ;  &  for  most  of  the  time  as  foreman  of  the  estab 
lishment  under  his  Father.  During  this  period  he  found  much  trouble 
with  some  of  the  bad  habits  I  have  mentioned  &  with  some  that  I 
have  not  told  you  off:  his  conscience  urging  him  forward  with  great 
power  in  this  matter :  but  his  close  attention  to  business  ;  &  success 
in  its  management ;  together  with  the  way  he  got  along  with  a  com 
pany  of  men,  &  boys ;  made  him  quite  a  favorite  with  the  serious  & 
more  inteligent  portion  of  older  persons.  This  was  so  much  the  case ; 
&  secured  for  him  so  many  little  notices  from  those  he  esteemed  ; 
that  his  vanity  was  very  much  fed  by  it :  &  he  came  forward  to  man 
hood  quite  full  of  self-conceit ;  &  self-confident;  notwithstanding  his 
extreme  bashfulness.  A  younger  brother1  used  sometimes  to  remind 
him  of  this  :  &  to  repeat  to  him  this  expression  which  you  may  some 
where  find,  a  A  King  against  whom  there  is  no  rising  up."  The 
habit  so  early  formed  of  being  obeyed  rendered  hirn  in  after  life  too 
much  disposed  to  speak  in  an  imperious  or  dictating  way.  From  Fif 
teen  years  &  upward  he  felt  a  good  deal  of  anxiety  to  learn  ;  but  could 
only  read  &  studdy  a  little ;  both  for  want  of  time ;  &  on  account  of 
inflammation  of  the  eyes.  He  however  managed  by  the  help  of  books 
to  make  himself  tolerably  well  acquainted  with  common  arithmetic ; 
&  Surveying  j  which  he  practiced  more  or  less  after  he  was  Twenty 
years  old. 

1  This  was  Salmon,  no  doubt. 


1820.]  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  17 

At  a  little  past  Twenty  years  led  by  his  own  inclination  & 
prompted  also  by  his  Father,  he  married  a  remarkably  plain ;  but 
neat  industrious  &  economical  girl ;  of  excellent  character  ;  earnest 
piety  ;  &  good  practical  common  sense  ;  about  one  year  younger  than 
himself.  This  woman  by  her  mild,  frank,  &  more  than  all  else: 
by  her  very  consistent  conduct;  acquired  &  ever  while  she  lived 
maintained  a  most  powerful  ;  &  good  influence  over  him.  Her  plain 
but  kind  admonitions  generally  had  the  right  effect  ;  without  arousing 
his  haughty  obstinate  temper.  John  began  early  in  life  to  discover  a 
great  liking  to  fine  Cattle,  Horses,  Sheep,  &  Swine;  &  as  soon  as 
circumstances  would  enable  him  he  began  to  be  a  practical  Shep 
herd:  it  being  a  calling  for  which  in  early  life  he  had  a  kind  of 
enthusiastic  longing :  together  with  the  idea  that  as  a  business  it  bid 
fair  to  afford  him  the  means  of  carrying  out  his  greatest  or  principal 
object.  I  have  now  given  you  a  kind  of  general  idea  of  the  early  life 
of  this  boy ;  &  if  I  believed  it  would  be  worth  the  trouble  ;  or  afford 
much  interest  to  any  good  feeling  person:  I  might  be  tempted  to 
tell  you  something  of  his  course  in  after  life ;  or  manhood.  I  do  not 
say  that  I  will  do  it. 

You  will  discover  that  in  using  up  my  half  sheets  to  save  paper  ; 
I  have  written  Two  pages,  so  that  one  does  not  follow  the  other  as  it 
should.  I  have  no  time  to  write  it  over;  &  but  for  unavoidable 
hindrances  in  traveling  I  can  hardly  say  when  I  should  have  written 
what  I  have.  With  an  honest  desire  for  your  best  good,  I  subscribe 
myself, 

Your  Friend, 

J.  BROWN. 

P.  S.  I  had  like  to  have  forgotten  to  acknowledge  your  contri 
bution  in  aid  of  the  cause  in  which  I  serve.  God  Almighty  bless 
you  ;  my  son. 

J.  B. 

This  autobiography  had  its  origin,  as  did  so  many  other 
words  and  acts  of  John  Brown  in  1857-1859,  in  the  hospi 
talities  of  one  house  in  Massachusetts  where  the  old  hero' 
was  always  welcome.  Mr.  George  Luther  Stearns,  a  wealthy 
merchant  and  manufacturer  of  Boston,  but  living  in  a  beau 
tiful  villa  at  Medford,  had  invited  Brown  to  Boston  in 
December,  1856,  when  he  came  eastward  from  his  first 
campaigns  in  Kansas.  Brown  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
reached  Boston  a  little  after  Christmas,  1856,  meeting  Mr. 
Stearns  in  the  street  and  going  with  him  to  the  rooms  of 
the  Massachusetts  Kansas  Committee,  where  I  first  met 

2 


18  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

him.  The  next  Sunday,  the  first  in  January,  1857,  Brown 
went  to  the  Boston  Music  Hall  to  hear  Theodore  Parker 
preach,  and  there  met  Mrs.  Stearns  (a  niece  of  Mrs.  Child, 
the  graceful  author  of  "  Philothea "),  who  invited  him  to 
her  house  in  Medford.  He  spent  there  the  second  Sunday 
in  January,  1857,  and  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  oldest 
son  of  the  family,  then  in  his  thirteenth  year,  by  the  stories 
he  told  of  the  sufferings  of  the  pioneer  families  in  Kansas. 
Running  to  the  next  room,  and  bringing  forth  his  hoard  of 
pocket-money,  the  boy  thrust  it  into  John  Brown's  hand, 
saying,  "  Will  you  buy  something,  —  a  pair  of  shoes,  or 
something, — for  one  of  those  little  Kansas  children?" 
and  then  adding,  as  the  old  man  thanked  him,  "Captain 
Brown,  will  you  not  write  me,  sometime,  what  sort  of  a 
little  boy  you  were  ?  "  Brown  looked  at  him  with  surprise 
and  pleasure,  and  promised  him  to  do  so.  In  due  time  this 
long  letter  reached  Medford,  addressed  to  Harry,  but  with  a 
short  note  to  Mr.  Stearns  at  the  end  of  it.  Mrs.  Stearns, 
who  at  once  saw  its  value,  treasured  it  carefully  5  and  after 
Brown's  death  she  requested  her  friend  Mr.  Emerson  to 
make  this  autobiography  part  of  a  sketch  of  the  hero  which 
he  was  urged  to  write.  Mr.  Emerson  admired  and  praised 
it,  but  was  compelled  to  decline  the  task  of  writing  Brown's 
Life,  as  also  did  Henry  Thoreau  (who  knew  Brown  well)  and 
Mrs.  Child.  Then  Mrs.  Stearns  permitted  Mr.  Redpath  to 
print  it  in  his  biography,  for  the  sake  of  bringing  money  to 
supply  the  needs  of  the  widow  and  children  of  Brown.  It 
has  been  since  reprinted  again  and  again  from  Mr.  Red- 
path's  book.  I  have  made  my  copy  from  the  original  let 
ter,  and  thus  corrected  some  variations  in  the  punctuation 
and  spelling,  which  had  crept  into  the  published  copies. 
Brown's  writing  was  peculiar  in  these  respects,  and  by  no 
means  uniform  ;  but  his  style  everywhere  shows  the  same 
vigor  and  simplicity,  and  he  had  the  art  of  Homer  and 
Herodotus  to  mingle  the  colloquial  with  the  serious,  with 
out  any  loss  of  dignity  or  effect.  He  thought  humbly  of 
his  own  composition,  and  would  sometimes  say,  "  1  know 
no  more  of  grammar  than  one  of  that  farmer's  calves  ; " 
but  he  had  what  is  essential  in  all  grammars,  —  the  power 
to  make  himself  understood. 


1856.]  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  19 

The  house  in  which  John  Brown  was  born,  as  mentioned 
in  this  autobiography,1  still  stands  in  Torrington,  Conn.,  in 
the  western  part  of  the  town,  three  miles  from  Wolcottville, 
six  from  Litchfield,  and  ten  from  Wins  ted,  on  a  by-road.  It 
much  resembles  the  old  farm-house  in  Concord  in  which 
Thoreau  was  born,  and  the  engraving  of  one  might  easily 
pass  for  that  of  the  other.  The  log-house  of  Owen  Brown, 
in  Hudson,  Ohio,  stood  on  what  is  now  the  public  square  in 
that  town  ;  and  in  a  little  valley  near  by,  not  far  from 
the  railroad,  was  the  tannery  where  John  Brown  learned 
his  father's  trade.  His  childhood  was  passed  in  Hudson 
and  its  vicinity  in  the  manner  above  described.  He  read 
the  Bible,  the  "  Fables  of  .Esop,"  the  "  Life  of  Franklin," 
the  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts,  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  a  few 
more  books  ;  but  his  school  education  was  very  scanty. 

Although  in  order  of  time  the  following  correspondence 
belongs  in  a  later  chapter,  I  introduce  it  here  to  show  what 
were  the  relations  throughout  life  of  John  Brown  and  his 
father.  The  latter  lived  till  within  four  years  of  John 
Brown's  execution,  djnng  May  8,  1856,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
five.  Only  six  weeks  before  his  death  he  wrote  as  follows 
to  his  son  in  Kansas,  —  verbatim  et  literatim  :  — 

Letter  of  Owen  Brown  to  John  Brown. 

HUDSON  (OHIO),  March  27,  '56. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  received  yours  of  13th  on  the  25th,  and  was 
very  glad  to  larn  that  all  your  Famelys  were  so  well,  and  that  you  had 
not  been  distourbed  by  the  enemy.  Your  letters  come  very  regular, 
and  we  look  carfuly  after  them.  I  have  been  faithfull  to  answer 

1  It  was  after  hearing  this  letter  read  that  Miss  Osgood,  of  Medford,  re 
marked,  "  If  Captain  Brown  had  not  been  called,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
to  a  very  different  work,  what  charming  stories  he  could  have  written  for 
young  children  ! "  The  original  manuscript  tills  six  pages  of  closely  wait- 
ten  letter-paper,  without  division  into  paragraphs.  The  contributions 
made  by  Harry  Stearns  and  by  others  "  in  aid  of  the  cause  in  which  I 
serve,"  were  given  to  help  the  oppressed  pioneers  of  Kansas  whom  Brown 
was  then  defending.  His  father,  Owen  Brown,  as  a  beef  contractor,  was 
with  Hull's  army  at  or  just  before  the  surrender  at  Detroit  in  1812,  accom 
panied  by  his  son  John.  John,  then  twelve  years  old,  circulated  among  the 
American  soldiers  and  officers,  and  overheard  many  conversations  in  camp 


20  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

them,  not  out  of  ambishon,  but  to  keep  one  or  more  on  the  road  all 
the  time.  My  health  at  present  is  not  so  good;  for  three  weeks  past  I 
am  somewhat  put  to  it  to  breathe,  mostly  nights,  and  sometimes  feel  as 
though  death  was  at  the  dore.  I  feel  as  though  God  was  very  merso- 
full  to  keep  such  a  great  sinner  on  probation  so  long.  I  ask  all  of 
you  to  pray  more  earnestly  for  the  salvation  of  my  soul  than  for  the 
life  of  my  body,  and  that  I  may  give  myself  and  all  1  have  up  to 
Christ,  and  honer  him  by  a  sacrafise  of  all  we  have. 

I  think  that  the  moovments  of  Congress  will  prevent  an  invasion 
of  your  rights ;  they  have  voted  to  send  to  Kansas  to  investigate  the 
situation  [and]  elections.  I  think  of  cliping  from  some  papers  some 
short  Acts  of  Congress  and  inclose  them  in  a  private  letters  and  send 
them  to  you.  I  think  I  shall  have  them  very  regular.  I  wrote  Mr. 
Giddeons1  ["Giddiugs"  in  John  Brown's  hand  written  over  this 
name]  about  3  weeks  ago  to  send  me  the  debats  and  Acts  of  Con 
gress  on  the  subjects  of  Kansas  from  time  to  time.  He  was  at  home 
then  sick,  but  has  now  returned  to  Con  [in  John  Brown's  hand 
11  Washington  "  is  written  in  before  "  Con  "]  and  the  papers  begin  to 
come. 

Friends  are  midling  well  as  far  as  I  know.  I  am  now  at  Ed 
ward's  ;  it  is  rather  a  cold,  stormy  day.  We  have  had  a  remarkable 
cold,  snowe  winter,  and  the  snow  is  mostly  on  the  ground  now.  We 
have  3  only  plesent  dayes  this  week,  but  have  had  no  rain  through 
the  winter.  I  consider  all  of  my  Children  at  Kansas  as  one  Famely, 
and  hope  you  will  take  turns  in  writeing.  They  are  midling  well  at 
Edward's,  and  wish  to  be  remembered. 

Your  unfaithful  Parent, 

OWEN  BROWN. 

N.  B.  28th.  After  writing  the  above,  Edward  had  a  paper  from 
which  we  dipt  the  within.2  0.  B. 

concerning  General  Hull  and  his  position.  He  saw  much  of  General  Cass, 
then  a  captain  under  Hull;  and  it  is  to  him,  no  doubt,  that  allusion  is 
made  as  one  of  those  "who  have  figured  before  the  country  since  that 
time."  Long  afterward  (in  1857),  he  told  me  that  he  overheard  such  conver 
sation  from  Cass,  McArthur,  and  other  officers  as  would  have  branded  them 
as  mutineers,  if  he  could  have  reported  it  to  the  Washington  authorities, 
[le  believed  that  Hull  was  forced  into  the  false  position  which  led  to  his 
surrender,  by  the  ill-conduct  of  his  subordinate  officers. 

1  Owen  Brown  and  most  of  his  sons  and  grandsons  when  in  Ohio  were 
constituents  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings,  the  famous  antislavery  Congressman 
from  the  Western  Reserve. 

2  This  letter  is  addressed  in  the  feeble  handwriting  of  an  old  man  to 
"John  Brown,  Osawatomie,  K.  T.,"  and  is  indorsed  in  his  son's  hand 
writing,  "  Owen  Brown's  Letter,  March  27,  1856."    The  original  is  among 


1846.]  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD.  21 

This  was  the  last  of  many  letters  written  to  his  son  in  the 
forty  years  since  1817,  when  John  first  left  home  for  long 
absences.  A  few  of  John  Brown's  replies  have  come  into 
my  hands,  chiefly  of  the  years  1846-1849,  of  which  the 
following  are  specimens  :  — 

John  Brown  to  his  Father. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  29th  Oct.,    1846. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  Yours  of  the  22d,  telling  us  of  the  death  of 
"brother  King,  is  received.  I  must  say,  that,  with  all  his  imperfections 
and  faults,  I  certainly  feel  that  if  he  has  not  been  a  very  warm 
hearted,  yet  he  has  been  a  steady,  friend,  and  on  some  accounts  a 
useful  friend;  and  I  mourn  his  frailties  and  death  sincerely.  You 
say  he  expected  to  die,  but  do  not  say  how  he  felt  in  regard  to  the 
change  as  it  drew  near.  I  have  to  confess  my  unfaithfulness  to  my 
friend  in  regard  to  his  most  important  interest.  I  did  not  fail  to  write 
you,  as  soon  as  I  returned  myself,  from  want  of  inclination,  but  be 
cause  I  thought  it  would  please  you  quite  as  much  to  get  a  letter  from 
Jason.  We  are  getting  along  moderately  with  our  business,  but  when 
we  shall  be  able  to  close'it  up  will  be  difficult  to  say,  for  we  still 
continue  to  receive  large  quantities  of  wool.  Prices  rather  improve. 
We  expect  to  be  ready  to  close  up  all  the  lots  Jerry  brought  on  in  a 
very  few  days.  Have  contracted  away  the  lowest  he  brought  at 
twenty-five  cents  per  pound.  There  is  no  doubt  but  we  might  make 
the  most  advantageous  exchanges  of  wool  for  any  description  of 
woollen  goods  that  are  wanted  in  the  country.  We  shall  probably 
take  hold  of  the  business  with  a  view  to  such  exchanges  another  year, 
if  we  continue  the  wool  business.  We  find  no  difficulty  in  disposing 
of  the  very  coarsest  wools,  now  that  we  have  learned  better  where  to 
sell  them,  and  can  turn  them  cash.  Please  write  often,  and  let  us  hear 
how  you  all  get  along,  and  what  you  think  proper  to  say  to  us. 
Your  affectionate  son, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  10th  Dec.,   1846. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  Yours,  dated  2d  and  3d  December,  we  re 
ceived  this  evening.  It  is  perhaps  needless  for  me  to  say  that  I  am 
always  grateful  for  everything  of  that  kind  I  receive  from  you,  and 

the  Brown  Papers  in  the  library  of  the  Kansas  Historical  Society  at  Topeka, 
from  whose  invaluable  collections- 1  have  drawn  much  material  for  this 
work. 


22  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1847. 

that  I  think  I  have  your  whole  correspondence  for  nearly  thirty  years 
laid  up  to  remember  you  by,  —  I  mean,  of  course,  what  you  have  di 
rected  to  me.  I  would  further  say,  that  I  feel  grateful  to  you,  and  my 
brother,  for  calling  to  see  my  dear  afflicted  wife  and  children  in  their 
calamity.  It  is  a  great  comfort  that  /  can  in  my  imagination  see  my 
always  kind  and  affectionate  old  father  with  them,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  responsibilities  I  have  assumed  constrain  me  to  be  absent, 
very  contrary  to  my  feeling  (and  it  may  be  contrary  to  my  duty,  too ; 
but  trust  not).  I  mean  to  return  sometime  in  February,  and  should 
feel  like  one  out  of  prison  could  I  leave  to-morrow.  I  hope  you  will 
visit  my  family  as  often  as  you  can  during  my  absence,  and  that  you 
will  write  us  often  while  here.  We  will  endeavor,  one  of  us,  to  reply 
promptly  at  least.  We  are  getting  along  with  our  business  slowly, 
but  prudently,  I  trust,  and  as  well  as  we  could  reasonably  expect 
under  all  the  circumstances ;  and  so  far  as  we  can  discover,  we  are 
in  favor  with  this  people,  and  also  with  the  many  we  have  had  to  do 
business  with.  I  sent  home  a  good  supply  of  excellent  cloth  for 
pantaloons,  from  which  you  can  have  some  if  it  suits  you,  and  should 
arrive  safe.  If  it  does  not,  please  write  me  without  delay.  Jason 
took  the  cloth  with  him  (cost  eighty-five  cents  per  yard).  I  can 
bring  more  cloth  of  almost  any  kind  when  I  return,  should  there  be 
need. 

When  I  think  how  very  little  influence  I  have  even  tried  to  use 
with  my  numerous  acquaintances  and  friends,  in  turning  their  minds 
toward  God  and  heaven,  I  feel  justly  condemned  as  a  most  wicked 
and  slothful  servant ;  and  the  more  so,  as  I  have  very  seldom  had 
any  one  refuse  to  listen  when  I  earnestly  called  him  to  hear.  I 
sometimes  have  dreadful  reflections  about  having  fled  to  go  down  to 

Tarshish. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  April  2,  1847. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  Your  very  kind  as  well  as  rational  letter  I 
received  last  evening.  I  trust  I  do  in  some  measure  realize  that  only 
a  few,  a  very  few,  years  will  of  necessity  bring  to  me  a  literal  accom 
plishment  of  the  sayings  of  the  Preacher.  I  am  quite  sensible  of  the 
truth  of  your  remark,  that  my  family  are  quite  as  well  off  as  though 
we  possessed  millions.  I  hope  we  may  not  be  left  to  a  feeling  of 
ingratitude,  or  greediness  of  gain ;  and  I  feel  unconscious  of  a  desire 
to  become  rich.  I  hope  my  motive  for  exerting  myself  is  higher. 
I  feel  no  inclination  to  move  my  family  to  Springfield  on  account  of 
any  change  that  I  am  itching  for,  and  think  it  very  doubtful  whether 
I  ever  conclude  on  it  as  the  best  course.  My  only  motive  would  be 


1848.]  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD.  23 

to  have  them  with  me,  if  I  continue  in  my  present  business,  which  I 
am  by  no  means  attached  to.  I  seem  to  get  along  middling  well,  and 
hope  to  return  in  a  short  time.  Wrote  Jeremiah  some  days  since. 
I  shall  pay  ten  cents  very  cheerfully  to  hear  that  you  are  alive  and 
well,  at  any  time  j  and  should  not  grudge  to  pay  more  for  such  kind 
and  ever  seasonable  pointing  me  to  the  absolute  vanity  of  this  world's 
treasures,  as  well  as  the  solemn  future  which  is  before  me.  It  affords 
me  great  satisfaction  to  get  a  letter  from  you  at  this  period  of  your 
life,  so  handsomely  written,  so  well  worded,  and  so  exactly  in  point, 
both  as  to  manner  and  (what  is  much  more)  matter.  I  intend  to 
preserve  it  carefully. 

Your  affectionate  son, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  1st  Nov.,  1847. 

DEAR  FATHER, — After  some  three  or  four  days'  delay  on  the 
road,  we  arrived  here  safe  to-day  about  noun,  and  found  all  here  well; 
but  our  hard  hearts  are  never  thankful  as  they  should  be.  Always 
dependent  and  constantly  receiving,  we  arc  ungrateful  enough  to  be 
cast  off,  —  if  that  were  our  only  fault !  Our  business,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  has  gone  along  middling  well  during  my  absence.  Watson  is 
not  yet  very  stout,  but  is  perhaps  a  little  improved  since  I  left.  We 
shall  all  be  anxious  to  hear  from  Lucian,  and  from  you  all,  and  how 
you  got  home  from  Austinburg,  as  soon  and  as  often  as  we  can. 
Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Mr.  Hubbard  has  deeded  his  swamp  farm  to  John  Sherman.  Has 
not  sold  his  thirty-acre  lot  at  Muuroville,  but  has  offered  it  for  sale 
to  William  Hickox  and  Kelsey. 

Yours, 

J.  B. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  2d  Dec.,  1847. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  Yours  of  the  9th  November  was  received  a  few 
days  since,  but  I  have  delayed  writing  on  two  accounts  since  receiving 
it.  One  is  the  greater  press  of  business,  and  increased  anxiety  on 
account  of  the  sudden  change  in  money  matters  j  the  other,  that  it  is 
always  hard  for  me  to  make  out  a  letter  without  something  to  make  it 
out  of.  We  have  been  middling  well  since  I  returned,  except  John 
and  Watson.  John  has  had  a  short  turn  of  fever,  and  Watson  has 
seemed  to  have  a  number  of  complaints,  but  both  are  better  now.  Our 
business  seems  to  be  going  on  middling  well,  and  will  not  probably 
be  any  the  worse  for  the  pinch  in  the  money  concerns.  I  trust  that 


24  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1847. 

getting  or  losing  money  does  not  entirely  engross  our  attention ;  but 
T  am  sensible  that  it  occupies  quite  too  large  a  share  in  it.  To  get  a 
little  property  together  to  leave,  as  the  world  have  done,  is  really 
a  low  mark  to  be  tiring  at  through  life. 

"  A  nobler  toil  may  I  sustain, 
A  nobler  satisfaction  gain." 

You  wrote  us  that  Lucian  seemed  to  decline.  This  is  not  unex 
pected  ;  but  we  hope  that  a  life  still  lengthened  may  not  all  be  mis 
spent,  and  that  the  little  of  duty  to  God  and  mankind  it  may  yet  be 
in  his  power  to  do  may  be  done  with  his  might,  and  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  will  be  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness,  for  that 
which  must  be  left  undone.  This  is  the  only  hope  for  us  bankrupts, 
as  we  may  see  at  once  if  we  will  but  look  at  our  account.  We  hope 
to  hear  how  you  all  are  again  soon. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  16th  Jan.,  1848. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  It  is  Sabbath  evening ;  and  as  I  have  waited 
now  a  long  time  expecting  a  letter  from  you,  I  have  concluded  to 
wait  no  longer  for  you  to  write  to  me.  I  received  the  Hudson  paper 
giving  an  account  of  the  death  of  another  of  our  family.  I  expected 
to  get  a  letter  from  you,  and  so  have  been  waiting  ever  since  getting 
the  paper.  I  never  seemed  to  possess  a  faculty  to  console  and  com 
fort  my  friends  in  their  .grief;  I  am  inclined,  like  the  poor  comforters 
of  Job,  to  sit  down  in  silence,  lest  in  my  miserable  way  I  should  only 
add  to  their  grief.  Another  feeling  that  I  have  in  your  case,  is  an 
entire  consciousness  that  I  can  bring  before  your  mind  no  new  source 
of  consolation,  nor  mention  any  which,  I  trust,  you  have  not  long 
since  made  full  proof  of.  I  need  not  say  that  I  know  how  to  sympa 
thize  with  you  j  for  that  you  equally  well  understand.  I  will  only 
utter  one  word  of  humble  confidence,  —  "  Though  He  slay  me,  yet 
will  I  trust  in  Jlim,  and  bless  His  name  forever."  We  are  all  in 
health  here,  but  have  just  been  taking  another  lesson  on  the  uncer 
tainty  of  all  we  hold  here.  One  week  ago  yesterday,  Oliver  found 
some  root  of  the  plant  called  hemlock,  that  he  supposed  was  carrot, 
and  eat  some  of  it.  In  a  few  minutes  he  was  taken  with  vomiting 
and  dreadful  convulsions,  and  soon  became  senseless.  However,  bj 
resorting  to  the  most  powerful  emetics  he  was  recovered  from  it,  like 
one  raised  from  the  dead,  almost. 

The  country  in  this  direction  has  been  suffering  one  of  the  sever 
est  money  pressures  known  for  many  years.  The  consequence  to  us 
has  been,  that  some  of  those  who  have  contracted  for  wool  of  us  are 


1849.]  ANCESTRY  AND   CHILDHOOD.  25 

as  yet  unable  to  pay  for  and  take  the  wool  as  they  agreed,  and  we 
are  on  that  account  unable  to  close  our  business.  This,  with  some 
trouble  and  perplexity,  is  the  greatest  injury  we  have  suffered  by  it. 
We  have  had  no  winter  as  yet  scarcely,  the  weather  to-day  being 
almost  as  warm  as  summer.  We  want  to  hear  how  you  all  are  very 
much,  and  all  about  how  you  get  along.  I  hope  to  visit  you  in  the 
spring.  Farewell. 

Your  affectionate,  unworthy  son, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  5th  Feb.,  1849. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  I  write  you  at  this  time  more  because  you 
said  in  your  last  that  you  u  love  letters  more  now  than  ever  before," 
than  on  account  of  anything  I  have  to  write.  W«  are  here  all  mid 
dling  well,  except  our  youngest  child,  who  has  been  quite  feeble  since 
last  fall.  Owen's  arm  seems  to  be  improving  slowly.  We  have 
been  selling  wool  middling  fast  of  late,  on  contract,  at  1847  prices. 
We  have  in  this  part  of  the  country  the  strongest  proofs  that  the  great 
majority  have  made  gold  their  hope,  their  only  hope.  I  think  that 
almost  every  product  of  industry  will  soon  become  high,  from  the 
fact  alone  that  such  a  vast  number  of  those  who  have  hitherto  been 
producers  will  cease  to  be  so,  and  hereafter,  for  a  time  at  least,  be 
only  consumers.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  persons  who  are  in 
debt,  and  who  hold  any  property  of  value,  are  likely  to  have  a  most 
favorable  time  to  get  out  of  debt.  Would  it  not  be  well  to  have 
the  word  go  round  amongst  all  the  Browns,  that  they  may  get  ready 
to  sell  off  enough  of  something  to  pay  all  debts  ?  I  really  wish  that 
Oliver  and  Frederick 1  would  take  the  hint,  and  when  things  get  up 
(which  I  feel  confident  they  will  do),  go  at  once  to  selling  off  and 
paying  up.  There  is  no  way  of  making  money  so  easy  as  by  selling 
when  every  one  wants  to  buy.  It  may  cost  us  some  little  sacrifice  of 
feeling  at  first,  but  would  open  a  new  world  almost,  if  thoroughly 
done. 

I  have  felt  a  good  deal  of  anxiety  about  the  injury  you  received 
on  your  way  home ;  was  glad  to  hear  that  you  was  in  any  measure 
comfortable.  I  did  not  intend  to  put  off  writing  so  long  j  but  I  al 
ways  find  it  exceedingly  hard  work  to  write  when  I  have  nothing  to 
communicate  that  is  worth  as  much  as  the  paper  and  postage.  Your 
letters  are  not  of  so  barren  a  character ;  so  that  we  shall  not  expect 
you  to  pay  the  postage  when  you  write,  which  we  hope  will  be  often. 
Your  affectionate  but  unworthy  son, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

1  His  brothers,  or  cousins  ;  not  his  sous. 


26  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1833. 

These  letters  show  upon  what  terms  of  affection  and  re 
ligious  sympathy  John  Brown  lived  with  his  pious  father,  — 
a  man  everywhere  respected.  Colonel  Perkins,  of  Akron, 
Ohio,  who  was  the  capitalist  partner  of  John  Brown  in  the 
wool  business,  and  lost  money  thereby,  had  no  great  respect 
for  his  partner's  prudence,  but  said :  "  His  father  had  more 
brains  than  John  Brown,  and  was  a  more  prudent  man." 
He  was  long  a  trustee  of  Oberlin  College,  and  it  was 
through  him  that  John  Brown  was  sent  to  Virginia  in 
1840,  to  survey  the  wild  lands  there  which  belonged  to  that 
college.  John  Brown,  Jr.,  says :  "  My  grandfather,  Owen 
Brown,  of  Hudson,  had  no  son  for  whom  he  entertained 
more  sincere  regard  than  for  his  son  John.  I  was  myself 
for  years  almost  as  one  of  my  grandfather's  family,  and  had 
the  best  means  of  knowing."  His  aunt,  John  Brown's  half- 
sister,  Mrs.  Marian  Hand,  of  Wellington,  Ohio,  now  living, 
confirms  this  statement.  She  also  furnishes  me  with  some 
facts  concerning  her  brother  Salmon,  for  whom  his  father 
had  "  great  anxiety  and  fears  "  while  he  was  studying  law 
at  Pittsburg  in  1824,  and  who,  he  says,  "  was  of  some  note 
as  a  gentleman,  but  I  never  knew  that  he  gave  evidence  of 
being  a  Christian." 

It  seems  that  Salmon  Brown,  after  beginning  to  practise 
law,  travelled  far  and  wide  over  the  United  States,  and 
particularly  in  the  South,  where  he  finally  took  up  his  resi 
dence  at  New  Orleans,  and  became  the  editor  of  a  news 
paper,  "  The  Bee,"  which  was  published  both  in  French  and 
English,  and  seems  to  have  opposed  the  administration  of 
Andrew  Jackson.  His  career  as  a  journalist  was  from  1830 
to  1833,  and  he  died  at  Thibodeauxville,  or  New  Orleans, 
in  the  autumn  of  1833.  A  letter  from  John  Brown  to  his 
brother  Frederick  thus  mentions  Salmon's  death,  among 
other  matters  of  smaller  concern :  — 


RANDOLPH,  PENN.,  Oct.  26,  1833. 

DEAR  BROTHER,  —  I  arrived  at  home  without  any  mishap  on 
Saturday  of  the  week  I  left  you,  and  found  all  well.  I  had  received 
newspapers  from  Thibodeauxville  during  my  ahsence,  similar  to  those 
sent  to  father,  but  no  letters  respecting  the  death  of  our  brother.  I 
believe  I  was  to  write  father  as  soon  as  I  returned,  but  I  have 


1829.]  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  27 

nothing  further  to  write,  and  you  can  show  him  this.  I  will  imme 
diately  let  him  know  what  answer  I  get  to  the  letter  I  shall  send  to 
the  South  by  this  mail,  respecting  our  dear  brother. 

I  enclose  fifteen  dollars,  and  wish  you  to  let  me  know  that  you  re 
ceive  it.  Destroy  my  note,  and  accept  my  thanks.  If  you  afford 
my  colt  plenty  of  good  pasture,  hay,  and  salt,  it  is  all  I  wish,  unless 
he  should  fall  away  badly  or  be  sick.  Your's  bore  his  journey  well. 
Please  tell  Milton  Lusk  that  I  wish  to  have  him  pay  over  the  money 
I  left  with  him  to  Julian,  without  delay. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  I  want  to  be  informed  of  any  news  respecting  Salmon  as 
soon  as  any  of  you  get  any. 

The  three  following  letters  are  all  that  I  have  received 
from  the  papers  of  Salmon  Brown,  who  wrote  a  neat  hand 
and  rather  a  diffuse,  ceremonious  style,  at  variance  with  the 
direct,  laconic  manner  of  his  father  and  brother,  but  who  re 
sembled  them  in  the  earnestness  with  which  he  pursued  his 
objects,  and  the  serious  affection  he  manifested  for  all  his 
family,  and  particularly  for  his  father. 

Salmon  Brown  to  Owen  Brown,  Sr. 

HUKTSVILLE,  ALA.,  Feb.  28,  1829. 

HONORED  FATHER,  —  In  order  to  avoid  that  circumlocution  of 
"  compliments,"  which  I  have  heard  you  mention  as  one  of  the  de 
fects  of  my  letters  in  general,  it  shall  be  the  object  of  this  to  make 
known  to  you,  with  the  least  preamble  and  in  the  fewest  possible 
number  of  words,  all  that  a  parent,  kind  and  solicitous  as  you  have 
ever  been,  might  desire  to  know  in  relation  to  the  welfare  of  an  ab 
sent  child.  My  health,  thank  God,  has  been  uniformly  good  since  I 
was  at  Hudson  last  July.  From  New  York,  if  I  mistake  not,  some 
time  in  the  month  of  September,  I  wrote  you  a  letter,  and  inclosed 
one  of  my  printed  circulars,  by  which  I  presumed  you  would  be  made 
acquainted  with  the  tour  I  had  in  contemplation,  and  the  several 
points  to  which  letters  might  be  directed  in  season  to  reach  me. 
This  probably  was  not  received  till  after  your  return  from  New 
England,  which  circumstance  sufficiently  accounts  for  its  not  being 
answered.  I  have  pursued  almost  literally  the  track  indicated  by  the 
circular  alluded  to,  and  still  intend  to  persevere,  till  I  have  accom 
plished  the  entire  journey.  My  operations  have  been  as  successful  as 
heretofore,  though  I  have  experienced  more  delays  than  usual.  On 


28  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1829. 

leaving  this  place,  I  shall  proceed  South,  by  the  way  of  Tuscaloosa 
and  Mobile,  to  New  Orleans ;  but  having  business  to  transact  at  a 
great  many  intermediate  places,  I  cannot  determine  with  any  degree 
of  certainty  when  I  shall  reach  there,  or  how  early  I  shall  be  able  to 
leave  that  place  in  the  spring. 

This,  I  am  resolved,  shall  be  my  last  tour  in  the  United  States,  at 
least  on  the  extensive  scale  I  have  practised  for  the  last  three  years. 
I  however  still  intend  to  execute  the  project  which  I  disclosed  to 
you  last  summer  j  and  I  cannot  neglect  the  present  opportunity  to 
thank  you  for  the  very  valuable  hint  which  you  suggested  to  me,  in 
respect  of  availing  myself  of  the  facilities  which  my  travels  afford,  to 
collect  materials  and  information  to  be  made  use  of  hereafter  in  pub 
lic  lecturing.  I  have  reflected  much  on  the  subject,  and  I  am  fully 
persuaded  the  business  may  be  turned  to  a  good  practical  account, 
in  reference  to  my  intended  operations  abroad.  I  am  therefore  ap 
plying  myself  to  the  subject  in  good  earnest,  both  by  extending  my 
own  personal  observations  as  widely  as  possible,  and  by  consulting 
any  written  authority  which  may  throw  light  upon  my  object  of 
research.  But  pray  let  this  matter,  as  well  as  the  other;  rest  for  the 
present  between  ourselves  exclusively. 

I  am  exceedingly  anxious  to  receive  a  letter  from  you.  When 
shall  I  be  gratified  ?  On  my  arrival  at  New  Orleans  ?  I  hope  so. 
I  also  hope  that  you  will  not  be  sparing  of  the  local  news  of  your 
vicinity.  I  should  like  to  know  something  of  the  results  of  your  jour 
ney  to  the  East.  You  doubtless  heard  of  me  among  our  family 
relations.  I  am  obliged  to  leave  off  abruptly,  and  1  will  not  delay 
sending  this  for  the  sake  of  filling  out  the  sheet  at  another  time.  My 
love  to  all  our  family,  and  to  my  friends  in  general.  Adieu. 

SALMON  BROWN. 


ST.  Louis,  June  18,  1829. 

HONORED  FATHER,  —  Having  ascended  the  river  to  this  place, 
and  being  under  the  necessity  of  returning  again  to  Natchez  in  order 
to  close  some  unfinished  business,  I  write  to  advise  you  of  my  in 
tended  movements.  By  the  ordinary  course  of  steamboat  navigation 
I  shall  reach  there  (Natchez)  in  the  course  of  five  or  six  days,  and 
my  stay  in  that  region  will  be  as  short  as  possible.  It  is  my  inten 
tion  afterwards  to  proceed  by  the  interior  of  Alabama  to  Florida,  and 
thence  through  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas  to  the  North.  I  cannot  at 
this  time  name  with  certainty  any  place  where  letters  directed  to  my 
address  would  be  received,  though  Tallahassee  in  Florida  would  seem 
to  be  the  most  eligible  point ;  at  all  events,  I  hope  you  will  write  to 
me  there.  I  left  New  Orleans  without  receiving  any  letters  from  you, 


1330.]  ANCESTRY  AND  CHILDHOOD.  29 

which  was  a  great  disappointment.  I  however  made  arrangements 
by  which  I  shall  still  get  them,  if  any  come  on  to  that  post-office.  I 
have  enjoyed  good  health  and  thus  far  a  reasonable  shave  of  pros 
perity  in  the  prosecution  of  my  business,  though  delays  have  been 
more  frequent  than  I  anticipated,  and  of  longer  duration,  which  will 
be  the  means  of  detaining  me  all  summer  in  the  Southern  country. 
I  beg  you  will  not  permit  yourself  to  be  uneasy  on  account  of  my 
health.  I  shall  avoid  the  low  country  on  the  sea-coast,  and  by  con 
fining  myself  to  the  high  ground  of  the  interior,  I  apprehend  very 
little  danger.  Finally,  go  where  I  may,  I  am  in  the  hands  of  the 
same  kind  Providence  that  has  heretofore  guided  me  safely  through 
an  infinity  of  perils.  I  have  been  preserved,  no  doubt,  for  some  wise 
purpose.  I  hope  it  may  be  to  accomplish  some  great  good  in  the 
world  ;  if  not,  why  should  I  desire  to  live  ? 

I  am  still  occupied,  heart  and  soul,  with  the  scheme  I  have  inti 
mated  to  you  before.  It  is  the  theme  of  my  constant  meditations, 
night  and  day ;  and  I  am  devoting  all  tny  leisure  moments  for  its  ac 
complishment.  That  the  design  is  a  good  and  laudable  one,  I  have 
no  doubt.  This  gives  me  confidence  to  expect  great  success.1 

I  cannot  write  more  at  this  moment,  but  if  I  am  prospered,  you 
shall  hear  from  me  frequently.  Adieu. 

Your  affectionate  son, 

SALMON  BROWN. 

LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  Aug.  22,  1830. 

HONORED  FATHER,  —  I  avail  myself  of  the  first  moment  of  leisure 
on  my  arrival  at  this  place  to  relieve  you  from  the  anxiety  which  I 
arn  conscious  you  have  ere  this  begun  to  feel  on  my  account.  I  could 
not  have  neglected  writing  so  long  had  I  anticipated  the  possibility  of 
being  detained  so  long  at  the  South.  One  cause  of  delay  after  an 
other  prolonged  the  period  of  my  departure  from  New  Orleans  till  the 
latter  part  of  July,  and  having  to  stop  at  several  places  on  the  river 
where  I  had  business  to  look  after,  and  the  rivers  being  almost  too 
low  for  steamboat  navigation  at  this  season,  August  has  almost  passed 
away  before  I  could  reach  here.  My  health,  thank  God,  has  been 
uniformly  good,  and  I  am  quite  well  at  this  time. 

I  am  without  news  from  any  of  my  family  or  friends  these  several 
months  past,  which  makes  me  exceedingly  anxious  about  their  wel 
fare.  I  hope  some  of  you  will  write  instantly  on  receiving  this,  and 

1  It  does  not  appear  what  this  "laudable  design"  was,  but  it  must  have 
been,  in  part  at  least,  of  a  public  nature.  At  this  time  Salmon  Brown  was 
twenty-seven  years  old.  He  was  the  brother  next  in  age  to  John,  and  was 
at  school  with  him  for  a  time  in  Connecticut. 


30  LIFE   AND  LETTERS    OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1830. 

direct  to  Wheeling,  Virginia,  where  I  expect  to  be  in  the  course  of 
three  or  four  weeks.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  determine  whether  I 
can  visit  Hudson  this  fall  or  not.  I  am  engaged  about  some  political 
arrangements  in  opposition  to  the  present  unprincipled  and  corrupt 
Administration,  to  which  I  have  become  so  committed  as  not  to  be 
master  of  my  own  time.  The  arrangements  alluded  to  have  for  their 
object  the  best  interests  of  our  common  country  j  and  believing  that  I 
may  be  instrumental  in  doing  good  in  this  way,  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty 
to  exert  my  endeavors.  I  go  from  this  place  to  Frankfort,  thence  to 
Lexington,1  thence  to  Maysville,  and  thence  to  Wheeling.  If  it  shall 
be  possible  for  me  to  visit  Hudson  before  I  proceed  to  the  eastward, 
I  will  do  so. 

An  infirmity  of  my  nerves,  proceeding  from  an  unknown  cause, 
makes  it  difficult  to  write  legibly.  I  have  been  conscious  that  this 
was  growing  on  me  for  years,  without  being  able  to  apply  any 
remedy.  I  never  lived  so  temperately  as  I  have  the  year  past. 
Pray  present  me  to  the  recollection  of  my  brothers  and  sisters,  and  to 
all  my  Mends  affectionately.  Years  do  but  increase  and  confirm  the 
sense  of  filial  duty  and  gratitude  with  which  I  remain 

Your  son, 

SALMON  BROWN. 

1  Henry  Clay  lived  near  Lexington,  and  it  was  doubtless  in  the  interest 
of  that  statesman  and  his  friends  that  young  Brown  undertook  this  crusade 
against  the  "  unprincipled  and  corrupt  administration  "  of  General  Jackson, 
who  had  been  elected  in  1828  and  inaugurated  in  1829,  in  spite  of  Clay,  — 
defeating  John  Quincy  Adams.  I  have  not  yet  found  copies  cf  Brown's 
"New  Orleans  Bee,"  but  doubtless  the  sting  of  this  journal  was  directed 
against  Jackson  in  the  city  which  he  rescued  from  British  invasion. 


1816.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  31 


CHAPTER   II. 
YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD. 

JOHN  BROWN'S  childhood  passed,  like  that  of  most 
J  boys  in  a  new  country,  in  the  midst  of  active  labor 
and  rude  sport,  but  with  little  advantage  of  schooling  at 
home.  Like  all  serious-minded  lads  of  Puritan  stock,  how 
ever,  he  dreamed  at  one  time  of  completing  his  education  in 
a  college,  and  then  studying  for  the  ministry.  He  "  expe 
rienced  religion,"  and  joined  the  "  Orthodox "  or  Congre 
gational  Church  at  Hudson  in  1816.  Soon  after  this  he 
revisited  Connecticut,  and  went  to  the  town  of  Canton  to 
consult  a  kinsman  of  his  father,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Hal- 
lock,  concerning  his  studies  in  divinity,  —  whose  advice 
was  that  Owen  Brown's  son  should  fit  for  Amherst  College 
(where  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Heman  Humphrey,  was  soon 
to  be  President),  and  that  his  teacher  should  be  the  Rev. 
Moses  Hallock,  of  Plainfield,  in  Massachusetts.1  This 
school  at  Plainfield  was  famous  for  graduating  ministers 
and  missionaries,  and  the  poet  Bryant  had  been  a  student 
there  a  few  years  before,  —  Plainfield  being  next  to  Cum- 
mington,  where  Bryant  was  born,  and  not  far  from  Amherst, 
No  doubt  the  lad's  hope  was  to  fit  himself  at  Plainfield  and 
then  enter  at  Amherst,  working  his  way  by  his  own  efforts, 
as  so  many  young  men  have  since  done.  But  he  was  at- 

1  John  Brown  seems  to  have  been  for  a  short  time  at  the  Morris 
Academy  in  Connecticut,  in  company  with  his  younger  brother  Salmon, 
already  mentioned.  A  story  of  the  two  brothers  is  told,  how  John, 
finding  that  Salmon  had  committed  some  school  offence,  for  which  the 
teacher  had  pardoned  him,  said  to  the  teacher:  "  Mr.  Vaill,  if  Salmon  had 
done  this  thing  at  home,  father  would  have  punished  him.  I  know  he 
would  expect  you  to  punish  him  now  for  doing  this,  —  and  if  you  don't,  I 
shall."  That  night,  finding  that  Salmon  was  likely  to  escape  punishment, 
John  made  good  his  word,  —  more  in  sorrow  than  in  anger,  —  giving  his 
brother  a  severe  flogging. 


32  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1820. 

tacked  with  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  which  soon  became 
serious,  so  that  he  was  forced  to  give  up  study,  and  go  back 
to  his  father's  tan-yard  in  Hudson.  The  time  spent  at  the 
Plairifield  school  was  short,  and  there  are  few  reminiscences 
of  him  at  that  period.  In  December,  1859,  Heman  Hallock, 
the  youngest  son  of  the  Rev.  Moses  Hallock,  wrote  to 
his  brother  Gerard  Hallock,  then  editor  of  the  New  York 
"  Journal  of  Commerce,"  as  follows :  — 

"  Your  youngest  brother  does  remember  John  Brown,  who  studied 
at  our  house.  How  long  he  lived  there,  or  at  what  period,  I  do  not 
know.  I  think  it  must  have  been  at  the  time  of  my  visits  to  Plain- 
field,  when  I  was  or  had  been  at  Ainherst  Academy,  perhaps  in 
1819  or  1820.  I  have  the  name  t  John  Brown  '  on  my  list  of  father's 
students.  It  is  said  that  he  was  a  relative  of  Uncle  Jeremiah  Hal- 
lock's  wife,  and  that  Uncle  J.  directed  him  to  Plainfield.  He  was  a 
tall,  sedate,  dignified  young  man,  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-five 
years  old.1  He  had  been  a  tanner,  and  relinquished  a  prosperous 
business  for  the  purpose  of  intellectual  improvement.  He  brought 
with  him  a  piece  of  sole-leather  about  a  foot  square,  which  he  had 
himself  tanned,  for  seven  years,  to  re-sole  his  boots.  He  had  also 
a  piece  of  sheep-skin  which  he  had  tanned,  and  of  which  he  cut 
some  strips,  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  wide,  for  other  students  to 
pull  upon.  Father  took  one  string,  and  winding  it  around  his  fin 
gers  said,  with  a  triumphant  turn  of  the  eye  and  mouth,  1 1  shall 
snap  it.'  The  very  marked  yet  kind  immovableness  of  the  young 
man's  face,  on  seeing  father's  defeat,  father's  own  look,  and  the 
position  of  people  and  things  in  the  old  kitchen,  somehow  gave 
me  a  fixed  recollection  of  this  little  incident." 

From  theology,  young  Brown  turned  his  attention  to  sur 
veying  ;  and  his  text-book,  "  Flint's  Survey,"  now  owned  by 
his  son  John  Brown,  Jr.,  bears  date  at  Hudson  in  1820.  He 
became  a  skilful  surveyor ;  but  his  chief  occupation  from 
1819  for  nearly  twenty  years  was  the  tanning  of  leather,  _ 

1  The  maturity  of  John  Brown's  appearance  at  the  age  of  nineteen  is 
shown  by  this  remark  :  he  could  not  have  been  twenty  years  old  when  study 
ing  at  Plainfield.  My  own  date  for  this  experience  would  be  181 9  ;  for  Brown 
was  married  to  Dianthe  Lusk,  June  21,  1820.  He  had  previously  been  dis 
appointed  in  love,  and  as  he  said  in  a  letter  written  from  Gerrit  Smith's 
house,  Feb.  24,  1858,  "felt  for  a  number  of  years  in  earlier  life  a  steady, 
strong  desire  to  die."  This  letter  will  be  found  on  a  later  i*ge,  in  its  due 
connection. 


1820.]  YOUTH  AND   EARLY  MANHOOD.  33 

which  his  father  had  taught  him,  and  in  which  he  had  ac 
quired  much  skill  before  1820,  as  may  be  inferred  from  his 
autobiography.  His  log-house  and  tan-yard  were  a  mile 
or  more  from  his  father's,  and  northwest  of  the  village  of 
Hudson.  The  home  which  was  built  under  his  direction  in 
1824  is  a  large  wooden  farm-house,  standing  in  pleasant  ru 
ral  scenery  ;  and  Hudson  itself,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  vil 
lages  in  Northern  Ohio,  and  for  many  years  the  seat  of  a  small 
college,  has  the  air  of  a  thriving  Connecticut  town.  When 
John  Brown  first  occupied  his  cabin  in  1819-20,  he  was  un 
married,  and  his  housekeeper  was  Mrs.  Lusk,  the  widow  of 
Amos  Lusk,  a  Hudson  farmer,  and  the  mother  of  Brown's 
future  wife.  Her  brother,  Milton  Lusk,  who  was  living  in 
1882,  gave  me  then  some  reminiscences  of  his  brother-in-law, 
which  may  serve  to  complete  the  sketch  drawn  by  Brown 
himself  of  his  resolute,  serious,  and  headstrong  youth. 

"  I  am  now  seventy-nine  years  old,"  said  this  kinsman  of  John 
Brown,  "for  I  was  born  in  1803,  my  sister  Diantlie  in  1801,  and 
Brown  in  1800.  I  knew  him  from  a  boy,  went  to  school  with  him, 
and  remember  well  what  a  commanding  disposition  he  always  had. 
There  was  once  a  Democratic  school  and  a  Federal  school  in  Hudson 
village,  and  the  boys  used  to  snow-ball  each  other.  Brown  and  I 
were  federalists,  as  our  fathers,  Squire  Brown  and  Captain  Lusk, 
were.  One  day  the  Democratic  boys  found  a  wet  hollow  in  the  bat 
tle-field  of  snow-balls,  and  began  to  throw  wet  balls,  which  were 
hard  and  hurt  '  masterly.'  ^John  stood  this  for  a  while,  — then  he 
rushed  alone  upon  the  little  Democrats,  and  drove  them  all  before 
him  into  their  schoolhouse.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  angry,  but  there 
was  such  force  and  mastery  in  what  he  did,  that  everything  gave  way 
before  him.  ^He  doted  on  being  the  head  of  the  heap,  and  he  was ; 
he  doted  on  his  ability  to  hit  the  mark.  Dianthe,  my  sister,  was  not 
tall  like  my  father  (who  fought  at  the  siege  of  Sandusky  and  died  in 
the  spring  of  1813),  but  about  her  mother's  height;  she  was  plain, 
but  attracted  John  Brown  by  her  quiet,  amiable  disposition.  She 
was  my  guiding-star,  my  guardian  angel  ;  she  sung  beautifully, 
most  always  sacred  hymns  and  tunes ;  and  she  had  a  place  in  the 
woods,  not  far  from  the  house,  where  she  used  to  go  alone  to  pray. 
She  took  me  there  sometimes  to  pray  with  me.  She  was  a  pleasant, 
cheerful  person,  but  not  funny;  she  never  said  anything  but  what 
she  meant.  When  mother  and  Dianthe  were  keeping  house  for 
John  Brown  at  the  old  log-cabin  where  he  had  his  tannery,  I  was 
working  as  a  boy  at  Squire  Hudson's  in  the  village,  and  had  no 


34  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1820. 

time  to  go  up  and  see  my  mother  and  sister  except  Sundays.1  Brown 
was  an  austere  feller,  and  he  did  n't  like  that ;  one  day  he  said  to  me, 
1  Milton,  I  wish  you  would  not  make  your  visits  here  on  the  Sab 
bath.'  I  said,  '  John,  I  won't  come  Sunday,  nor  any  other  day,' 
and  I  stayed  away  a  long  time.  When  Dianthe  was  married,  I 
would  not  go  to  the  wedding.  I  did  not  get  along  very  well  with 
him  for  some  years ;  but  when  he  was  living  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I 
had  my  controversy  with  the  church  hi  Hudson,  he  came  and  prayed 
with  me,  and  shed  tears,  and  said  perhaps  I  was  nearer  right  than  he 
had  thought.  After  my  sister's  death  he  said  to  John,  his  son,  '  I 
feel  sure  that  your  mother  is  now  with  me  and  influencing  me.'  He 
was  tasty  in  his  dress,  —  about  washing,  bathing,  brushing,  etc.  j 
when  he  washed  him,  he  pushed  his  hair  back  from  his  forehead." 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  who  was  born  at  his  father's  first  home 
in  Hudson,  gives  the  following  account  of  one  of  his  first 
recollections  of  that  neighborhood  :  — 

"  Our  house,  on  a  lane  which  connects  two  main  roads,  was  built 
under  father's  direction  in  1824,  and  still  stands  much  as  he  built  it, 

1  Hudson  was  named  for  a  Connecticut  farmer,  David  Hudson  (born  in 
Goshen,  1758),  commonly  called  "the  Squire,"  who  led  the  settlement 
there  in  1799,  and  whose  daughter,  Mrs.  Harvey  Baldwin,  whom  I  saw 
in  1878,  was  the  first  white  child  born  in  the  town.  Her  father  is 
buried  in  the  cemetery  not  far  from  the  grave  of  Owen  Brown,  out  of  which 
a  young  hemlock  tree,  twelve  feet  high,  was  growing  when  I  visited  it 
in  1 878.  Squire  Hudson  gave  the  land  in  Hudson  on  which  the  West 
ern  Reserve  College  was  built  ;  he  was  a  strict  Calvinist,  and  an  original 
abolitionist,  like  Owen  Brown.  Mr.  Elizur  Wright,  now  of  Boston, 
formerly  a  schoolmate  of  John  Brown,  and  afterwards  a  professor  in  the 
college  at  Hudson,  tells  me  that  he  met  Squire  Hudson,  one  day  in  Sep 
tember,  1831,  coming  from  his  post-office,  and  reading  a  newspaper  he 
had  just  received,  which  seemed  to  excite  him  very  much  as  he  read. 
As  Mr.  Wright  came  within  hearing,  the  old  Calvinist  was  exclaiming, 
"Thank  God  for  that  !  I  am  glad  of  it.  Thank  God  they  have  risen  at 
last  !  "  Inquiring  what  the  news  was,  Squire  Hudson  replied,  "  Why,  the 
slaves  have  risen  down  in  Virginia,  and  are  fighting  for  their  freedom  as 
we  did  for  ours.  I  pray  God  they  may  get  it."  This  was  the  "  Southamp 
ton  massacre"  of  Aug.  23,  1831,  in  which  Nat  Turner,  with  six  fellow- 
slaves,  raised  a  revolt  in  Southampton  County,  on  the  edge  of  the  Dismal 
Swamp  in  Virginia,  and  had  killed  more  than  fifty  whites,  without  the  loss 
of  a  single  follower,  when  his  band  was  dispersed  on  the  25th  of  August. 
Turner  escaped  arrest  for  eight  weeks  longer,  but  was  captured  Oct.  30, 
1831,  tried  November  5,  and  hanged  November  11,  almost  exactly  twent}r- 
eight  years  before  John  Brown's  execution,  Dec.  2,  1859. 


1826.]  YOUTH  AND   EARLY   MANHOOD.  35 

with  the  garden  and  orchard  around  it  which  he  laid  out.  In  the 
rear  of  the  house  was  then  a  wood,  now  gone,  on  a  knoll  leading 
down  to  the  brook  which  supplied  the  tan-pits.  I  was  born  in  an 
older  log-house.  When  I  was  four  or  five  years  old,  and  probably  no 
later  than  1825,  there  came  one  night  a  fugitive  slave  and  his  wife 
to  father's  door,  —  sent,  perhaps,  by  some  townsman  who  knew  John 
Brown's  compassion  for  such  wayfarers,  then  but  few.  They  were 
the  first  colored  people  I  had  seen ;  and  \vhen  the  woman  took  me 
up  on  her  knee  and  kissed  me,  I  ran  away  as  quick  as  I  could, 
and  rubbed  my  face  '  to  get  the  black  off; J  for  I  thought  she  would 
'  crock '  me,  like  mother's  kettle.  Mother  gave  the  poor  creatures 
some  supper;  but  they  thought  themselves  pursued,  and  were  un 
easy.  Presently  father  heard  the  trampling  of  horses  crossing  a 
bridge  on  one  of  the  main  roads,  half  a  mile  off;  so  he  took  his  guests 
out  the  back  door  and  down  into  the  swamp  near  the  brook,  to  hide, 
giving  them  arms  to  defend  themselves,  but  returning  to  the  house 
to  await  the  event.  It  proved  a  false  alarm :  the  horsemen  were 
people  of  the  neighborhood  going  to  Hudson  village.  Father  then 
went  out  into  the  dark  wood,  —  for  it  was  night,  —  and  had  some 
difficulty  in  finding  his  fugitives ;  finally  he  was  guided  to  the  spot 
by  the  sound  of  the  man's  heart  throbbing  for  fear  of  capture.  He 
brought  them  into  the  house  again,  sheltered  them  awhile,  and  sent 
them  on  their  way." 

At  this  time  John  Brown  could  not  have  been  more  than 
twenty-six  years  old.  The  children  of  his  first  marriage 
were  born,  married,  and  died  as  follows  :  — 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  born  July  25,  1821,  at  Hudson,  Ohio ; 
married  Wealthy  C.  Hotchkiss,  July,  1847. 

Jason  Brown,  Jan.  19,  1823,  at  Hudson ;  married  Ellen 
Sherbondy,  July,  1847. 

Owen  Brown,  Nov.  4,  1824,  at  Hudson  (never  married). 

Frederick  Brown  (1),  Jan.  9,  1827,  at  Kichmond,  Pa.; 
died  March  31,  1831. 

Ruth  Brown,  Feb.  18,  1829,  at  Kichmond,  Pa. ;  married 
Henry  Thompson,  Sept.  26,  1850. 

Frederick  Brown  (2),  Dec.  31,  1830,  at  Kichmond,  Pa.  ; 
murdered  at  Ossawatomie  by  Rev.  Martin  White,  Aug.  30, 
1856. 

An  infant  son,  Aug.  7,  1832  ;  was  buried  with  his  mother 
three  days  after  his  birth,  at  Kichmond,  Pa. 

A  letter  of  John  Brown  to  his  father,  of  which  only  a 


36  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

portion  is  preserved,  describes  the  death  of  his  first  wife  in 
the  most  touching  manner.  Her  character  has  already  been 
given  in  the  fragmentary  autobiography,  and  in  the  recollec 
tions  of  her  brother,  Milton  Lusk.  She  was  descended 
through  her  mother  (Mary  Adams,  of  West  Stockbridge, 
Mass.,  daughter  of  John  Adams,  an  army  contractor  in  the 
Revolution)  from  the  same  ancestors  as  John  Adams  the 
second  President,  and  Samuel  Adams  the  Revolutionary 
patriot.1  Of  the  seven  children  above-named,  the  four 
eldest  are  still  living  (1885),  —  John  and  Owen  at  Put-in- 
Bay  Island,  Ohio ;  and  Jason  and  Ruth  (who  married  a  New 
Hampshire  farmer's  son,  Henry  Thompson,  at  North  Elba, 
N.  Y.)  at  Pasadena,  Cal.  I  am  indebted  to  all  of  them  for 
many  details  of  their  father's  career,  and  many  letters 

1  Iu  December,  1867,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  copied  the  following  record  from 
the  Lusk  family  Bible  in  the  possession  of  Judge  Stephen  H.  Pitkin,  hus 
band  of  his  aunt  Julia  Lusk,  by  which  it  appears  that  Mary  (Adams) 
Lusk  was  five  years  older  than  her  husband,  and  was  a  widow  when  Cap 
tain  Lusk  married  her  :  — 

Amos  Lusk,  born  Thursday,  March  6,  1773  ;  Mary  (Hull)  Lusk  (his 
wife),  born  Sunday,  May  15,  1768  ;  Sophia  Hull,  born  Wednesday,  April 
29,  1789  ;  Laura  Hull,  born  Thursday,  Dec.  8,  1791  ;  Minerva  Lusk,  born 
Sunday,  Oct.  18,  1795  ;  Maria  Lusk,  bora  Sunday,  June  27,  1797  ;  Loring 
Lusk,  born  Tuesday,  June  3,  1799  ;  Dianthe  Lusk,  born  Monday,  Jan.  12, 
1801  ;  Milton  Adams  Lusk,  born  Thursday,  June  2,  1803  ;  Julian  H. 
Lusk,  born  Monday,  Sept.  16,  1805  ;  Sophia  H.  Lusk,  born  Thursday, 
July  28,  1808  ;  Julia  Lusk,  born  Saturday,  Feb.  10,  1810  ;  Edward  Lusk, 
born  Tuesday,  Dec.  31,  1811  ;  Laura  Hull,  married  Sept.  23,  1810  ;  Amos 
Lusk,  died  May  24,  1813;  Dianthe  Lusk  Brown,  died  Aug.  10,  1832  ; 
Mary  Lusk,  wife  of  Amos  Lusk,  died  Jan.  20,  1843. 

Captain  Lusk  removed  to  Ohio  from  East  Bloomfield,  N.  Y.,  with  his 
family,  then  consisting  of  his  wife  and  her  six  children  (including  Sophia 
and  Laura  Hull  by  her  first  husband),  in  1801.  Several  families,  includ 
ing  his  sister's  (Mrs.  Hannah  Lindley),  made  up  the  emigrating  party. 
Buffalo  was  then  a  small  village,  and  Ohio  almost  an  unbroken  wilderness. 
On  their  journey,  while  stopping  at  a  tavern,  an  incident  occurred  which 
came  near  terminating  the  life  of  Dianthe  Lusk,  then  a  baby  six  weeks  old. 
While  the  mother  was  preparing  food  for  their  breakfast,  the  father,  anx 
ious  to  move  on  in  the  morning,  proceeded  to  gather  up  the  bedding,  on 
which,  unperceived  by  him,  the  baby  was  lying.  Pillows,  blankets,  etc., 
were  thrown  on  the  feather-bed,  and  quickly  tied  together  with  a  rope,  and 
the  whole  hastily  rolled  downstairs.  The  mother,  recollecting  where  she 
had  left  her  baby,  gave  the  alarm,  but  by  the  time  it  could  be  uncovered 
it  was  nearly  lifeless. 


1856.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  37 

which  concern  the  family.  Ruth,  the  only  daughter  of  the 
first  marriage,  gives  me  these  incidents  of  her  early  re 
collections  :  — 

"  Father  used  to  hold  all  his  children,  while  they  were  little,  at 
night,  and  sing  his  favorite  songs,  one  of  which  was,  '  Blow  ye  the 
trumpet,  blow ! 7  One  evening  after  he  had  been  singing  to  me,  he 
asked  me  how  I  would  like  to  have  some  poor  little  black  children 
that  were  slaves  (explaining  to  me  the  meaning  of  slaves)  come  and 
live  with  us ;  and  asked  me  if  I  would  be  willing  to  divide  my  food 
and  clothes  with  them.  He  made  such  an  impression  on  my  sympa 
thies,  that  the  first  colored  person  I  ever  saw  (it  was  a  man  I  met  on 
the  street  in  Meadville,  Penn.,)  I  felt  such  pity  for  him  that  I  wanted 
to  ask  him  if  he  did  not  want  to  come  and  live  at  our  house.  When 
I  was  six  or  seven  years  old,  a  little  incident  took  place  in  the  church 
at  Franklin,  Ohio  (of  which  all  the  older  part  of  our  family  were 
members),  which  caused  quite  an  excitement.  Father  hired  a  col 
ored  man  and  his  wife  to  work  for  him,  —  he  on  the  farm,  and  she  in 
the  house.  They  were  very  respectable  people,  and  we  thought  a 
great  deal  of  them.  One  Sunday  the  woman  went  to  church,  and 
was  seated  near  the  door,  or  somewhere  back.  This  aroused  father's 
indignation  at  once.  He  asked  both  of  them  to  go  the  next  Sunday ; 
they  followed  the  family  in,  and  he  seated  them  in  his  pew.  The 
whole  congregation  were  shocked ;  the  minister  looked  angry  ;  but  I 
remember  father's  firm,  determined  look.  The  whole  church  were 
down  on  him  then."  She  adds  :  "  My  brothers  were  so  disgusted  to 
see  such  a  mockery  of  religion  that  they  left  the  church,  and  have 
never  belonged  to  another." 

This  daughter  remembers  when  she  was  admitted  to  the 
church,  in  Richmond,  by  baptism.  She  says  :  — 

"The  first  recollection  I  have  of  father  was  being  carried  through 
a  piece  of  woods  on  Sunday,  to  attend  a  meeting  held  at  a  neighbor's 
house.  After  we  had  been  at  the  house  a  little  while,  father  and 
mother  stood  up  and  held  us,  while  the  minister  put  water  on  our 
faces.  After  we  sat  down,  father  wiped  my  face  with  a  brown  silk 
handkerchief  with  yellow  spots  on  it  in  diamond  shape.  It  seemed 
beautiful  to  me,  and  I  thought  how  good  he  was  to  wipe  my  face 
with  that  pretty  handkerchief.  He  showed  a  great  deal  of  tenderness 
in  that  and  other  ways.  He  sometimes  seemed  very  stern  and  strict 
with  me ;  yet  his  tenderness  made  me  forget  that  he  was  stern.  He 
told  me,  a  few  years  before  his  death,  to  reason  calmly  with  my  chil 
dren  when  they  had  done  wrong,  and  in  that  way  encourage  them 


38  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1847. 

to  be  truthful  j  and  never  to  punish  them,  whatever  they  had  done, 
if  they  told  the  truth  about  it.  Said  he :  '  If  I  had  my  life  to  live 
over  again,  I  should  do  very  differently  with  my  children.  I  meant 
to  do  right,  but  I  can  see  now  where  I  failed.' 

u  Whenever  he  and  I  were  alone,  he  never  failed  to  give  me  the 
best  of  advice,  just  such  as  a  true  and  anxious  mother  would  give  a 
daughter.  He  always  seemed  interested  in  my  work,  and  would 
come  around  and  look  at  it,  when  I  was  sewing  or  knitting  ;  and 
when  I  was  learning  to  spin  he  always  praised  me,  if  he  saw  that  I 
was  improving.  He  used  to  say  :  '  Try  to  do  whatever  you  do  in  the 
very  best  possible  manner.'  " 

Writing  to  Buth  when  she  was  eighteen  years  old,  her 
father  said :  — 

"  I  will  just  tell  you  what  questions  exercise  my  mind  in  regard  to 
an  absent  daughter,  and  I  will  arrange  them  somewhat  in  order  as 
I  feel  most  their  importance. 

"What  feelings  and  motives  govern  her?  In  what  manner  does 
she  spend  her  time  ?  Who  are  her  associates  ?  How  does  she  con 
duct  in  word  and  action  1  Is  she  improving  generally  ?  Is  she  pro 
vided  for  with  such  things  as  she  needs,  or  is  she  iii  want?  Does 
she  enjoy  herself,  or  is  she  lonely  and  sad?  Is  she  among  real 
friends,  or  is  she  disliked  and  despised? 

"  Such  are  some  of  the  questions  which  arise  in  the  mind  of  a  certain 
anxious  father;  and  if  you  have  a  satisfactory  answer  to  them  in 
your  own  mind,  he  can  rest  satisfied." 

The  testimony  of  all  John  Brown's  children  is  the  same 
respecting  his  domestic  life  and  his  affection  for  them. 
His  daughter  has  perhaps  related  more  particulars  of  his 
home  life,  because  she  saw  it  more  constantly,  —  having 
seldom  been  separated  from  him  until  her  marriage,  except 
by  his  long  absences  upon  business,  of  which  more  will  be 
said  hereafter.  She  thus  describes  his  reading  and  his 
family  worship,  as  she  remembers  it :  — 

11  My  dear  father's  favorite  books,  of  a  historical  character,  were 
*  Rollings  Ancient  History,'  Josephus,  Plutarch,  '  Napoleon  and 
his  Marshals,'  and  the  Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  Of  religious 
books,  Baxter's  l  Saints'  Rest '  (in  speaking  of  which  at  one  time  he 
said  he  could  not  see  how  any  person  could  read  it  through  carefully 
without  becoming  a  Christian),  the  l  Pilgrim's  Progress,'  and  Henry 
'  On  Meekness.'  But  above  all  others,  the  Bible  was  his  favorite 
volume ;  and  he  had  such  a  perfect  knowledge  of  it,  that  when  any 


1840.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  39 

person  was  reading  it,  he  would  correct  the  least  mistake.  His 
favorite  passages  were  these,  as  near  as  I  can  remember :  — 

"  '  Remember  them  that  are  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them.' 

"  i  Whoso  stoppeth  his  ear  at  the  cry  of  the  poor,  he  also  shall 
cry  himself,  but  shall  not  be  heard.' 

"  '  He  that  hath  a  bountiful  eye  shall  be  blessed;  for  he  giveth  his 
bread  to  the  poor.' 

"  '  A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches,  and 
loving  favor  rather  than  silver  or  gold.' 

"  *  Whoso  mocketh  the  poor,  reproacheth  his  Maker;  and  he  that 
is  glad  at  calamities,  shall  not  be  unpunished.' 

"  'He  that  hath  pity  upon  the  poor jendeth  to  the  Lord,  and  that 
which  he  hath  given  will  He  pay  to  him  again.7 

11  '  Give  to  him  that  asketh  of  thee,  and  from  him  that  would 
borrow  of  thee  turn  not  thou  away.' 

"  '  A  righteous  man  regardeth  the  life  of  his  beast ;  but  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel.' 

"  '  Withhold  not  good  from  them  to  whom  it  is  due,  when  it  is  in 
the  power  of  thine  hand  to  do  it.' 

"  '  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that  build 
it;  except  the  Lord  keepeth  the  city,  the  watchman  walketh  in 
vain.' 

"  1 1  hate  vain  thoughts,  but  thy  law  do  I  love.' 

"  The  last  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes  was  a  favorite  one,  and  on  Fast- 
days  and  Thanksgivings  he  used  very  often  to  read  the  fifty-eighth 
chapter  of  Isaiah. 

11  When  he  would  come  home  at  night,  tired  out  with  labor,  he 
would,  before  going  to  bed,  ask  some  of  the  family  to  read  chapters 
(as  was  his  usual  course  night  and  morning);  and  would  almost 
always  say,  'Read  one  of  David's  Psalms.' 

11  His  favorite  hymns  (Watts's)  were  these:  'Blow  ye  the  trum 
pet,  blow  ! '  '  Sweet  is  Thy  word,  my  God,  my  King ! '  1 1  '11  praise 
my  Maker  with  my  breath;'  'Oh,  happy  is  the  man  who  hears!' 
*  Why  should  we  start,  and  fear  to  die  ! '  '  With  songs  and  honors 
sounding  loud ; '  { Ah,  lovely  appearance  of  death  ! ' ' 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  says  that  the  first  time  he  ever  saw  his 
father  kneel  in  prayer  was  when  he  communicated  to  the 
older  children  (about  1837)  his  purpose  to  make  active  war 
upon  slavery,  and  then  implored  the  blessing  of  God  upon 
such  an  undertaking,  and  His  pity  for  the  oppressed  slaves. 
The  three  sons  entered  into  a  solemn  compact  with  their 
father  to  labor  for  emancipation  ;  and  when,  in  1838,  and 


40  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1834. 

subsequently,  John  the  eldest  son  went  from  home  to  get 
a  better  education,  his  father  said  "  he  had  lost  one  of  the 
main  spokes  of  his  wheel."  Owen  Brown,  like  his  son, 
was  fervent  in  prayer ;  and  it  was  noticed  that  he,  though 
a  sad  stammerer  in  conversation,  spoke  much  more  clearly 
in  prayer. 

There  was  always  great  tenderness  and  delicacy  in  John 
Brown's  conduct  towards  his  family,  notwithstanding  the 
natural  austerity  of  his  character.  In  childhood  he  gov 
erned  them  strictly,  not  sparing  the  rod;  but  no  sooner 
were  they  men  and  women  than  he  ceased  to  command  and 
almost  to  request  their  obedience,  but  left  it  for  them  to  be 
persuaded  in  their  own  minds  towards  any  course  he  wished 
them  to  take.  He  very  early  imparted  to  them  his  own 
fixed  purposes  in  regard  to  slavery,  and  sought  their  co 
operation,  which  they  readily  gave.  Ruth's  reminiscences 
show  this,  and  so  also  does  this  curious  letter,  written  and 
franked  by  John  Brown  when  he  was  postmaster,  under 
President  Jackson,  at  Randolph,  Pa.1 

JoJin  Brown  to  his  brother  Frederick. 

RANDOLPH,  Nov.  21,  1834. 

DEAR  BROTHER,  —  As  I  have  had  only  one  letter  from  Hudson 
since  you  left  here,  and  that  some  weeks  since,  I  begin  to  get  uneasy 
and  apprehensive  that  all  is  not  well.  I  had  satisfied  my  mind  about 
it  for  some  time,  in  expectation  of  seeing  father  here,  but  I  begin  to 
give  that  up  for  the  present.  Since  you  left  me  I  have  been  trying 
to  devise  some  means  whereby  I  might  do  something  in  a  practical 
way  for  my  poor  fellow-men  who  are  in  bondage,  and  having  fully 
consulted  the  feelings  of  my  wife  and  my  three  boys,  we  have  agreed 
to  get  at  least  one  negro  boy  or  youth,  and  bring  him  up  as  we  do  our 
own,  — viz.,  give  him  a  good  English  education,  learn  him  what  we 
can  about  the  history  of  the  world,  about  business,  about  general 
subjects,  and,  above  all,  try  to  teach  him  the  fear  of  God.  We  think 
of  three  ways  to  obtain  one  :  First,  to  try  to  get  some  Christian  slave 
holder  to  release  one  to  us.  Second,  to  got  a  free  one  if  no  one  will 
let  us  have  one  that  is  a  slave.  Third,  if  that  does  not  succeed,  we 

1  The  town  of  Randolph  in  which  it  was  written,  and  where  John  Brown 
was  appointed  postmaster  in  the  administration  of  John  Quincy  Adams, 
seems  to  have  included  Richmond,  which  is  now  a  separate  town. 


1834.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  41 

have  all  agreed  to  submit  to  considerable  privation  in  order  to  buy 
one.  This  we  are  now  using  means  in  order  to  effect,  in  the  con 
fident  expectation  that  God  is  about  to  bring  them  all  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage. 

I  will  just  mention  that  when  this  subject  was  first  introduced, 
Jason  had  gone  to  bed  j  but  no  sooner  did  he  hear  the  thing  hinted, 
than  his  warm  heart  kindled,  and  he  turned  out  to  have  a  part  in  the 
discussion  of  a  subject  of  such  exceeding  interest.  I  have  for  years 
been  trying  to  devise  some  way  to  get  a  school  a-going  here  for 
blacks,  and  I  think  that  on  many  accounts  it  would  be  a  most  favor 
able  location.  Children  here  would  have  no  intercourse  with  vicious 
people  of  their  own  kind,  nor  with  openly  vicious  persons  of  any 
kind.  There  would  be  no  powerful  opposition  influence  against 
such  a  thing ;  and  should  there  be  any,  I  believe  the  settlement  might 
be  so  effected  in  future  as  to  have  almost  the  whole  influence  of  the 
place  in  favor  of  such  a  school.  Write  me  how  you  would  like  to 
join  me,  and  try  to  get  on  from  Hudson  and  thereabouts  some  first- 
rate  abolitionist  families  with  you.  I  do  honestly  believe  that  our 
united  exertions  alone  might  soon,  with  the  good  hand  of  our  God 
upon  us,  effect  it  all. 

This  has  been  with  me  a  favorite  theme  of  reflection  for  years.  I 
think  that  a  place  which  might  be  in  some  measure  settled  with  a 
view  to  such  an  object  would  be  much  more  favorable  to  such  an 
undertaking  than  would  any  such  place  as  Hudson,  with  all  its  con 
flicting  interests  and  feelings ;  and  I  do  think  such  advantages  ought 
to  be  afforded  the  young  blacks,  whether  they  are  all  to  be  imme 
diately  set  free  or  not.  Perhaps  we  might,  under  God,  in  that  way 
do  more  towards  breaking  their  yoke  effectually  than  in  any  other. 
If  the  young  blacks  of  our  country  could  once  become  enlightened,  it 
would  most  assuredly  operate  on  slavery  like  firing  powder  confined 
in  rock,  and  all  slaveholders  know  it  well.  Witness  their  heaven- 
daring  laws  against  teaching  blacks.  If  once  the  Christians  in  the 
free  States  would  set  to  work  in  earnest  in  teaching  the  blacks,  the 
people  of  the  slaveholding  States  would  find  themselves  constitu 
tionally  driven  to  set  about  the  work  of  emancipation  immediately. 
The  laws  of  this  State  are  now  such  that  the  inhabitants  of  any 
township  may  raise  by  a  tax  in  aid  of  the  State  school-fund  any 
amount  of  money  they  may  choose  by  a  vote,  for  the  purpose  of 
common  schools,  which  any  child  may  have  access  to  by  application. 
If  you  will  join  me  in  this  undertaking,  I  will  make  with  you  any 
arrangement  of  our  temporal  concerns  that  shall  be  fair.  Our  health 
is  good,  and  our  prospects  about  business  rather  brightening. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


42  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1833. 

.Randolph  is  in  Crawford  County,  Penn.,  and  now  contains 
some  two  thousand  inhabitants  ;  but  in  1834  it  was  very 
thinly  settled.  John  Brown  was  one  of  the  chief  persons 
there  ;  he  managed  a  large  tannery  in  the  present  township 
of  Richmond,  and  the  school  of  the  settlement  had  been  at 
one  time  kept  for  part  of  the  year  in  his  great  log-house, 
near  the  tan-yard.  His  proposition  to  his  brother  Fred 
erick,1  who  then  lived  with  or  near  his  father  in  Hudson, 
Ohio,  was  in  effect  to  remove  to  Richmond,  and  take  part 
in  a  plan  for  settling  colored  families  there,  with  a  view  to 
their  better  education,  before  their  race  should  be  emanci 
pated.  -^At  this  time  it  was  a  penal  offence  in  most  of  the 
slave  States  to  teach  them  to  read,  and  practically  it  was  so 
in  some  free  States.  In  the  year  preceding  the  date  of  this 
letter,  the  State  of  Connecticut  (in  consequence  of  the  ad 
mission  by  Miss  Prudence  Crandall  of  colored  girls  to  her 
private  school  in  Canterbury)  passed  a  law  (May  24,  1833) 
that  no  school  should  be  established  in  any  town  in  Connec 
ticut  for  the  education  of  colored  persons  from  other  towns, 
"without  the  consent  in  writing,  first  obtained  of  a  majority 
of  the  civil  authority,  and  the  selectmen  of  the  town." 
Under  this  law  Miss  Crandall  was  arrested  and  sent  to  jail ; 
and  during  that  year  (1833)  her  house  was  set  on  fire,  and 
she  was  otherwise  so  persecuted  by  the  people  of  Canter 
bury  that  she  was  forced  to  give  up  her  school  about  a  year 
before  the  above  letter  of  John  Brown  was  written. 

It  was  while  Brown  was  living  at  Randolph  (now  Rich 
mond)  that  he  was  married  a  second  time,  July  11,  1833, 
to  Mary  Anne  Day,  daughter  of  Charles  Day,  of  Whitehall, 
N.  Y.,  but  then  living  at  Troy,  Penn.  She  survived  him 
twenty-five  years,  and  died  in  San  Francisco,  in  1884.2  Her 
children  were  thirteen  in  number,  of  whom  seven  died  in 
early  childhood ;  two  were  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
four,  —  Salmon,  Anne,  Sarah,  and  Ellen,  —  are  still  living 

1  This  letter  is  thus  addressed  and  post-marked  :  — 

Randolph,  Pa.  Free. 

Nov.  22.  J.  Brown,  P.  M. 

MR.  FREDERICK  BROWN, 

HUDSON,  PORTAGE  Co.,  Ohio. 

2  February  29. 


1834.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  43 

in  California  with  their  children  and  grandchildren.     The 
record  of  this  whole  family  is  as  follows  :  — 

CHILDREN    OF    JOHN    BKOWN    AND    HIS    WIFE    MARY. 

Sarah  Brown,  born  May  11,  1834,  at  Richmond,  Pa.  ;  died 
Sept.  23,  1843. 

Watson  Brown,  born  Oct.  7,  1835,  at  Franklin,  Ohio; 
married  Isabella  M.  Thompson,  September,  1856 ;  killed  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  Oct.  19,  1859. 

Salmon  Brown,  born  Oct.  2,  1836,  at  Hudson,  Ohio  ;  mar 
ried  Abbie  C.  Hinckley,  Oct.  15,  1857. 

Charles  Brown,  born  Nov.  3, 1837,  at  Hudson,  Ohio ;  died 
Sept.  11,  1843. 

Oliver  Brown,  born  March  9,  1839,  at  Franklin,  Ohio ; 
married  Martha  E.  Brewster,  April  7,  1858 ;  killed  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  Oct.  17,  1859. 

Peter  Brown,  born  Dec.  7,  1840,  at  Hudson,  Ohio  ;  died 
Sept.  22,  1843. 

Austin  Brown,  born  Sept.  14,  1842,  at  Richfield,  Ohio  ; 
died  Sept.  27,  1843. 

Anne  Brown,  born  Dec.  23,  1843,  at  Richfield,  Ohio. 

Amelia  Brown,  born  June  22,  1845,  at  Akron,  Ohio  j  died 
Oct.  30,  1846. 

Sarah  Brown,  born  Sept.  11,  1846,  at  Akron,  Ohio. 

Ellen  Brown,  born  May  20,  1848,  at  Springfield,  Mass. ; 
died  April  30,  1849. 

Infant  son,  born  April  26, 1852,  at  Akron,  Ohio  ;  died  May 
17,  1852. 

Ellen  Brown,  born  Sept.  25,  1854,  at  Akron,  Ohio.1 

The  loss  of  so  many  children  in  their  early  years  was  a 
sore  trial  to  John  Brown,  and  is  often  mentioned  in  his 
family  letters.  In  their  illness  he  was  a  devoted  nurse,  and 

1  It  was  at  the  house  of  this  youngest  daughter,  Mrs.  'Ellen  Fablinger, 
of  Saratoga,  Cal.,  that  the  widow  of  John  Brown  spent  the  last  years  of  her 
life  ;  but  she  died  in  San  Francisco,  under  the  care  of  her  daughter  Sarah, 
after  a  painful  illness.  Miss  Sarah  Brown  resides  in  San  Francisco  ;  Mrs. 
Anne  Brown  Adams,  in  Eohnerville,  Humbolclt  County;  and  Salmon 
Brown,  farther  north,  in  the  same  county,  where  he  keeps  sheep,  as  his 
father  did  in  Ohio. 


44  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1848. 

he  had  acquired  much  skill  in  the  care  of  all  invalids.  Con 
cerning  the  death  of  his  first  daughter  Ellen,  in  April,  1849, 
Mrs.  Thompson  thus  writes  :  — 

tl  In  the  fall  of  1848,  father  and  mother,  with  our  youngest  sister, 
a  babe  of  six  months  old,  visited  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Brown  (Orson 
Day),  who  was  then  living  at  Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  —  she  stopping  there 
with  the  child,  while  father  went  into  the  Adirondac  wilderness  to 
North  Elba.  He  was  charmed  with  the  grand  mountain  scenery, 
and  felt  that  he  was  needed  there  to  encourage  and  help  by  his  expe 
rience  the  few  colored  families  who  had  already  settled  in  the  wilder 
ness,  and  those  who  might  move  there  the  following  spring.  Here 
was  an  opportunity  also  to  train  some  of  the  bravest  of  those  men  for 
the  great  work  which  had  been  his  life-long  study.  He  went  back 
to  Springfield  much  encouraged.  While  on  their  journey  back  the 
little  babe  took  a  violent  cold  that  ended  in  quick  consumption,  and 
she  died  at  the  end  of  April,  1849.  Father  showed  much  tenderness 
in  the  care  of  the  little  sufferer.  He  spared  no  pains  in  doing  all 
that  medical  skill  could  do  for  her,  together  with  the  tenderest  care 
and  nursing.  The  time  that  he  could  be  at  home  was  mostly  spent 
in  caring  for  her.  He  sat  up  nights  to  keep  an  even  temperature  in 
the  room,  and  to  relieve  mother  from  the  constant  care  which  she  had 
through  the  day.  He  used  to  walk  with  the  child  and  sing  to  her  so 
much  that  she  soon  learned  his  step.  When  she  heard  him  coming 
up  the  steps  to  the  door,  she  would  reach  out  her  hands  and  cry  for 
him  to  take  her.  When  his  business  at  the  wool  store  crowded  him 
so  much  that  he  did  not  have  time  to  take  her,  he  would  steal  around 
through  the  wood-shed  into  the  kitchen  to  eat  his  dinner,-  and  not  go 
into  the  dining-room,  where  she  could  see  or  hear  him.  I  used  to  be 
charmed  myself  with  his  singing  to  her.  He  noticed  a  change  in  her 
one  morning,  and  told  us  he  thought  she  would  not  live  through  the 
day,  and  came  home  several  times  to  see  her.  A  little  before  noon  he 
came  home,  and  looked  at  her  and  said,  '  She  is  almost  gone.'  She 
heard  him  speak,  opened  her  eyes,  and  put  up  her  little  wasted  hands 
with  such  a  pleading  look  for  him  to  take  her  that  he  lifted  her  from 
the  cradle,  with  the  pillows  she  was  lying  on,  and  carried  her  until  she 
died.  He  was  very  calm,  closed  her  eyes,  folded  her  hands,  and  laid 
her  in  her  cradle.  When  she  was  buried,  father  broke  down  com 
pletely,  and  sobbed  like  a  child.  It  was  very  affecting  to  see  him  so 
overcome,  when  all  the  time  before  his  great  tender  heart  had  tried 
to  comfort  our  weary,  sorrowing  mother,  and  all  of  us." 

It  was  not  the  temporal  welfare  and  happiness  of  his 
children  that  lay  nearest  the  heart  of  Brown  :  their  spirit- 


1852-1  YOUTH   AND   EARLY  MANHOOD.  45 

ual  interests,  their  religious  state,  were  much  more  a  care  to 
him.  His  letters  show  this  constantly ;  and  in  one  written 
to  his  oldest  daughter  three  years  later  (January,  1852),  his 
anxiety  finds  expression  in  these  words  :  — 

11  My  attachments  to  this  world  have  been  very  strong,  and  Divine 
Providence  has  been  cutting  me  loose,  one  cord  after  another.  Up 
to  the  present  time,  notwithstanding  I  have  so  much  to  remind  me 
that  all  ties  must  soon  be  severed,  I  am  still  clinging,  like  those  who 
have  hardly  taken  a  single  lesson.  I  really  hope  some  of  my  family 
may  understand  that  this  world  is  not  the  home  of  man,  and  act  in 
accordance.  Why  may  I  not  hope  this  of  you  ?  When  I  look  for 
ward,  as  regards  the  religious  prospects  of  my  numerous  family,  — 
the  most  of  them,  —  I  am  forced  to  say,  and  feel  too,  that  I  have 
little j  very  little,  to  cheer.  That  this  should  be  so  is,  I  perfectly  well 
understand,  the  legitimate  fruit  of  my  own  planting ;  and  that  only 
increases  my  punishment.  Some  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  I  was 
cheered  with  the  belief  that  my  elder  children  had  chosen  the  Lord 
to  be  their  God,  and  I  relied  much  on  their  influence  and  example 
in  atoning  for  my  deficiency  and  bad  example  with  the  younger 
children.  But  where  are  we  now?  Several  have  gone  where  neither 
a  good  nor  a  bad  example  from  me  will  better  their  condition  or 
prospects,  or  make  them  worse.  I  will  not  dwell  longer  on  this 
distressing  subject,  but  only  say  that,  so  far  as  I  have  gone,  it  is 
from  no  disposition  to  reflect  on  any  one  but  myself.  I  think  I  can 
clearly  discover  where  I  wandered  from  the  road.  How  now  to  get 
on  it  with  my  family  is  beyond  my  ability  to  see  or  my  courage  to 
hope.  God  grant  you  thorough  conversion  from  sin,  and  full  purpose 
of  heart  to  continue  steadfast  in  his  way,  through  the  very  short 
season  you  will  have  to  pass." 

The  earlier  letters  of  Brown  to  his  elder  children  contain 
many  remarks  of  this  character ;  and  there  is  one  long  letter 
to  his  son  John,  mainly  made  up  of  Scripture  texts  arranged 
so  as  to  bring  forcibly  to  the  young  man's  mind  the  Calvin- 
istic  theology,  point  by  point,  —  its  terrors  as  well  as  its 
promises.  Here  it  is  :  — 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Aug.  26,  1853. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Your  letter  of  the  21st  instant  was  received 
yesterday,  and  as  I  may  be  somewhat  more  lengthy  than  usual  I  begin 
my  answer  at  once.  The  family  have  enjoyed  as  good  health  as 
usual  since  I  wrote  before,  but  my  own  health  has  been  poor  since 


46  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1853. 

in  May.  Father  has  had  a  short  turn  of  fever  and  ague;  Jason  and 
Ellen  have  had  a  good  deal  of  it,  and  were  not  very  stout  on  Sunday 
last.  The  wheat  crop  has  been  rather  light  in  this  quarter;  first 
crop  of  grass  light ;  oats  very  poor ;  corn  and  potatoes  promise  well, 
and  frequent  rains  have  given  the  late  grass  a  fine  start.  There  has 
been  some  very  fatal  sickness  about,  but  the  season  so  far  has  been 
middling  healthy.  Our  sheep  and  cattle  have  done  well;  have  raised 
five  hundred  and  fifty  lambs,  and  expect  about  eighty  cents  per  pound 
for  our  wool.  We  shall  be  glad  to  have  a  visit  from  you  about  the 
time  of  our  county  fair,  but  I  do  not  yet  know  at  what  time  it  comes. 
Got  a  letter  from  Henry  dated  the  16th  of  August ;  all  there  well. 
Grain  crops  there  very  good.  We  are  preparing  (in  our  minds,  at 
least)  to  go  back  next  spring.  Mrs.  Perkins  was  confined  yesterday 
with  another  boy,  it  being  her  eleventh  child.  The  understanding 
between  the  two  families  continues  much  as  formerly,  so  far  as  I 
know.  .,  . 

In  Talmadge  there  has  been  for  some  time  an  unusual  seriousness 
and  attention  to  future  interests.  In  your  letter  you  appear  rather 
disposed  to  sermonize  ;  and  how  will  it  operate  on  you  and  Wealthy 
if  I  should  pattern  after  you  a  little,  and  also  quote  some  from  the 
Bible  ?  In  choosing  my  texts,  and  in  quoting  from  the  Bible,  I  per 
haps  select  the  very  portions  which  u another  portion"  of  my  family 
hold  are  not  to  be  wholly  received  as  true.  I  forgot  to  say  that  my 
younger  sons  (as  is  common  in  this  "  progressive  age  ")  appear  to 
be  a  little  in  advance  of  my  older,  and  have  thrown  off  the  old 
shackles  entirely;  after  THOROUGH  AND  CANDID  investigation  they 
have  discovered  the  Bible  to  be  ALL  a  fiction  !  Shall  I  add,  that 
a  letter  received  from  you  some  time  since  gave  me  little  else  than 
pain  and  sorrow?  "  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way;  "  "  By 
and  by  he  is  offended." 

My  object  at  this  time  is  to  recall  your  particular  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  earliest,  as  well  as  all  other,  writers  of  the  Bible  seem 
to  have  been  impressed  with  such  ideas  of  the  character  of  the  religion 
they  taught,  as  led  them  to  apprehend  a  want  of  steadfastness  among 
those  who  might  profess  to  adhere  to  it  (no  matter  what  may  have 
been  the  motives  of  the  different  writers).  Accordingly  we  find  the 
writer  of  the  first  five  books  putting  into  the  mouth  of  his  Moses  ex 
pressions  like  the  following,  —  and  they  all  appear  to  dwell  much  on 
the  idea  of  two  distinct  classes  among  their  reputed  disciples;  namely, 
a  genuine  and  a  spurious  class  :  — 

"  Lest  there  should  be  among  you  man,  or  woman,  or  family,  or 
tribe,  whose  heart  turneth  away  this  day  from  the  Lord  our  God,  to 
serve  the  gods  of  these  nations ;  lest  there  should  be  among  you  a 
root  that  beareth  gall  and  wormwood."  "  Then  men  shall  say, 


1853.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  47 

because  they  have  forsaken  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  God  of  their 
fathers."  "  But  if  thine  heart  turn  away  so  that  thou  wilt  not  hear, 
but  shalt  be  drawn  away,  and  worship  other  gods,  and  serve  them." 
"  Now  therefore  write  ye  this  song  for  you,  and  teach  it  to  the  chil 
dren  of  Israel ;  put  it  in  their  mouths,  that  this  song  may  be  a  witness 
for  me  against  the  children  of  Israel."  "  For  I  know  that  after  my 
death  ye  will  utterly  corrupt  yourselves,  and  turn  aside  from  the  way 
which  I  have  commanded  you."  "  They  have  corrupted  themselves, 
their  spot  is  not  the  spot  of  his  children."  "  Of  the  Rock  that  begat 
thee  thou  art  unmindful,  and  hast  forgotten  God  that  formed  thee." 
"-Oh,  that  they  were  wise,  that  they  understood  this,  that  they  would 
consider  their  latter  end  !  " 

The  writer  here  makes  his  Moses  to  dwell  on  this  point  with  a 
most  remarkable  solicitude,  a  most  heart- moving  earnestness.  The 
writer  of  the  next  book  makes  his  Joshua  to  plead  with  Israel  with 
the  same  earnestness.  a  Choose  you  this  day  whom  you  will  serve." 
"  Ye  are  witnesses  against  yourselves  that  ye  have  chosen  you  the 
Lord,  to  serve  him."  The  writer  of  the  book  called  Judges  uses 
strong  language  in  regard  to  the  same  disposition  in  Israel  to  back 
slide  :  "  And  it  came  to  pass  when  the  judge  was  dead,  that  they 
returned  and  corrupted  themselves  more  than  their  fathers;  they 
ceased  not  from  their  own  doings,  nor  from  their  stubborn  way." 
The  writer  of  the  book  Ruth  makes  Naomi  say  to  Orpah,  "  Thy 
sister-in-law  is  gone  back  unto  her  people  and  unto  jaer  gods."  The 
writer  of  the  books  called  Samuel  represents  Saul  as  one  of  the  same 
spurious  class.  Samuel  is  made  to  say  to  him,  "  Behold,  to  obey  is 
better  than  sacrifice;  and  to  hearken,  than  the  fat  of  rams,"  —  clearly 
intimating  that  all  service  that  did  not  flow  from  an  obedient  spirit 
and  an  honest  heart  would  be  of  no  avail.  He  makes  his  Saul  turn 
out  faithless  and  treacherous  in  the  end,  and  finally  consult  a  woman 
"  having  a  familiar  spirit,"  near  the  close  of  his  sad  career.  The 
same  writer  introduces  Ahitophel  as  one  whose  counsel  "  was  as  if 
a  man  had  inquired  at  the  oracle  of  God; "  a  writer  of  the  Psalms 
makes  David  say  of  him,  "  We  took  sweet  counsel  together,  and 
walked  to  the  house  of  God  in  company ;  "  but  he  is  left  advising  the 
son  of  David  to  incest  publicly,  and  soon  after  hangs  himself.  The 
spot  of  those  men  seems  not  to  be  genuine. 

One  distinguishing  mark  of  unsoundness  with  all  the  Old  Testa 
ment  writers  was  aversion  to  the  character  of  the  God  whom  Moses 
declares  in  his  books,  and  by  whose  direction  all  the  so-called  proph 
ets  affirmed  that  they  spoke  and  wrote.  The  writer  of  the  books 
called  Kings  says  of  Solomon:  u  And  the  Lord  was  angry  with 
Solomon,  because  his  heart  was  turned  away  from  the  Lord  God  of 
Israel;  which  had  appeared  to  him  twice."  The  same  writer  makes 


48  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1853. 

Elijah  inquire  of  Israel :  "  How  long  halt  ye  between  two  opinions? 
If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him  ;  but  if  Baal,  then  follow  him."  He 
makes  Elijah  pray  thus:  "  Hear  me,  O  Lord!  hear  me,  that  this 
people  may  know  that  thou  art  the  Lord  God,  and  that  thou  hast 
turned  their  heart  back  again."  The  same  writer  makes  God  say 
to  Elijah,  "  Yet  I  have  left  me  seven  thousand  in  Israel,  all  the 
knees  which  have  not  bowed  unto  Baal,  and  every  mouth  which  hath 
not  kissed  him."  The  same  writer  makes  John  say,  "  Come  with 
me  and  see  my  zeal  for  the  Lord; '*  but  says  of  him  afterward,  "  But 
John  took  no  heed  to  walk  in  the  law  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  with 
H!!  his  heart."  This  writer  also  says  of  Josiah,  "  And  like  unto  him 
there  was  no  king  before  him,  that  turned  to  the  Lord  with  all  his 
heart  and  with  all  his  soul  and  with  all  his  might,  according  to  all 
the  law  of  Moses  ;  neither  after  him  arose  there  any  like  him."  The 
writer  of  the  book  called  Chronicles  says  of  Judah,  in  a  time  of  most 
remarkable  reformation:  "And  they  sware  unto  the  Lord  with  a 
loud  voice,  and  with  shouting,  and  with  trumpets,  and  with  cornets ; 
And  all  Judah  rejoiced  at  the  oath,  for  they  had  sworn  with  all  their 
heart,  and  sought  him  with  their  whole  desire,  and  he  was  found  of 
them,  and  the  Lord  gave  them  rest  round  about."  Those  who  wrote 
the  books  called  Ezra  and  Neherniah  notice  the  same  distinguishing 
marks  of  character. 

The  writer  of  the  book  called  Job,  makes  God  to  say  of  him : 
"  There  is  none  like  him  in  the  earth;  a  perfect  and  an  upright  man, 
one  who  feareth  God  and  escheweth  evil,  and  still  he  holdeth  fast  his 
integrity."  The  same  writer  makes  Eliphaz  put  to  Job  these  ques 
tions,  remarkable,  but  searching:  "  Is  not  this  thy  fear,  thy  confi 
dence,  thy  hope,  and  the  uprightness  of  thy  ways  ? "  This  writer 
makes  his  different  characters  call  the  unstable  and  unsound,  hypo 
crites.  Bildad  says,  "  So  are  the  paths  of  all  that  forget  God,  and 
the  hypocrite's  hope  shall  perish.  Whose  hope  shall  be  cut  off,  and 
whose  trust  shall  be  a  spider's  web.''  Zbphar  says  of  the  same  class 
of  persons,  tl  And  their  hope  shall  be  as  the  giving  up  of  the  ghost." 
Eliphaz  says,  "Let  not  him  that  is  deceived  trust  in  vanity,  for 
vanity  shall  be  his  recompense."  Job  says,  "I  know  that  my  Re 
deemer  liveth,  whom  I  shall  see  for  myself,  and  mine  eyes  behold, 
and  not  another."  Zophar  says,  u  The  triumphing  of  the  wicked  is 
short,  and  the  joy  of  the  hypocrite  but  for  a  moment."  Job  is  made 
to  inquire  concerning  those  who  deceive  themselves  (as  though  the 
thing  had  come  to  be  well  understood  in  his  day)  :  "  Will  he  de 
light  himself  in  the  Almighty  ?  Will  he  always  call  upon  God  ?  " 
One  writer  of  the  Psalms  says  of  those  who  did  not  love  Israel's  God, 
"  Through  the  pride  of  his  countenance  he  will  not  seek  after  God. 
God  is  not  in  all  his  thoughts." 


1853.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  49 

A  writer  of  the  Psalms,  in  view  of  the*  different  feelings  of  men 
toward  the  God  of  the  Bible,  has  this  language  :  "  With  the  mer 
ciful  thou  wilt  show  thyself  merciful,  with  an  upright  man  thou  wilt 
show  thyself  upright,  with  the  pure,  thou  wilt  show  thyself  pure,  and 
with  the  froward  thou  wilt  show  thyself  froward."  Again  in  the 
Psalms  we  read,  "  The  meek  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied,  they  shall 
praise  the  Lord  that  seek  him."  Again,  "  The  meek  will  he  guide 
in  judgment,  and  the  meek  will  he  teach  his  way.7'  "  All  the  paths 
of  the  Lord  are  mercy  and  truth  unto  such  as  keep  his  covenant  and 
testimonies."  lt  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him, 
and  he  will  show  them  his  covenant."  "  Oh,  how  great  is  thy  good 
ness  which  thou  hast  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  thee,  which  thou  hast 
wrought  for  them  that  trust  in  thee  before  the  sons  of  men  !  "  "  The 
angel  of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and 
delivereth  them."  u  The  Lord  redeemeth  the  soul  of  his  servants, 
and  none  of  them  that  trust  in  him  shall  be  desolate."  ll  Though 
he  fall,  yet  he  shall  not  be  utterly  cast  down,  for  the  Lord  upholdeth 
him  with  his  hand."  "  The  law  of  his  God  is  in  his  heart  j  none  of 
his  steps  shall  slide."  "  But  the  salvation  of  the  righteous  is  of  the 
Lord  j  he  is  their  strength  in  the  time  of  trouble."  u  Mark  the  per 
fect  man,  and  behold  the  upright,  for  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace," 
u  The  Lord  will  strengthen  him  upon  the  bed  of  languishing  ;  thou 
wilt  make  all  his  bed  in  his  sickness."  u  Our  heart  is  not  turned 
back,  neither  have  our  steps  declined  from  thy  way."  "  They  go 
from  strength  to  strength  ;  every  one  of  them  in  Zion  appear  before 
God."  "  Great  peace  have  they  that  love  thy  law,  and  nothing  shall 
offend  them."  "Then  shall  I  not  be  ashamed  when  I  have  respect 
unto  all  thy  commandments."  "  If  I  forget  thee,  0  Jerusalem  !  let 
my  right  hand  forget  her  cunning."  "  The  backslider  in  heart  shall 
be  filled  with  his  own  ways."  u  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  !  if 
they  speak  not  according  to  their  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light 
in  them."  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  What  iniquity  have  your  fathers 
found  in  me  that  they  are  gone  far  from  me,  and  have  walked  after 
vanity,  and  have  become  vain  ?  "  "  Turn,  0  back-sliding  children, 
saith  the  Lord."  u  But  they  hearkened  not,  nor  inclined  their  ear, 
but  walked  in  the  counsels  and  in  the  imaginations  of  their  evil 
heart,  and  went  backward  and  not  forward."  "  Yea,  the  stork  in 
the  heaven  knoweth  her  appointed  times,  and  the  turtle  and  the  crane 
and  the  swallow  observe  the  time  of  their  coming,  but  my  people 
know  not  the  judgment  of  the  Lord.  "  "  The  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all  things,  and  desperately  wicked;  who  can  know  it?"  "  Thy 
prophets  have  seen  vain  and  foolish  things  for  thee,  and  they  have 
not  discovered  thine  iniquity."  "  They  that  observe  lying  vanities 
forsake  their  own  mercy."  il  Then  they  shall  answer,  Because  they 

4 


50  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1853. 

have  forsaken  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  their  God."  "  Forty  years 
long  was  I  grieved  with  this  generation,  and  said  it  is  a  people  that 
do  err  in  their  heart,  and  they  have  not  known  my  ways."  "  But 
they  like  men  have  transgressed  the  covenant ;  there  have  they  dealt 
treacherously  against  me."  "  Many  shall  be  purified  and  made  white 
and  tried,  but  the  wicked  shall  do  wickedly;  and  none  of  the  wicked 
shall  understand,  but  the  wise  shall  understand."  "  The  preacher 
sought  to  find  out  acceptable  words,  and  that  which  was  written  was 
upright,  even  words  of  truth."  "That  the  generation  to  come  might 
know  them,  even  the  children  which  should  be  born,  who  should 
arise  and  declare  them  to  their  children ;  that  they  might  set  their 
hope  in  God,  and  not  forget  the  works  of  God,  but  keep  his  com 
mandments  ;  and  might  not  be  as  their  fathers,  a  stubborn  and  re 
bellious  generation  ;  a  generation  that  set  not  their  heart  aright,  and 
whose  spirit  was  not  steadfast  with  God."  "  Who  is  wise  and  shall 
understand  these  things ;  prudent,  and  he  shall  know  them  ?  For  the 
ways  of  the  Lord  are  right,  and  the  just  shall  walk  in  them;  but  the 
transgressor  shall  fall  therein." 

"  Whosoever  therefore  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also 
confess  before  my  Father  which  is  in  Heaven."  "  And  many  ftilse 
prophets  shall  arise,  and  shall  deceive  many ;  and  because  iniquity 
shall  abound,  the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold."  "  And  blessed  is  he 
whosoever  shall  not  be  offended  in  me."  "  They  on  the  rock  are 
they  which  when  they  hear,  receive  the  word  with  joy;  and  these 
have  no  root,  and  for  a  while  believe,  and  in  time  of  temptation  fall 
away."  "  From  that  time  many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and 
walked  no  more  with  him."  u  He  that  rejecteth  me,  and  receiveth 
not  my  words,  hath  one  that  judgeth  him  :  the  word  that  I  have 
spoken,  the  same  shall  judge  him  at  the  last  day."  "  Every  branch 
in  me  that  beareth  not  fruit  he  taketh  away."  "  But  if  our  gospel 
be  hid,  it  is  hid  to  them  that  are  lost."  "  I  marvel  that  ye  are  so 
soon  removed  from  him  that  called  you  into  the  grace  of  Christ, 
unto  another  gospel."  u  Ye  did  run  well:  who  did  hinder  you  that 
ye  should  not  obey  the  truth  ?  "  "  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil  you 
through  philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  after  the  tradition  of  men,  after 
the  rudiments  of  the  world,  and  not  after  Christ."  "  For  now  we 
live,  if  ye  stand  fast  in  the  Lord."  "  For  the  time  will  come  when 
they  will  not  endure  sound  doctrine."  "  Therefore  we  ought  to  give 
the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  which  we  have  heard,  lest  at  any 
time  we  should  let  them  slip."  "  Let  ns  therefore  fear  lest  a  promise 
being  left  us  of  entering  into  his  rest,  any  of  you  should  seem  to  come 
short  of  it."  "And  we  desire  that  every  one  of  you  do  show  the 
same  diligence  to  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end ;  that  ye  be 
not  slothful,  but  followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  patience 


1853.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  51 

inherit  the  promises."  ll  Now  the  just  shall  live  by  faith  j  but  if  any 
man  draw  back,  my  soul  shall  have  no  pleasure  in  him."  u  And  this 
I  pray,  that  your  love  may  abound  yet  more  and  more  in  knowledge 
and  in  all  judgment,  that  ye  may  approve  things  that  are  excellent, 
that  may  be  sincere  and  without  offence  till  the  day  of  Christ.'-'  "And 
make  straight  paths  for  your  feet,  lest  that  which  is  lame  be  turned 
out  of  the  way,  but  let  it  rather  be  healed."  ''Looking  diligently 
lest  any  man  fail  of  the  grace  of  God."  "  For  it  had  been  better  for 
them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than  after  they 
have  known  it  to  turn  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered  unto 
them."  "  Nevertheless  I  have  somewhat  against  thee,  because  thou 
hast  left  thy  first  love.  Remember  therefore  from  whence  thou  art 
fallen,  and  repent."  "  Be  watchful,  and  strengthen  the  things  which 
remain  and  are  ready  to  die,  for  I  have  not  found  thy  works  perfect 
before  God."  u  He  that  overcometh,  the  same  shall  be  clothed  in 
white  raiment;  and  I  will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  book  of 
life,  but  I  will  confess  his  name  before  my*  Father,  and  before  his 
angels."  "  Blessed  is  he  that  watcheth  and  keepeth  his  garments, 
lest  he  walk  naked  and  they  see  his  shame.  Amen."  "  And  I 
beseech  you  [children]  to  suffer  the  word  of  exhortation." 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Sept.  23,  1853. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  It  is  now  nearly  a  month  since  I  began  on 
another  page.  Since  writing  before,  father  has  seemed  quite  well, 
but  Jason,  Ellen,  Owen,  and  Frederick  have  all  had  more  or  less  of 
the  ague.  They  were  as  well  as  usual,  for  them,  yesterday.  Others 
of  the  family  are  in  usual  health.  I  did  mean  that  my  letter  should 
go  off  at  once,  but  I'have  not  become  very  stout,  and  have  a  great 
deal  to  look  after,  and  have  had  many  interruptions.  We  have  done 
part  of  our  sowing,  and  expect  to  get  all  our  corn  (of  which  we  have 
a  good  crop)  secure  from  frost  this  day.  We  shall  be  glad  to  see  you 
here  at  the  time  of  our  county  fair,  which  is  to  be  on  the  twelfth  and 
thirteenth  of  October. 

I  hope  that  through  the  infinite  grace  and  mercy  of  God  you  may 
be  brought  to  see  the  error  of  your  ways,  and  be  in  earnest  to  turn 
many  to  righteousness,  instead  of  leading  astray ;  and  then  you  might 
prove  a  great  blessing  to  Essex  County,  or  to  any  place  where  your 
lot  may  fall.  I  do  not  feel  u  estranged  from  my  children,"  but  I 
cannot  flatter  them,  nor  "cry  peace  when  there  is  no  peace."  My 
wife  and  Oliver  expect  to  set  out  for  Pennsylvania  before  long,  and 
will  probably  call  on  you  j  but  probably  not  until  after  the  fair.  We 
have  a  nice  lot  of  chickens  fattening  for  you,  when  you  come. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


52  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1837. 

The  blending  of  spiritual  and  worldly  considerations  in 
this  apostolic  epistle  is  characteristic.  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  and  the  affairs  of  earth  were  closely  associated  in 
John  Brown's  mind,  as  in  Cromwell's.  He  could  trust  in 
God  and  keep  his  powder  dry.  The  explanation  of  his  son's 
indifference  to  the  Calvinistic  Church  and  its  Bible-worship 
is  not  wholly  discreditable  to  the  young  man,  however ;  and 
since  John  Brown,  Jr.,  has  not  only  furnished  me  this  let 
ter,  but  has  related  the  origin  of  his  coldness  towards  the 
churches,  I  will  quote  his  words.  He  says  :  — 

"  About  1837  mother,  Jason,  Owen,  and  I  joined  the  Congrega 
tional  Church  at  Franklin,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burritt  pastor.  Shortly 
after  the  other  societies,  including  Methodists  and  Episcopalians, 
joined  ours  in  an  undertaking  to  hold  a  protracted  meeting  under 
the  special  management  of  an  Evangelist  preacher  from  Cleveland, 
named  Avery.  The  house  of  the  Cougregationalists  being  the  largest, 
it  was  chosen  as  the  place  for  this  meeting.  Invitations  were  sent 
out  to  Church  folks  in  adjoining  towns  to  t  come  up  to  the  help  of 
the  Lord  against  the  mighty;  'and  soon  the  house  was  crowded,  the 
assembly  occupying  by  invitation  the  pews  of  the  church  generally. 
Preacher  Avery  gave  us  in  succession  four  sermons  from  one  text,  — 
t  Cast  ye  up,  cast  ye  up !  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord  ;  make 
his  paths  straight ! '  Soon  lukewarm  Christians  were  heated  up  to  a 
melting  condition,  and  there  was  a  bright  prospect  of  a  good  shower 
of  grace.  There  were  at  that  time  in  Franklin  a  number  of  free 
colored  persons  and  some  fugitive  slaves.  These  became  interested 
and  came  to  the  meetings,  but  were  given  seats  by  themselves,  where 
the  stove  had  stood,  near  the  door,  —  not  a  good  place  for  seeing 
ministers  or  singers.  Father  noticed  this,  and  when  the  next  meet 
ing  (which  was  at  evening)  had  fairly  opened,  he  rose  and  called 
attention  to  the  fact,  that,  in  seating  the  colored  portion  of  the  au 
dience,  a  discrimination  had  been  made,  and  said  that  he  did  not 
believe  God  is  l  a  respecter  of  persons.'  He  then  invited  the  colored 
people  to  occupy  his  slip.  The  blacks  accepted,  and  ah1  of  our  family 
took  their  vacated  seats.  This  was  a  bomb-shell,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  hearts  of  Pastor  Burritt  and  Deacon  Beach  at  once 
gave  up  his  place  to  another  tenant.  Next  day  father  received  a  call 
from  the  Deacons  to  admonish  him  and  '  labor  '  with  him  ;  but  they 
returned  with  new  views  of  Christian  duty.  The  blacks  during  the 
remainder  of  that  protracted  meeting  continued  to  occupy  our  slip, 
and  our  family  the  seats  around  the  stove.  We  soon  after  moved  to 
Hudson,  and  though  living  three  miles  away,  became  regular  attend- 


1837.]  YOUTH  AND  EARLY  MANHOOD.  53 

ants  at  the  Congregational  Church  in  the  centre  of  the  town.  In 
about  a  year  we  received  a  letter  from  good  Deacon  Williams,  in 
forming  us  that  our  relations  with  the  church  in  Franklin  were  ended 
in  accordance  with  a  rule  made  by  the  church  since  we  left,  that  '  any 
member  being  absent  a  year  without  reporting  him  or  herself  to  that 
church  should  be  cut  off.7  This  was  the  first  intimation  we  had  of 
the  existence  of  the  rule.  Father,  on  reading  the  letter,  became 
white  with  anger.  This  was  my  first  taste  of  the  proslavery  diabo 
lism  that  had  intrenched  itself  in  the  Church,  and  I  shed  a  few  un 
called  for  tears  over  the  matter,  for  instead  I  should  have  rejoiced  in 
my  emancipation.  From  that  date  my  theological  shackles  were  a 
good  deal  broken,  and  I  have  not  worn  them  since  (to  speak  of),  — 
not  even  for  ornament."  1 

Milton  Lusk,  the  uncle  of  the'  elder  children  of  John 
Brown,  told  me  in  1882  that  he  first  separated  from  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Hudson  upon  the  issue  of  coloni 
zation  for  the  colored  people,  although  in  his  case  there 
were  other  grounds  of  difference.  His  brother-in-law  never 
"  came  out "  from  the  Church  in  the  sense  of  the  early  aboli 
tionists,  although  he  censured  the  subservience  of  the  clergy 
and  the  laity  to  the  prejudices  of  the  people.  Brown's  rev 
erence  for  the  Bible  as  a  divine  gift  to  man  and  a  rule  of  life 
never  faltered,  and  his  ancestral  faith  was  declared  as  fer 
vently  in  his  last  days  of  glorious  imprisonment  as  any  of 
the  Christian  martyrs  avowed  theirs.  But  he  grew  more 
tolerant  of  differences  of  opinion  as  he  advanced  in  years, 
and  he  found  no  fault  with  the  religion  of  Theodore  Parker, 
though  it  was  so  unlike  his  own. 

1  A  shorter  account  of  this  affair,  as  remembered  by  Ruth  Thompson, 
has  already  been  given. 


54  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1826 


CHAPTEE    III. 
JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS   MAN. 

HP  HE  letters  of  Brown  to  his  father,  already  cited,  show 
thaf  he  was  diligent  in  his  worldly  calling.  His 
vocations  were  various,  as  is  customary  with  Americans 
of  New  England  origin,  —  and  with  all  his  higher  quali 
ties,  John  Brown  was  a  true  Yankee.  His  autobiography 
shows  how  active  and  ambitious  he  was  when  a  boy ;  and 
this  activity  never  deserted  him.  His  father  had  trained 
him  to  his  own  occupation,  that  of  a  tanner ;  but  he 
was  also  a  land-surveyor,  lumber-dealer,  postmaster,  wool- 
grower,  breeder  and  trainer  of  race-horses,  stock-fancier,  land 
speculator,  farmer,  orchardist,  wool-factor,  wool-sorter,  and 
pioneer  in  a  new  country,  like  the  Adirondac  wilderness 
around  Whiteface  and  Lake  Placid.  Emerson  almost  de 
scribed  him  when  he  wrote  in  his  "  Self-Eeliance  "  of  that 
"  sturdy  lad  from  New  Hampshire  or  Vermont,  who  in  turn 
tries  all  the  professions,  —  who  teams  it,  farms  it,  peddles, 
keeps  a  school,  preaches,  edits  a  newspaper,  goes  to  Con 
gress,  buys  a  township,  and  so  forth,  in  successive  years, 
and  always  like  a  cat  falls  on  his  feet."  This  man,  says 
Emerson  further,  "walks  abreast  of  his  days,  and  feels 
no  shame  in  not  '  studying  a  profession ; '  for  he  does  not 
postpone  his  life,  but  lives  already." 

Following  the  advice  of  Eranklin,  who  was  one  of  Brown's 
oracles,  he  married  young,  as  we  have  seen,  so  that  his  old 
est  son  was  but  twenty-one  years  younger  than  himself. 
Having  begun  thus  early  to  "  give  hostages  of  fortune,"  as 
Bacon  says,  John  Brown  devoted  himself  with  diligence  to 
his  occupation,  for  the  support  of  his  young  family.  He 
was  a  tanner  and  land-surveyor  at  Hudson  until  1825,  when 
he  moved  to  Richmond,  near  Meadville,  in  Pennsylvania, 
and  there  carried  on  the  same  vocations.  He  remained 
until  1835,  then  removed  to  Franklin  Mills,  Portage  County, 


1837.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  55 

Ohio,  and  there  mingled  speculation  in  land  with  his  tan 
ning.  Upon  this  point,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  says  :  "  When 
the  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  canal  was  located  through  Frank 
lin,  father  purchased  the  old  Haymaker  farm  and  divided 
it  into  village  lots.  In  the  reverses  and  pecuniary  disas 
ters  of  1836-37,  he  made  an  assignment  of  all  his  property 
for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors.  His  farm  in  South  Kent 
(then  Franklin),  now  covered  by  valuable  residences  and 
shops,  went  with  the  rest.  Those  who  visit  Kent  now 
[1884]  will  see  that  father's  business  anticipations  were 
only  a  little  in  advance  of  the  times."  It  was  at  a  later 
date  that  the  sale  of  Brown's  farms  in  Hudson  was  followed 
by  an  adventure  which  has  given  occasion  for  some  petty 
scandal  against  him.  This  has  been  answered,  and  the 
affair  explained  by  his  son  John,  as  follows :  "  The  farm 
in  question  father  lost  by  indorsing  a  note  for  a  friend.  It 
was  attached  and  sold  by  the  sheriff  at  the  county  sea"t. 
The  only  bidder  against  my  father  was  an  old  neighbor, 
hitherto  regarded  as  a  friend,  who  became  the  purchaser. 
Father's  lawyer  advised  him  to  '  hold  the  fort '  for  a  time 
at  least,  and  endeavor  to  secure  terms  from  the  purchaser. 
There  was,  as  I  remember,  an  old  shot-gun  in  the  house,  but 
it  was  not  loaded  nor  pointed  at  any  one.  No  sheriff  came 
on  the  premises ;  no  officer  or  posse  was  resisted  ;  no  threat 
of  violence  offered.  The  purchaser  finally  swore  out  a  peace 
warrant  against  father ;  and  within  half  an  hour  after  our 
arrest  by  a  constable,  he  tore  down  that  terrible  old  log 
fort." 

The  bankruptcy  of  John  Brown,  to  which  he  alludes  in 
several  of  his  letters,  and  in  connection  with  which  he  was 
once  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail  at  Akron,  occurred  in 
1842,  and  the  imprisonment  was  in  consequence  of  this 
affair  of  the  Hudson  farm.  Among  his  creditors  then  was 
the  New  England  Woollen  Company  at  Kockville  in  Con 
necticut,  to  whose  agent  he  gave  the  following  agreement, 
with  the  letter  annexed  :  — 

RICHFIELD,  Oct.  17,  1842. 

Whereas  I,  John  Brown,  on  or  about  the  15th  day  of  June,  A.  D. 
3839,  received  of  the  New  England  Company  (through  their  agent, 
George  Kellogg,  Esq.),  the  sum  of  twenty- eight  hundred  dollars  for 


56  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1842. 

the  purchase  of  wool  for  said  company,  and  imprudently  pledged  the 
same  for  my  own  benefit,  and  could  not  redeem  it ;  and  whereas  I 
have  been  legally  discharged  from  my  obligations  by  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  —  I  hereby  agree  (in  consideration  of  the  great  kind 
ness  and  tenderness  of  said  Company  toward  me  in  my  calamity, 
and  more  particularly  of  the  moral  obligation  I  am  under  to  render 
to  all  their  due),  to  pay  the  same  and  the  interest  thereon,  from 
time  to  time,  as  Divine  Providence  shall  enable  me  to  do.  Witness 
my  hand  and  seal. 

JOHN  BROWN. 

RICHFIELD,  SUMMIT  COUNTY,  OHIO,  Oct.  17, 1842. 
GEORGE  KELLOGG,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  just  received  information  of  my  final  discharge 
as  a  bankrupt  in  the  District  Court,  and  I  ought  to  be  grateful  that 
no  one  of  my  creditors  has  made  any  opposition  to  such  discharge 
being  given.  I  shall  now,  if  my  life  is  continued,  have  an  oppor 
tunity  of  proving  the  sincerity  of  my  past  professions,  when  legally 
free  to  act  as  I  choose.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  in  consequence  of  the 
unforeseen  expense  of  getting  the  discharge,  the  loss  of  an  ox,  and 
the  destitute  condition  in  which  a  new  surrender  of  my  effects  has 
placed  me,  with  my  numerous  family,  I  fear  this  year  must  pass 
without  my  effecting  in  the  way  of  payment  what  I  have  encouraged 
you  to  expect  (notwithstanding  I  have  been  generally  prosperous  in 
my  business  for  the  season). 

Kespectfully  your  unworthy  friend ; 

JOHN  BROWN. 

These  papers  show  the  real  integrity  of  Brown  in  a  trans 
action  where  he  might  have  escaped  the  obligation  which  he 
thus  assumed.  He  had  not  paid  the  whole  of  this  debt  at 
his  death  in  1859.  In  his  will  then  made  he  bequeathed 
fifty  dollars  toward  paying  the  claim,  which  the  Company 
received  and  placed  to  his  credit. 

Another  of  Brown's  creditors  at  a  later  period  was  D wight 
Hopkins,  formerly  of  Ohio,  but  lately  of  Montana,  who 
followed  him  to  Kansas  in  1855-56  to  collect  some  part  of 
his  debt.  He  found  Brown,  as  the  story  goes,  "  in  a  little 
cabin  with  his  toes  out  of  his  boots,  and  nothing  but  mush 
and  milk  on  the  table,  —  the  old  man  tearfully  regretting 
his  lack  of  better  entertainment."  l  Hopkins  got  his  pay 

1  Letter  of  Hosea  Paul,  of  Wabash,  Ind.,  Jan.  17,  1875,  from  which 
some  of  the  above  statements  are  taken. 


1844.1  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  57 

finally  ;  but  that  was  Dot  always  the  case  with  Brown's 
creditors,  as  we  have  seen,  and  shall  see.  He  would  seem 
to  have  been  "  a  visionary  man  in  business  affairs,  and  of  a 
restless,  speculating  disposition,  not  content  with  the  plod 
ding  details  of  ordinary  trade."  As  to  his  wool  specula 
tions,  Colonel  Simon  Perkins,  of  Akron,  when  questioned  by 
me  in  1878 1  about  Brown's  wool-growing  and  wool-dealing,  re 
plied,  "  The  less  you  say  about  them  the  better."  I  answered 
that  the  more  I  knew,  the  better  I  should  be  able  to  say 
the  less.  He  then  said  that  Brown  was  a  rough  herdsman, 
though  a  good  wool-sorter;  "in  general  terms,  he  was  not  a 
good  shepherd,  though  a  nice  judge  of  the  quality  of  wool." 
He  used  shepherd  dogs,  "  because  it  was  then  the  fashion  to 
use  them,  as  much  for  company  as  anything  else ;  but  they 
did  more  harm  than  good."  He  said  he  kept  but  one  thou 
sand  five  hundred  sheep  when  Brown  had  charge  of  them, 
and  that  he  could  easily  distinguish  every  sheep  from  every 
other,  for  "  sheep  look  about  as  much  alike  as  men  do." 
"  Brown  took  all  the  care  and  risk  of  the  flock,  and  accounted 
to  me  at  the  end  of  the  year,  when  we  divided  the  profits  ; 
he  was  here  off  and  on  for  ten  or  twelve  years.  In  the 
wool  business  at  Springfield  I  furnished  the  capital ;  Brown 
managed  according  to  his  own  impulses  :  he  would  not 
listen  to  anybody,  but  did  what  he  took  into  his  head.  He 
was  solicitous  to  go  into  the  business  of  selling  wool,  and  I 
allowed  him  to  do  it ;  but  he  had  little  judgment,  always 
followed  his  own  will,  and  lost  much  money.  His  father 
had  more  judgment  and  less  will.  I  had  no  controversy 
with  John  Brown,  for  it  would  have  done  no  good."  "  Do 


1  May  29,  1878,  I  visited  the  large  farm  of  Colonel  Perkins,  lying  just 
outside  the  city  limits  of  Akron,  in  the  township  of  Portage,  where  Brown 
herded  sheep  as  late  as  1854.  Calling  on  Colonel  Perkins  a  little  before 
noon,  I  found  him  walking  in  his  garden,  a  white-bearded  man  with  a  for 
bidding  manner,  who  evidently  grudged  me  the  half-hour  I  asked  of  him 
to  talk  about  Brown.  He  said  he  had  letters  of  Brown  ;  but  they  were 
business  letters,  and  not  to  be  shown.  He  said  he  no  longer  kept  sheep, 
because  "  it  does  not  pay  to  keep  them  here,  so  near  to  the  city  ;  "  that 
his  crops  were  wheat,  fruit,  vegetables,  etc.  I  told  him  that  I  knew  much 
of  Brown's  Virginia  campaign,  but  little  of  his  life  as  a  sheep-farmer,  and 
obtained  the  information  given  above. 


58  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1843. 

you  mean  to  connect  me  with  that  Virginia  affair  ?  "  said 
Colonel  Perkins.  "  I  consider  him  and  the  men  that  helped 
him  in  that  the  biggest  set  of  fools  in  the  world."  Evi 
dently  he  had  treated  Brown  more  generously  than  he  now 
spoke  of  him,  and  no  doubt  sympathized  with  him  in  his  ef 
fort  to  help  the  wool-growers.  Mr.  T.  B.  Musgrave,  of  New 
York,  who  was  then  well  acquainted  with  the  wool-trade,  has 
told  me  that  the  warehousing  of  wool  at  Springfield  and  else 
where  was  a  new  feature  introduced  by  Brown,  in  order  to 
enhance  prices  in  the  interest  of  the  farmers. 

Brown  went  from  Franklin  to  Hudson  in  1839,  having 
also  lived  at  Hudson  in  1836-37,  and  in  1840  for  a  time. 
In  1841  he  kept  the  sheep  of  Captain  Oviatt,  a  farmer  and 
merchant  of  Richfield.  After  his  reverses  in  1837  he  had 
taken  up  the  romantic  life  of  a  shepherd,  —  that,  as  he  says, 
"  being  a  calling  for  which  in  early  life  he  had  a  kind  of 
enthusiastic  longing."  At  the  age  of  thirty-nine,  when  he 
entered  fully  upon  this  "  calling,"  he  also  had,  as  he  says, 
"the  idea  that  as  a  business  it  bid  fair  to  afford  him  the 
means  of  carrying  out  his  greatest  or  principal  object." 
This  object  was  the  liberation  of  the  slaves ;  and  the  plan 
which  he  had  formed  for  this  was  in  substance  the  same  in 
1839  that  it  was  twenty  years  later,  when  he  put  it  in  exe 
cution.  "  If  he  kept  sheep,"  said  Emerson,  "  it  was  with 
a  royal  mind ;  and  if  he  traded  in  wool,  he  was  a  merchant- 
prince,  not  in  the  amount  of  wealth,  but  in  the  protection 
of  the  interests  confided  to  him."  A  few  of  his  letters  at 
this  period  may  be  cited  to  show  how  he  dealt  with  these 
interests,  whether  of  animals  or  of  men. 

Letters  of  John  Brown  to  his  Children. 

RICHFIELD,  OHIO,  July  24,  1843. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  well  know  how  to  appreciate  the  feelings 
of  a  young  person  among  strangers,  and  at  a  distance  from  home  j  and 
no  want  of  good  feeling  towards  you,  or  interest  in  you,  has  been 
the  reason  why  I  have  not  written  yon  before.  I  have  been  careful 
and  troubled  with  so  much  serving,  that  I  have  in  a  great  measure 
neglected  the  one  thing  needful,  and  pretty  much  stopped  all  corres 
pondence  with  heaven.  My  worldly  business  has  borne  heavily,  and 
still  does  j  but  we  progress  some,  have  our  sheep  sheared,  and  have 


1844.]  JOHN   BROWN   AS   A   BUSINESS   MAN.  59 

done  something  at  our  haying.  Have  our  tanning  business  going  on 
in  about  the  same  proportion,  —  that  is,  we  are  pretty  fairly  behind 
in  business,  and  feel  that  I  must  nearly  or  quite  give  up  one  or  other 
of  the  branches,  for  want  of  regular  troops  on  whom  to  depend.  We 
should  like  to  know  how  you  expect  to  dispose  of  your  time  hereafter, 
and  how  you  get  along,  what  your  studies  are,  and  what  difficulties 
you  meet.  I  would  send  you  some  money,  but  I  have  not  yet  re 
ceived  a  dollar  from  any  source  since  you  left.  I  should  not  be  so  dry 
of  funds  could  I  but  overtake  my  work  ;  but  all  is  well,  —  all  is  well. 
Will  you  come  home  or  not  this  fall  ?  I  suppose  there  are  some  per 
sons  in  Richfield  who  would  be  middling  fond  of  seeing  you  back  once 
more,  wherever  you  may  be.  I  hope  you  may  behave  yourself  wisely 
in  all  things. 

From  your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

RICHFIELD,  Jan.  11,  1844. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Your  letter,  dated  December  21,  was  re 
ceived  some  days  ago,  bat  I  have  purposely  delayed  till  now,  in 
order  to  comply  with  your  request  that  I  should  write  about  every 
thing.  We  are  all  in  health ;  amongst  the  number  is  a  new  sister,1 
about  three  weeks  old.  I  know  of  no  one  of  our  friends  that  is  not  in 
comfortable  health.  I  have  just  met  with  father ;  he  was  with  us  a 
few  days  since,  and  all  were  then  well  in  Hudson.  Our  flock  is  well, 
and  we  seem  to  be  overtaking  our  business  in  the  tannery.  Divine 
Providence  seems  to  smile  on  our  works  at  tliis  time ;  I  hope  we 
shall  not  prove  unthankful  for  any  favor,  nor  forget  the  giveix  (I 
have  gone  to  sleep  a  great  many  times  while  writing  the  above.) 
The  boys  and  Ruth  are  trying  to  improve  some  this  winter,  and  are 
effecting  a  little  I  think.  I  have  lately  entered  into  a  copartnership 
with  Simon  Perkins,  Jr.,  of  Akron,  with  a  view  to  carry  on  the 
sheep  business  extensively.  He  is  to  furnish  all  the  feed  and  shelter 
for  wintering,  as  a  set-off  against  our  taking  all  the  care  of  the  flock. 
All  other  expenses  we  are  to  share  equally,  and  to  divide  the  profits 
equally.  This  arrangement  will  reduce  our  cash  rents  at  least  $250 
yearly,  and  save  our  hiring  help  in  haying.  We  expect  to  keep  the 
Captain  Oviatt  farm  for  pasturing,  but  my  family  will  go  into  a  very 
good  house  belonging  to  Mr.  Perkins,  —  say  from  a  half  a  mile  to  a 
mile  out  of  Akron.  I  think  this  is  the  most  comfortable  and  the  most 
favorable  arrangement  of  my  worldly  concerns  that  I  ever  had,  and 
calculated  to  afford  us  more  leisure  for  improvement,  by  day  and  by 
night,  than  any  other-  I  do  hope  that  God  has  enabled  us  to  make 

1  Anne  Brown,  now  Mrs,  Adams. 


60  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1844. 

it  in  mercy  to  us,  and  not  th'at  he  should  send  leanness  into  our  souls. 
Our  time  will  all  be  at  our  own  command,  except  the  care  of  the 
flock.  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  providing  for  them  in  the  winter 
excepting  harvesting  rutabagas  and  potatoes. 

This,  I  think,  will  be  considered  no  mean  alliance  for  our  family, 
and  I  most  earnestly  hope  they  will  have  wisdom  given  to  make  the 
most  of  it.  It  is  certainly  indorsing  the  poor  bankrupt  and  his  family, 
three  of  whom  were  but  recently  in  Akron  jail,  in  a  manner  quite  un 
expected,  and  proves  that  notwithstanding  we  have  been  a  company 
of  u  Belted  Knights,"  our  industrious  and  steady  endeavors  to  main 
tain  our  integrity  and  our  character  have  not  been  wholly  overlooked. 
Mr.  Perkins  is  perfectly  advised  of  our  poverty,  and  the  times  that 
have  passed  over  us.  Perhaps  you  may  think  best  to  have  some 
connection  with  this  business.  I  do  not  know  of  ANY  person  in 
RICHFIELD  that  you  would  be  likely  to  be  fond  of  hearing  from  in 
particular,  excepting  one  at  Cleveland  ;  and  if  hearing  from  ANY 
person  prove  to  be  a  very  up-stream  business,  I  would  advise  not 
to  worry  at  present.  Will  you  let  me  know  how  it  stands  between 
you  and  all  parties  concerned  ? 1 

Your  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  wife  he  wrote  thus  at  this  period :  — 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  March  7,  1844. 

MY  DEAR  MARY,  —  It  is  once  more  Sabbath  evening,  and  nothing 
so  much  accords  with  my  feelings  as  to  spend  a  portion  of  it  in  con 
versing  with  the  partner  of  my  choice,  and  the  sharer  of  my  poverty, 
trials,  discredit,  and  sore  afflictions,  as  well  as  of  what  comfort  and 
seeming  prosperity  has  fallen  to  my  lot  for  quite  a  number  of  years. 
I  would  you  should  realize  that,  notwithstanding  I  am  absent  in 
body,  I  am  very  much  of  the  time  present  in  spirit.  I  do  not  forget 
the  firm  attachment  of  her  who  has  remained  my  fast  and  faithful 
affectionate  friend,  when  others  said  of  me,  u  Now  that  he  lieth,  he- 
shall  rise  up  no  more."  ...  I  now  feel  encouraged  to  believe  that 
my  absence  will  not  be  very  long.  After  being  so  much  away,  it 
seems  as  if  I  knew  pretty  well  how  to  appreciate  the  quiet  of  home. 
There  is  a  peculiar  music  in  the  word  which  a  half-year's  absence  in 
a  distant  country  would  enable  you  to  understand.  Millions  there 
are  who  have  no  such  thing  to  lay  claim  to.  I  feel  considerable  regret 
by  turns  that  I  have  lived  so  many  years,  and  have  in  reality  done  so 

1  The  allusion  at  the  close  of  this  letter  is  to  some  affairs  of  the  heart  in 
which  the  young  man  then  had  an  interest ;  for  love  was  no  more  a  stranger 
to  these  Ohio  shepherds  than  to  those  of  Sicily. 


1844.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  61 

little  to  increase  the  amount  of  human  happiness.  I  often  regret  that 
my  manner  is  no  more  kind  and  affectionate  to  those  I  really  love 
and  esteem ;  but  I  trust  my  friends  will  overlook  my  harsh,  rough 
ways,  when  I  cease  to  be  in  their  way  as  an  occasion  of  pain  and  un- 
happiness.  In  imagination  I  often  see  you  in  your  room  with  Little 
Chick  and  that  strange  Anna.  You  must  say  to  her  that  father 
means  to  come  before  long  and  kiss  somebody.  I  will  close  by 
saying  that  it  is  iny  growing  resolution  to  endeavor  to  promote  my 
own  happiness  by  doing  what  I  can  to  render  those  about  me  more 
so.  If  the  large  boys  do  wrong,  call  them  alone  into  your  room,  and 
expostulate  with  them  kindly,  and  see  if  you  cannot  reach  them  by  a 
kind  but  powerful  appeal  to  their  honor.  I  do  not  claim  that  such 
a  theory  accords  very  well  with  my  practice ;  I  frankly  confess  it  does 
not  j  but  I  want  your  face  to  shine,  even  if  my  own  should  be  dark 
and  cloudy.  You  can  let  the  family  read  this  letter,  and  perhaps  you 
may  not  feel  it  a  great  burden  to  answer  it,  and  let  me  hear  all  about 
how  you  get  along. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CLEVELAND,  June  22,  1844. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  received  your  letter  some  days  ago,  but  was 
so  busy  in  preparing  for  my  journey  to  Lowell  (on  which  I  now  am) 
that  I  could  find  no  time  to  write  before.  We  had  been  waiting  for 
news  from  you  for  some  time,  not  knowing  where  you  were,  and  were 
all  glad  of  your  letter.  I  will  give  a  little  account  of  things  since 
you  left.  We  moved  to  Akron  about  the  10th  of  April ;  get  along 
very  pleasantly  with  our  neighbors  Perkins  ;  find  them  very  affable 
and  kind.  Have  had  a  good  deal  of  loss  amongst  our  sheep  from 
grub  in  the  head.  Have  raised  560  lambs,  and  have  2,700  pounds 
of  wool ;  have  been  offered  56  cents  per  pound  for  one  ton  of  it. 
Jason  spends  most  of  his  time  in  Kichfield.  Have  not  yet  done 
finishing  leather,  but  shall  probably  get  through  in  .a  few  weeks 
after  my  return.  The  general  aspect  of  our  worldly  affairs  is  favor 
able.  Hope  we  do  not  entirely  forget  God.  I  am  extremely  ignorant 
at  present  of  miscellaneous  subjects.  Have  not  been  at  Richfield  for 
some  time,  and  have  but  a  moment  to  write,  on  board  a  boat.  I 
enclose  three  dollars,  and  would  more,  but  may  be  short  of  expense 
money.  May  write  you  at  Lowell  or  Boston  j  *  may  return  by  you. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

1  Mr.  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  of  Boston,  writes  me  (Feb.  25,  1885),  "Brown 
was  the  agent  of  our  Firm  to  buy  wool  in  Ohio,  as  early  as  1843." 


62  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1846. 

-   AKRON,  Jan.  27,  1846. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  arrived  at  home  December  2d  j  had  a  fa 
tiguing  but  I  should  think  a  prosperous  journey,  and  brought  with 
me  a  few  choice  sheep.  Our  wool  sold  by  the  sort,  at  from  24  cents 
to  $1.20  per  pound,  just  as  we  wash  it  on  the  sheep;  average,  about 
the  same  as  last  year,  perhaps  a  little  better.  Our  flock  have  done 
remarkably  this  winter,  and  are  in  good  condition  and  health.  We 
have  lost  but  three  by  disease  since  sometime  in  the  fall.  Our  sales 
of  sheep  (mostly  bucks)  since  August  amount  to  about  $  640.  Since 
my  return,  I  have  been  troubled  considerably  with  my  eyes.  They  are 
better  now.  Your  letter  to  Ruth  is  received,  and  she  is  preparing  to 
go  with  you  when  you  come  out.  I  have  a  plan  to  lay  before  you  for 
your  operations  after  the  first  of  June  next,  and  hope  you  will  not  com 
mit  yourself  for  a  longer  time  until  you  hear  it.  I  think  we  have  quite 
as  much  worldly  prosperity  as  will  be  likely  to  be  a  real  blessing  to 
us.  Fred  is  in  Richfield  for  the  present,  with  about  250  sheep  and  a 
dog  under  his  command.  He  seems  disposed  to  reading  and  some 
thought.  Would  like  to  have  you  write  him  there,  or  here  perhaps 
would  be  better.  Write  often. 

Affectionately  your  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

RICHMOND,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  OHIO,  March  24,  1846. 
DEAR  SON,  —  I  am  out  among  the  wool-growers,  with  a  view  to 
the  next  summer's  operations.  Left  home  about  a  week  ago;  all  were 
then  in  middling  health  except  some  very  hard  colds.  I  expect  to  be 
out  some  three  or  four  weeks  yet,  and  on  that  account  do  not  know  as 
I  shall  be  able  to  hear  from  you  and  Ruth  until  I  get  home.  Hope  to 
hear  from  you  then.  Mr.  Perkins  came  home  a  day  or  two  after  you 
left,  full  in  the  faith  of  our  plan,  having  completed  our  arrangements. 
Our  plan  seems  to  meet  with  general  favor.  Jason  and  I  have  talked 
of  a  visit  to  Canada  on  our  return  next  fall.  We  would  like  to  know 
more  about  that  country.  We  should  be  glad  to  hear  something  from 
George  Delamater,  and  to  know  where  he  is,  and  what  he  really  means 
to  be.  You  may,  if  you  think  best,  say  so  to  him,  and  tell  him  we 
have  not  forgotten  him.  Our  unexampled  success  in  minor  affairs 
might  be  a  lesson  to  us  of  what  unity  and  perseverance  might  do  in 
things  of  some  importance.  If  you  learn  of  any  considerable  wool- 
dealers  or  wool-growers,  you  can  use  the  circular,  and  more  may  be 
sent  if  best ;  of  that  you  can  judge  after  a  little  inquiry.  I  may 
write  you  again  before  I  go  home.  Say  to  Ruth,  to  be  all  that  to-day 
which  she  intends  to  be  to-morrow. 

Your  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


1846.] 


JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN. 


63 


The  "  circular  "  mentioned  in  the  last  letter  is  the  follow 
ing,  first  issued  in  1846,  and  written  by  Brown :  — 

THE  UNDERSIGNED,  commission  wool-merchants,  wool-graders, 
and  exporters,  have  completed  arrangements  for  receiving  wool  of 
growers  and  holders,  and  for  grading  and  selling  the  same  for  cash  at 
its  real  value,  when  quality  and  condition  are  considered.  Terms  for 
storing,  grading,  and  selling  will  be  two  cents  per  pound,  and  about  one 
mill  per  pound  additional  for  postage  and  insurance  against  loss  by  fire. 
These  will  cover  all  charges.  Those  consigning  wool  to  us  should 
pay  particular  attention  to  the  marking  of  their  sacks ;  near  one  end 

of  each  sack  should  be  marked  in  plain  characters,  "From " 

(here  give  the  owner's  name  in  full,  together  with  the  No.  and  weight 
of  each  bale).  On  the  side  of  each  sack  direct  to  Perkins  &  Brown, 
Springfield,  Mass. 

REFERENCES. 

Persons  wishing  for  information  in  regard  to  our  responsibility, 
punctuality,  etc.,  are  referred  to  the  following  gentlemen:  — 


HON.  JEREMIAH  H.  HALLOCK,  Steu- 

benville,  Jefferson  County,  Ohio. 
ADAM  HELDENBRAND,  Esq.,  Massil- 

lon,  Stark  County,  Ohio. 
JAMES  W.  WALLACE,  Esq.,  Brandy- 
wine  Mills,  Summit  County,  Ohio. 
MATTHEW    MCKEEVER,  Esq.,  West 

Middletown, Washington  Co.,  Penn. 
JOHN     SMART,     Esq.,     Darlington, 

Beaver    County,    Penn. 
FRED'K     BRANDT,    Esq.,    Germane, 

Harrison  County,   Ohio. 
BISHOP      ALEXANDER     CAMPBELL, 

Bethany   College,  Va. 
J.  D.  &'W.  H.  LADD,   Richmond, 

Jefferson  County,  Ohio. 
H.    T.     KIRTLAND,     Esq.,     Poland, 

Trumbull  County,  Ohio. 
JOHN  R.  JONES,  Esq.,  Vernon.  N.  Y. 
AUSTIN  B.  WEBSTER,  Esq.,  Vernon, 

Oneida  County,  N.  Y. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  1846. 


WILLIAM  PATTERSON,  Esq.,  Patter 
son's  Mills,  Washington  County, 
Penn. 

JAMES  PATTERSON,  Esq.,  Patterson's 
Mills,  Washington  County,  Penn. 

SAMUEL  PATTERSON,  Esq.,  Patter 
son's  Mills,  Washington  County, 
Penn. 

JESSE  EDDINGTON,  Esq.,  Steuben- 
ville,  Jefferson  County,  Ohio. 

PATTERSON  &  EWING,  Burgettstown, 
Washington  County,  Penn. 

WM.  BROWSLEE,  Esq.,  Washington, 
Washington  County,  Penn. 

FRED'K  KINSMAN,  Esq.,  Warren, 
Trumbull  County,  Ohio. 

HEMAN  OVIATT,"  Esq.,  Richfield, 
Summit  County,  Ohio. 

VAN  R.  HUMPHREY,  Esq.,  Hudson, 
Summit  County,  Ohio. 

PERKINS  &  BROWN. 


In  1846,  while  in  the  midst  of  these  occupations  as  a 
wool-grower  and  wool-dealer,  John  Brown  came  back  to 
New  England  for  a  few  years,  and  took  up  his  abode  at 
Springfield,  in  Massachusetts,  not  very  far  from  the  first 


64  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1847. 

Connecticut  home  of  his  ancestors  in  Windsor.  He  went 
there  to  reside  as  .one  of  this  firm  of  Perkins  &  Brown, 
agents  of  the  sheep-farmers  and  wool-merchants  in  North 
ern  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Virginia,  whose 
interests  then  required  an  agency  to  stand  between  them 
and  the  wool-manufacturers  of  New  England,  to  whom  they 
sold  their  fleeces.  The  Ohio  wool-growers  fancied  that 
they  were  fleeced  as  well  as  their  flocks  in  the  transactions 
they  had  with  these  manufacturers,  who  would  buy  wool 
before  it  was  graded,  pay  for  it  at  the  price  of  a  low  grade, 
and  then  sort  it  so  as  to  bring  themselves  a  large  profit.  In 
the  contest  which  Brown  carried  on  with  them,  these  New 
England  manufacturers  finally  won,  but,  as  he  thought,  by 
bribing  one  of  his  subordinates.  Concerning  his  business 
life  at  Springfield,  I  have  the  following  particulars  and 
anecdotes  from  Mr.  E.  C.  Leonard,  now  of  New  Bedford, 
who  had  an  office  in  the  same  block  with  Brown,  at  Spring 
field,  near  the  railroad  station  and  the  Massasoit  House. 
Mr.  Leonard  calls  him,  familiarly,  "Uncle  John/7  but  not 
from  relationship. 

u  I  first  knew  John  Brown  in  the  summer  of  1847,  when  he  rented 
the  upper  part  of  John  L.  King's  old  warehouse  by  the  railroad,  and 
I  occupied  the  lower  floor  and  cellar.  He  was  busy  with  his  men 
sorting  wool  upstairs,  and  seldom  stopped  to  say  more  than  a  short 
pleasant  word,  in  passing  up  or  down  through  my  store. 

"  Chester  W.  Chapin  was  building  a  block  next  south  of  the  old 
railroad  office,  and  Uncle  John  had  engaged  one  store  and  the  lofts, 
into  which  he  moved  early  in  1848.  In  1850  he  was  winding  up 
his  wool  business,  and  I  engaged  the  room  he  occupied,  and  moved  in 
to  the  store  while  he  still  held  the  lofts.  I  was  then  more  intimately 
in  contact  with  him,  and  learned  more  of  his  nature  and  opinions, 
and  then  learned  to  respect  him  highly.  His  wool  business  was  un 
successful.  I  always  understood  that  some  time  in  1845-46,  the 
wool-growers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  perhaps  of  Illinois,  had 
a  convention  in  some  western  city,  among  them  Uncle  John,  who 
then  owned  a  flock  of  Saxony  sheep  with  Mr.  Perkins  of  Akron, 
Ohio,  said  to  be  the  finest  and  most  perfect  flock  in  the  United  States, 
arid  worth  about  $20,000.  At  this  convention  Uncle  John  suggested 
the  plan  of  having  an  agent  in  Massachusetts  to  'whom  the  growers 
should  send  their  wool,  have  it  graded,  and  sold  at  a  certain  sum  per 
pound.  The  idea  took,  and  to  the  surprise  of  Uncle  John,  they  pitched 


1849.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  65 

upon  him  as  their  agent.  I  understood  that  he  was  finally  persuaded 
to  take  the  agency  with  considerable  difficulty,  but  at  last  consented, 
and  went  into  it  with  his  usual  energy.  The  idea  of  the  Association 
was,  that  all  their  wool  should  go  there,  be  graded,  sold,  and  each 
to  share  proportionally  in  the  price,  according  to  quality,  fineness, 
cleanliness,  etc.  This  was  all  very  well  the  first  year,  when  wool 
advanced  somewhat  upon  the  opening  market,  and  the  growers 
netted  better  prices  than  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of  getting ; 
but  it  did  not  last.  -Uncle  John  tried  to  cany  out  the  idea  impar 
tially,  with  all  the  rigor  of  theory  and  of  his  habits  of  thought.  But 
those  growers  who  had  taken  pains  with  the  fineness,  cleanliness, 
etc.,  of  their  wool  found  they  had  to  discount  from  the  price  it 
brought  on  account  of  the  carelessness  of  other  growers,  when  the 
general  average  was  made  up  at  the  end  of  the  season.  Those,  too, 
who  had  brought  their  wool  to  market  early,  and  had  it  graded  and 
sold  early  at  good  prices,  found  there  was  a  discount  from  the  falling 
of  the  market  later  in  the  season.  Besides,  Uncle  John  was  no 
trader:  he  waited  until  his  wools  were  graded,  and  then  fixed  a 
price  ;  if  this  suited  the  manufacturers  they  took  the  fleeces;  if  not, 
they  bought  elsewhere,  and  Uncle  John  had  to  submit  finally  to  a 
much  less  price  than  he  could  have  got.  Yet  he  was  a  scrupulously 
honest  and  upright  man,  —  hard  and  inflexible,  but  everybody  had 
just  what  belonged  to  him.  Brown  was  in  a  position  to  make  a  for 
tune,  and  a  regular-bred  merchant  would  have  done  so,  —  benefiting 
the  wool-growers  and  the  manufacturers  mutually.  But,  as  I  said, 
it  was  a  failure." 

How  extensive  this  business  became  before  it  closed  may 
be  seen  by  some  calculations  before  me,  in  Brown's  hand 
writing,  but  without  any  date  of  the  year,  —  presumably, 
however,  before  he  went  to  Europe,  in  1849.  These  fig 
ures  evidently  represent  the  agent's  transactions  in  one 
year's  business  :  — 

Freight .     .    .  $1,000.52 

Insurance 140.76 

Commissions 2,598.49 

Postage 1.10 

Cash 52,701.33 

Interest  to  7th  Aug 1,332.21 

Sundries 110.07 

Total  paid,  $57,884.48 

Total  received,  49,902.67 

5  "  $7,981.81 


66  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1847. 

This  seems  to  indicate  that  Brown  had  advanced  money 
on  the  wool  stored  in  Springfield,  and  that  the  excess  of  his 
advances  over  the  cash  received  and  the  expenses  of  the 
business  had  been  nearly  $8,000  at  this  time.  The  whole 
stock  of  wool  covered  by  this  account  was  nearly  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty  thousand  pounds,  and  the  average  price 
received  apparently  less  than  forty  cents  a  pound,  —  the 
different  prices  ranging  from  twenty-five  to  eighty-five 
cents  a  pound. 

Frederick  Douglass  (once  a  Maryland  fugitive,  and  since 
the  Marshal  of  the  United  States  at  Washington,  twenty 
years  after  Brown's  death,  but  who  knew  him  in  1847-48  as 
a  radical  abolitionist,  very  friendly  to  all  men  of  color,  and 
especially  to  fugitive  slaves)  describes  Brown's  way  of  life 
at  Springfield  as  he  then  saw  it.  Douglass  had  called  at  his 
wool  warehouse  first,  and  finding  that  a  substantial  brick 
building  on  a  prominent  street,  he  inferred  that  the  occu 
pant  must  be  a  man  of  wealth.  But  the  dwelling-house  of 
the  wool-merchant  amazed  him  :  — 

"  It  was  a  small  wooden  building  on  a  hack  street,  in  a  neighbor 
hood  chiefly  occupied  by  laboring  men  and  mechanics ;  respectable 
enough,  to  be  sure,  but  not  quite  the  place,  I  thought,  where  one 
would  look  for  the  residence  of  a  flourishing  and  successful  merchant. 
/Plain  as  was  the  outside  of  the  house,  the  inside  was  plainer.  Its 
furniture  would  have  satisfied  a  Spartan.  It  would  take  longer  to 
tell  what  was  not  in  this  house  than  what  was  in  it.  There  was  an 
air  of  plainness  about  it  which  almost  suggested  destitution.  My  first 
meal  passed  under  the  misnomer  of  tea,  though  there  was  nothing 
suggestive  of  that  meal  as  it  is  generally  understood.  It  consisted  of 
beef  soup,  cabbage,  and  potatoes,  a  meal  such  as  a  man  might  relish 
after  following  the  plough  all  day.  (There  were  no  servants,  —  the 
mother,  daughters,  and  sons  did  the  serving,  and  did  it  well.  They 
were  evidently  used  to  it,  and  had  no  thought  of  any  impropriety  or 
degradation  in  being  their  own  servants.  It  is  said  that  a  house  in 
some  measure  reflects  the  character  of  its  occupants ;  this  one  cer 
tainly  did.  In  it  there  were  no  disguises,  no  illusions,  no  make- 
believes:  everything  implied  stern  truth,  solid  purpose,  and  rigid 
economy.  ...  He  fulfilled  St.  Paul's  idea  of  the  head  of  the  family. 
His  wife  believed  in  him,  and  his  children  observed  him  with  rever 
ence.  Whenever  he  spoke  his  words  commanded  earnest  attention. 
His  arguments,  which  I  ventured  at  some  points  to  oppose,  seemed 


1850.J  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  67 

to  convince  all ;  his  appeals  touched  all,  and  his  will  impressed  all. 
Certainly,  I  never  felt  myself  in  the  presence  of  a  stronger  religious 
influence  than  while  in  this  man's  house." 

Douglass  soon  learned  that  his  host  was  living  in  this 
Spartan  way  in  order  to  save  as  much  money  as  possible  for 
his  great  enterprise  of  freeing  the  slaves ;  and  this  agrees 
with  what  we  know  from  other  sources.  It  was  from  James 
Forman  probably  that  Mr.  Redpath  obtained  the  typical 
anecdote  that  Brown  would  not  sell  leather  by  the  pound 
from  his  tannery  until  the  last  drop  of  moisture  had  been 
dried  out  of  it,  "lest  he  should  sell  his  customers  water 
instead  of  leather."  The  general  testimony  of  his  business 
associates  is  that  of  Heman  Oviatt  who  knew  him  at  Kich- 
field,  and  who  said  in  1859  :  "  Through  life  he  has  been 
distinguished  for  his  integrity,  and  esteemed  a  very  con 
scientious  man  by  those  who  have  known  him." 

It  was  to  advance  the  price  of  wool  that  Brown  visited 
Europe,  hoping  to  open  there  a  market  for  American  wool, 
some  lots  of  which  he  had  previously  forwarded  to  his  agents, 
the  Pickersgills,  in  London.  As  will  be  seen  later,  the  price 
actually  got  at  auction  in  England  for  the  second  grade  of 
wool  was  less  than  thirty  cents  a  pound,  or  far  below  the 
American  average.  Mr.  Leonard  happened  to  be  an  eye 
witness  to  one  of  the  instances  in  which  Brown  was  griev 
ously  disappointed  in  his  English  speculation,  and  has  thus 
described  what  took  place.  We  must  suppose  the  time  to 
be  after  Brown's  return  from  Europe.  Mr.  Musgrave,  the 
Yorkshire  manufacturer,  established  in  Northampton,  Mass., 
was  the  father  of  T.  B.  Musgrave  of  New  York,  already 
cited. 

"  A  little  incident  occurred  in  1850.  Perkins  &  Brown's  clip  had 
come  forward,  and  it  was  beautiful ;  the  little  compact  Saxony  fleeces 
were  as  nice  as  possible.  Mr.  Musgrave  of  the  Northampton  Woollen 
Mill,  who  was  making  shawls  and  broadcloths,  wanted  it,  and  offered 
Uncle  John  sixty  cents  a  pound  for  it.  '  No,  I  am  going  to  send  it 
to  London.'  Musgrave,  who  was  a  Yorkshire  man,  advised  Brown 
not  to  do  it,  for  American  wool  would  not  sell  in  London,  —  not  heing 
thought  good.  He  tried  hard  to  huy  it,  but  without  avail.  Uncle 
John  graded  it  himself,  bought  new  sacking,  and  had  it  packed 
under  his  own  eye.  The  .bags  were  firm,  round,  hard,  and  true 


68  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1839. 

almost  as  if  they  bad  been  turned  out  in  a  lathe,  and  away  it  went. 
Some  little  time  after,  long  enough  for  the  purpose,  news  came  that 
it  was  sold  in  London,  but  the  price  was  not  stated.  Musgrave  came 
juto  my  counting-room  one  forenoon  all  aglow,  and  said  he  wanted 
me  to  go  with  him,  —  he  was  going  to  have  some  fun.  Then  he  went 
to  the  stairs  and  called  Uncle  John,  and  told  him  he  wanted  him  to 
go  over  to  the  Hartford  depot  and  see  a  lot  of  wool  he  had  bought. 
So  Uncle  John  put  on  his' coat,  and  we  started.  When  we  arrived  at 
the  depot,  and  just  as  we  were  going  into  the  freight-house,  Musgrave 
says :  '  Mr.  Brune,  I  want  you  to  tell  me  what  you  think  of  this  lot 
of  wull  that  stands  me  in  just  fifty-two  cents  a  pund.'  One  glance 
at  the  bags  was  enough.  Uncle  John  wheeled,  and  I  can  see  him 
now  as  he  i  put  back '  to  the  lofts,  his  brown  coat-tails  floating  be 
hind  him,  and  the  nervous  strides  fairly  devouring  the  way.  It  was 
his  own  clip,  for  which  Musgrave,  some  three  months  before,  had 
offered  him  sixty  cents  a  pound  as  it  lay  in  the  loft.  It  had  been 
graded,  new-bagged,  shipped  by  steamer  to  London,  sold,  and  re- 
shipped,  and  was  in  Springfield  at  eight  cents  in  the  pound  less  than 
Mnsgrave  offered. 

11  The  last  time  I  saw  him  was  in  1851.  He  had  some  native  wine 
that  he  had  made,  and  he  asked  me  to  taste  it,  —  I  think  from  currants, 
native  grapes,  and  the  raspberry.  The  latter  was  very  excellent,  and 
when  I  told  him  of  the  great  quantities  of  Franconia  raspberries 
growing  by  the  roadsides  in  the  White  Mountain  region,  he  took 
down  directions,  and  said  he  should  try  to  go  there  the  next  season 
and  make  a  quantity  of  wine." 

So  it  seems  he  was  a  vintager  as  well  as  a  shepherd; 
indeed,  he  sought  perfection  in  all  his  undertakings,  and 
was  constantly  improving  the  stock  of  cattle,  the  quality  of 
orchards,  grape-vines,  etc.,  as  his  sons  do  still.  In  March, 
1839,  he  drove  a  herd  of  cattle  from  Ohio  to  Connecticut, 
and  in  July  brought  back  with  him  a  few  fine  sheep,  from 
which  he  bred  his  first  flock  in  Eichfield.  He  had  made  a 
previous  journey  to  Connecticut  the  same  year,  in  connec 
tion  with  his  financial  embarrassment,  and  in  the  course  of 
it  wrote  the  following  letter  to  his  wife :  — 

NEW  HARTFORD,  CONN.,  Jan.  23,  1839. 

...  I  have  felt  distressed  to  get  my  business  done  and  return, 
ever  since  I  left  home,  but  know  of  no  way  consistent  with  duty  but 
to  make  thorough  work  of  it  while  there  is  any  hope.  Things  now 
look  more  favorable  than  they  have,  but  I  may  still  be  disappointed. 


1840.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  69 

We  must  all  try  to  trust  in  Him  who  is  very  gracious  and  full  of 
compassion  and  of  almighty  power ;  for  those  that  do  will  not  be  made 
ashamed.  Ezra  the  prophet  prayed  and  afflicted  himself  before  God, 
when  himself  and  the  Captivity  were  in  a  straight,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  you  will  join  with  me  under  similar  circumstances.  Don't  get 
discouraged,  any  of  you,  but  hope  in  God,  and  try  all  to  serve  him 
with  a  perfect  heart. 

In  1840  he  had  returned  to  Hudson,  where  his  father  still 
lived,  and  there  engaged  largely  in  sheep-raisiDg.1  His  part 
ner  at  first  was  Captain  Oviatt,  of  Richfield,  a  neighboring 
town  ;  and  in  1842  Brown  had  removed  to  Bichfield,  where 
he  lived  for  two  years,  and  where  his  daughter  Anne  was 
born.  Here,  too,  he  lost  four  children  in  less  than  three 
weeks,  —  Sarah,  aged  nine  ;  Charles,  almost  six ;  Peter,  not 
quite  three ;  and  Austin,  a  year  old.  Three  of  these  were 
carried  out  of  his  house  at  one  funeral,  and  were  buried  in 
the  same  grave,  in  September,  1843.  In  Springfield  also,  as 
we  have  seen,  one  of  his  children  died  under  pathetic  cir 
cumstances.  Yet  he  looked  back  on  his  life  in  that  city 
with  pleasure. 

1  John  Brown  bred  racing-horses  in  Franklin  in  1836-37,  from  a  horse 
called  "Count  Piper,"  and  from  another  called  "John  McDonald."  There 
was  a  race-course  at  Warren,  Ohio,  frequented  by  Kentuckians  and  others, 
the  only  racing-ground  then  in  the  Western  Reserve.  A  certain  Dr.  Har 
mon  owned  or  kept  "Count  Piper"  and  "John  McDonald,"  from  which 
Brown  bred  several  colts  ;  and  young  John,  who  gave  me  these  facts,  says 
that  he  "  broke  "  a  young  McDonald  at  three  or  four  years  old,  —  perhaps 
in  1837-38.  His  father  had  no  scruple  about  breeding  race-horses  at  that 
time,  but  afterwards  gave  it  up  on  principle.  "  He  had  no  wish  to  breed 
merely  draft-horses,  but  was  always  thinking  of  running  with  horses  and 
of  military  operations/)  He  wanted  his  sons  to  become  familiar  with  swift 
horses,  and  to  understand  all  about  their  management,  and  was  himself  a 
good  rider, — not  particularly  graceful,  his  sons  say,  "but  it  was  very 
hard  to  throw  him."  He  "broke"  racing-horses  himself.  At  first,  he 
argued  that  if  he  did  not  breed  them,  somebody  else  would ;  but  his  son 
John  "convinced  him  that  was  the  gamblers  and  the  slaveholders  argu 
ment,  and  he  abandoned  the  business,  and  went  into  sheep-farming  and  tan 
ning."  This  I  heard  from  John  and  Owen  Brown  in  1882,  when  they  were 
relating  to  me  their  adventures  on  horseback  in  Kansas,  in  which  they 
owed  their  escape  from  their  enemies  to  the  speed  of  their  horses  and  the 
training  of  the  latter  to  leap  fences,  etc.  Among  the  men  who  were  asso 
ciated  with  John  Brown  in  business  were  Gilbert  Hubbard  (son  of  a  ship 
chandler  of  Boston,  and  afterwards  a  chandler  himself  at  Chicago),  who  was 


70  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1849. 

While  engaged  in  his  Springfield  agency,  and  wishing  to 
make  a  market  for  his  wool,  which  he  thought  he  could  sell 
in  Europe  to  advantage,  he  went  abroad  in  1849,  and  trav 
ersed  a  part  of  England  and  the  Continent,  on  business,  but 
also-with  an  eye  to  his  future  campaigns  against  slavery. 
He  visited  wool-markets  and  battle-fields,  ^and  took  notice 
of  the  tricks  of  trade  and  the-  manoeuvres  of  armies  with 
equal  interest.  He  was  then  noted  among  wool-dealers  for 
the  delicacy  of  his  touch  in  sorting  the  different  qualities 
and  his  skill  in  testing  them  when  submitted  to  him.  Give 
him  three  samples  of  wool,  —  one  grown  in  Ohio,  another  in 
Vermont,  and  a  third  in  Saxony,  —  and  he  would  distinguish 
them  from  each  other  in  the  dark,  by  his  sense  of  touch. 
Some  Englishmen,  during  his  sojourn  abroad,  put  this  power 
to  the  test  in  an  amusing  manner.  One  evening,  in  com 
pany  with  several  English  wool-dealers,  each  of  whom  had 
brought  samples  in  his  pocket,  Brown  was  giving  his  opinion 
as  to  the  best  use  to  which  certain  grades  and  qualities 
should  be  put.  One  of  the  party  very  gravely  drew  a  sam 
ple  from  his  pocket,  handed  it  to  the  Yankee  farmer,  and 
asked  him  what  he  would  do  with  such  wool  as  that. 
Brown  took  it,  and  had  only  to  roll  it  between  his  fingers 
to  know  that  it  had  not  the  minute  hooks  by  which  the 
fibres  of  wool  are  attached  to  each  other.  "  Gentlemen," 
said  he,  "  if  you  have  any  machinery  in  England  that  will 
work  up  dog's  hair,  I  advise  you  to  put  this  into  it."  The 
jocose  Briton  had  sheared  a  poodle  and  brought  the  fleece 
with  him ;  but  the  laugh  went  against  him  when  Brown 
handed  back  his  precious  sample.  His  skill  in  trade  was 
not  so  great ;  and,  as  we  saw,  after  trying  the  markets 
of  Europe,  he  finally  sold  his  Liverpool  consignments  of 
wool  at  a  lower  price  than  they  would  have  brought  in 
Springfield. 

connected  with  Brown  at  Hudson  in  sheep-raising,  and  afterwards  with  him 
at  Springfield  in  the  wool  business,  and  J.  C.  Fairchild,  father  of  General 
Lucius  Fairchild,  of  Wisconsin,  who  was  a  partner  with  Brown  in  tanning 
at  Hudson,  and  afterwards  lived  at  Cleveland.  A  young  man  named  For- 
man,  who  became  connected  afterwards  by  marriage  with  the  Fairehilds, 
was  brought  up  by  Brown  at  Randolph^  and  was  living  in  1861  at  Youngs- 
ville,  Penn. 


1849.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  71 

^  few  letters  of  his  from  Europe  are  in  existence,  and 
will  soon  be  given.  The  only  other  record  of  his  European 
experiences  is,  perhaps,  that  noted  down  by  me  from  con 
versations  in  1857-59,  in  which  he  described  what  he  chiefly 
noticed  abroad,  —  the  agricultural  and  military  equipment  of 
the  countries  visited,  and  the  social  condition  of  the  people. 
He  thought  a  standing  army  the  greatest  curse  to  a  country, 
because  it  drained  away  the  best  of  the  young  men,  and  left 
farming  and  the  industrial  arts  to  be  managed  by  inferior 
persons.  The  German  farming,  he  said,  was  bad  husbandry, 
because  the  farmers  there  did  not  live  on  their  land,  but  in 
villages,  and  so  wasted  the  natural  manures  which  ought  to 
go  back  without  diminution  to  the  soil.  He  thought  Eng 
land  the  best  cultivated  country  he  had  ever  seen ;  but  as 
we  were  driving  away  one  morning  in  1859  from  the  coun 
try  seat  of  Mr.  John  M.  Forbes  at  Milton,  near  Boston,  he 
told  me  that  he  had  seen  few  houses  of  rich  men  in  England 
so  full  of  beauty  and  comfort  as  this,  in  which  he  had 
passed  the  night.  fHe  had  followed  the  military  career  of 
Napoleon  with  great  interest,  and  visited  some  of  his  battle 
fields.  We  talked  of  such  things  while  driving  from  Con 
cord  to  Meclford  one  Sunday  in  April,  1857.  He  then  told 
me  that  he  had  kept  the  contest  against  slavery  in  mind 
while  travelling  on  the  Continent,  and  had  made  a  special 
study  of  the  European  armies  and  battle-fields.  He  had 
examined  Napoleon's  positions,  and  assured  me  that  the 
common  military  theory  of  strong  places  was  unsound;  that 
a  ravine  was  in  truth  more  defensible  than  a  hill-top.  So 
it  is  for  an  army  of  heroes,  as  Leonidas  demonstrated  at 
Thermopylae ;  but  for  ordinary  warfare,  we  may  believe 
that  Napoleon  was  right.  Brown  often  witnessed  the  evo 
lutions  of  the  Austrian  troops,  and  declared  that  they  could 
always  be  defeated  (as  they  have  since  been  in  Italy  and 
elsewhere)  by  soldiers  who  should  manoeuvre  more  rapidly. 
The  French  soldiers  he  thought  well  drilled,  but  lacking 
individual  prowess ;  for  that  he  gave  the  palm  to  our  own 
countrymen. 

John  Brown  sailed  for  England  in  August,  1849,  and 
returned  to  Springfield  in  October.  He  wrote  to  his  son 
as  follows :  — 


72  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  (1849. 

LONDON,  Aug.  29,  1849. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN, —I  reached  Liverpool  on  Sabbath  day;  the 
26th  iust.,  and  this  place  the  27th  at  evening,  — a  debtor  to  Grace  for 
health  and  for  a  very  pleasant  and  quick  passage.  Have  called  on 
the  Messrs.  Pickersgill,  and  find  they  have  neither  sold  any  wool  nor 
offered  any.  They  think  that  no  time  has  been  lost,  and  that  a  good 
sale  can  yet  be  expected.  It  is  now  the  calculation  to  offer  some 
of  it  at  the  monthly  sale,  September  next,  commencing  a  little  before 
the  middle  of  the  month.  I  have  had  no  time  to  examine  any  wools 
as  yet,  and  can  therefore  express  no  opinion  of  my  own  in  the  matter. 
England  is  a  fine  country,  so  far  as  I  have  seen ;  but  nothing  so  very 
wonderful  has  yet  appeared  to  me.  Their  forming  and  stone-masonry 
are  very  good  ;  cattle,  generally  more  than  middling  good.1  Horses, 
as  seen  at  Liverpool  and  London,  and  through  the  fine  country 
betwixt  these  places,  will  bear  no  comparison  with  those  of  our 
Northern  States,  as  they  average.  I  am  here  told  that  I  must  go  to 
the  Park  to  see  the  fine  horses  of  England,  and  I  suppose  I  must ; 
for  the  streets  of  London  and  Liverpool  do  not  exhibit  half  the  dis 
play  of  fine  horses  as  do  those  of  our  cities.  But  what  I  judge 
from  more  than  anything  is  the  numerous  breeding  mares  and  colts 
among  the  growers.  Their  hogs  are  generally  good,  and  mutton- 
sheep  are  almost  everywhere  as  fat  as  pork.  Tell  my  friend  Middle- 
ton  and  wife  that  England  affords  me  plenty  of  roast  beef  and 
mutton  of  the  first  water,  and  done  up  in  a  style  not  to  be  exceeded. 
As  I  intend  to  write  you  very  often  I  shall  not  be  lengthy  j  shall 
probably  add  more  to  this  sheet  before  I  seal  it.  Since  writing  the 
above,  I  find  that  it  will  be  my  best  way  to  set  out  at  once  for  the 
Continent,  and  I  expect  to  leave  for  Paris  this  evening.  So  farewell 
for  this  time,* —  now  about  four  o'clock  p.  M. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


LONDON,  Sept.  21,  1849. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  have  nothing  new  to  write  excepting  that  I 
am  still  well,  and  that  on  Monday  a  lot  of  No.  2  wool  was  sold 
at  the  auction  sale,  at  from  twenty-six  to  twenty-nine  cents  per  pound. 
This  is  a  bad  sale,  and  I  have  withdrawn  all  other  wools  from  the 

1  Writing  Sept.  30,  1850,  to  an  inquiring  correspondent,  John  Brown 
said  :  "  None  of  rny  cattle  are  pure  Devons,  but  a  mixture  of  that  and 
a  particular  favorite  stock  from  Connecticut,  —  a  cross  of  which  I  much 
prefer  to  any  pure  English  cattle,  after  many  years  experience,  of  different 
breeds.  I  was  several  months  in  England  last  season,  and  saw  no  one 
stock  on  any  farm. that  would  average  better  than  my  own." 


1849.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  73 

market,  or  public  sales.  Since  the  other  wools  have  been  withdrawn, 
I  have  discovered  a  much  greater  interest  among  the  buyers,  and  I 
am  in  hopes  to  succeed  better  with  the  other  wools  ;  but  cannot  say 
yet  how  it  will  prove  on  the  whole.  I  have  a  great  deal  of  stupid, 
obstinate  prejudice  to  contend  with,  as  well  as  conflicting  interests, 
both  in  this  country  and  from  the  United  States.  I  can  only  say  that 
I  have  exerted  myself  to  the  utmost,  and  that  if  I  cannot  effect  a 
better  sale  of  the  other  wools  privately  I  shall  start  them  back.  I 
believe  that  not  a  pound  of  No.  2  wool  was  bought  for  the  United 
States  j  and  I  learn  that  the  general  feeling  is  now  that  it  was 
quite  undersold.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty  bales  were  sold.  I 
regret  that  so  many  bales  were  put  up ;  but  it  cannot  be  helped  now, 
for  after  wool  has  been  subjected  to  a  London  examination  for  public 
sale,  it  is  very  much  injured  for  selling  again.  The  agent  of  Thirion, 
Mallard,  &  Co.,  has  been  looking  at  them  to-day,  and  seemed  highly 
pleased ;  said  he  had  never  seen  superior  wools,  and  that  he  would 
see  me  again.  We  have  not  yet  talked  about  price. 

I  now  think  I  shall  begin  to  think  of  home  quite  in  earnest  at 
least  in  another  fortnight,  possibly  sooner.  I  do  not  think  the  sale 
made  a  full  test  of  the  operation.  .Farewell. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

WESTPORT,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  9,  1849. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  reached  home  last  week,  and  found  all  well, 
and  the  weather  fine,  which  has  been  the  case  since  you  left  Essex 
County.  I  expect  to  return  to  Springfield  some  day  next  week,  but 
wish  you  would  forward  me  (without  delay}  by  letter  directed  to  me 
at  this  place  (Westport,  Essex  Co.),  care  of  F.  H.  Cutting,  a  draft 
on  New  York  for  $250,  payable  to  my  order.  Please  let  my  wife 
know. 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

John  Brown  landed  in  England,  Sunday,  Aug.  26,  1849, 
and  was  in  Paris  on  the  29th  and  30th  of  August.  His 
journey  through  Germany  must  have  been  swift,  for  he  was 
again  in  London,  September  21 ;  but  he  may  have  visited 
the  Continent  again  in  October,  for  lie  did  not  land  in  New 
York  until  the  last  week  in  October,  and  proceeded  from 
there  to  Westport  on  his  way  to  North  Elba  (where  his 
family  were  then  settled),  as  the  short  letter  above  printed 
shows.  His  wife,  however,  was  then  at  a  water-cure 
establishment  in  Northampton,  while  John  was  managing 


74  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1850. 

the  business  in  Springfield.  The  story  of  his  settlement  in 
the  wilderness  of  northern  New  York  will  be  more  fully 
given  hereafter.  So  far  as  his  wool  business  was  concerned, 
this  forest  home  afforded  him  a  quiet  retreat  from  the 
annoyances  which  the  failure  of  his  mercantile  enterprise 
brought  upon  him.  All  through  1850  it  was  evident  that 
the  result  would  be  unfortunate,  and  it  was  feared  his  losses 
might  be  large.  Brown  was  anxious,  hot  without  reason, 
lest  his  partner  in  Ohio,  Simon  Perkins,  might  blame  him 
for  his  peculiar  and  obstinate  course  in  trying  to  force  the 
market,  without  success.  The  following  letters  show  how 
this  affair  turned  :  — 

John  Broivn  to  his  Family. 

BURGETTSTOWN,  PENN.,  April  12,  1850. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN  AND  WIFE,  —  When  at  New  York,  on  my  way 
here,  I  called  at  Messrs.  Fowler  &  Wells's  office,  but  you  were 
absent.  Mr.  Perkins  has  made  me  a  visit  here,  and  left  for  home 
yesterday.  All  well  at  Essex  when  I  left;  all  well  at  Akron  when 
he  left,  one  week  since.  Our  meeting  together  was  one  of  the  most 
cordial  and  pleasant  I  ever  experienced.  He  met  a  full  history  of 
our  difficulties  and  probable  losses  without  a  frown  on  his  counte 
nance,  or  one  syllable  of  reflection  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  with  words 
of  comfort  and  encouragement.  He  is  wholly  averse  to  any  separa 
tion  of  our  business  or  interest,  and  gave  me  the  fullest  assurance  of 
his  undiminished  confidence  and  personal  regard.  He  expresses 
strong  desire  to  have  our  flock  of  sheep  remain  undivided,  to  become 
the  joint  possession  of  our  families  when  we  have  gone  off  the  stage. 
Such  a  meeting  I  had  not  dared  to  expect,  and  I  most  heartily  wish 
each  of  my  family  could  have  shared  in  the  comfort  of  it.  Mr.  Per 
kins  has  in  the  whole  business,  from  first  to  last,  set  an  example 
worthy  of  a  philosopher,  or  of  a  Christian.  I  am  meeting  with  a 
good  deal  of  trouble  from  those  to  whom  we  have  over-advanced,  but 
feel  nerved  to  face  any  difficulty  while  God  continues  me  such  a 
partner.  Expect  to  be  in  New  York  within  three  or  four  weeks. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  April  25,  1850. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN  AND  WIFE,  —  I  reached  here  well  yesterday, 
and  found  all  well.  Since  I  came  I  have  seen  your  letter  to  Jason, 
by  which  I  am  taken  somewhat  by  surprise ;  but  am  exceedingly 


1850.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  75 

gratified  to  learn  that  you  have  concluded  to  quit  that  city.  I  have 
only  to  say  at  this  moment,  do  suspend  all  further  plans  and  move 
ments  until  you  can  hear  the  result  of  a  general  consultation  over 
matters  with  Mr.  Perkins,  your  grandfather,  and  Jason.  I  will  just 
say,  in  few  words,  that  such  is  the  effect  here  of  the  California  fever, 
that  a  man  is  becoming  more  precious  than  gold  ;  and  I  very  much 
want  my  family  to  take  the  legitimate  and  proper  advantage  of  it. 
Edward  has  got  married  and  gone  to  California. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

WHITEHALL,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  4,  1850. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  was  disappointed  in  not  seeing  you  and 
Wealthy l  while  in  Ohio ;  and  not  till  within  a  few  days  did  I  get  to 
know  where  to  write  you,  as  I  have  been  on  the  move  most  of  the 
season.  I  should  have  written  you  while  at  Ravenna,  but  expected 
every  day  to  see  you.  We  have  trouble :  Pickersgills,  McDonald, 
Jones,  Warren,  Burlington,  and  Patterson  &  Ewing,  —  these  differ 
ent  claims  amount  to  some  forty  thousand  dollars,  and  if  lost  will 
leave  me  nice  and  flat.  This  is  in  confidence.  Mr.  Perkins  bears  the 
trouble  a  great  deal  better  than  I  had  feared.  I  have  been  trying  to 
collect,  and  am  still  trying.  Have  not  yet  effected  a  sale  of  our  wool. 
I  expect  to  take  some  of  the  best  of  my  cattle  to  Akron.  Our  crops 
in  Essex  were  very  good  this  season,  and  expenses  small.  The  fam 
ily  were  well  when  last  heard  from.  Am  now  on  my  way  home. 
Ruth  was  married  in  September,  and  I  think  has  done  well.  I  want 
you  to  write  me  at  Springfield  all  how  you  get  along,  and  what  you 
are  doing  and  intend  to  do,  and  what  your  prospects  are.  I  have  in 
no  way  altered  my  plan  of  future  operations  since  conversing  with 
you,  and  I  found  Mr.  Perkins's  views  fully  correspond  with  my  own. 
I  have  my  head  and  hands  quite  full ;  so  no  more  now. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  Dec.  4,  1850. 

DEAR  SONS  JOHN,  JASON,  FREDERICK,  AND  DAUGHTERS,  —  I 
this  moment  received  the  letter  of  John  and  Jason  of  the  29th  No 
vember,  and  feel  grateful  not  only  to  learn  that  you  are  all  alive  and 
well,  but  also  for  almost  everything  your  letters  communicate.  I  am 
much  pleased  with  the  reflection  that  you  are  all  three  once  more  to 
gether,  and  all  engaged  in  the  same  calling  that  the  old  patriarchs 
followed.  I  will  say  but  one  word  more  on  that  score,  and  that  is 

1  The  wife  of  John. 


76  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1850. 

taken  from  their  history  :  "  See  that  ye  fall  not  out  by  the  way,"  and 
all  will  be  exactly  right  in  the  end.  I  should  think  matters  were 
brightening  a  little  in  this  direction,  in  regard  to  our  claims ;  but  I 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  get  any  of  them  to  a  final  issue.  I  think, 
too,  that  the  prospect  for  the  fine-wool  business  rather  improves. 
What  burdens  me  most  of  all  is  the  apprehension  that  Mr.  Perkins 
expects  of  me  in  the  way  of  bringing  matters  to  a  close  what  no 
living  man  can  possibly  bring  about  in  a  short  time,  and  that  he  is 
getting  out  of  patience  and  becoming  distrustful.  If  I  could  be  with 
him  in  all  I  do,  or  could  possibly  attend  to  all  my  cares,  and  give  him 
full  explanations  by  letter  of  all  my  movements,  I  should  be  greatly 
relieved.  He  is  a  most  noble -spirited  man,  to  whom  I  feel  most 
deeply  indebted ;  and  no  amount  of  money  would  atone  to  my  feel 
ings  for  the  loss  of  confidence  and  cordiality  on  his  part.  If  my  sons, 
who  are  so  near  him,  conduct  wisely  and  faithfully  and  kindly  in 
what  they  have  undertaken,  they  will,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a 
doubt,  secure  to  themselves  a  full  reward,  if  they  should  not  be  the 
means  of  entirely  relieving  a  father  of  his  burdens. 

I  will  once  more  repeat  an  idea  I  have  often  mentioned  in  regard 
to  business  life  in  general.  A  world  of  pleasure  and  of  success  is  the 
sure  and  constant  attendant  upon  early  rising.  It  makes  all  the  busi 
ness  of  the  day  go  off  with  a  peculiar  cheerfulness,  while  the  effects  of 
the  contrary  course  are  a  great  and  constant  draft  upon  one's  vitality 
and  good  temper.  When  last  at  home  in  Essex,  I  spent  every  day 
but  the  first  afternoon  surveying  or  in  tracing  out  old  lost  boundaries, 
about  which  I  was  very  successful,  working  early  and  late,  at  two  dol 
lars  per  day.  This  was  of  the  utmost  service  to  both  body  and  mind } 
it  exercised  me  to  the  full  extent,  and  for  the  time  being  almost  en 
tirely  divested  my  mind  from  its  burdens,  so  that  I  returned  to  my 
task  very  greatly  refreshed  and  invigorated. 

John  asks  me  about  Essex.  I  will  say  that  the  family  there  were 
living  upon  the  bread,  milk,  butter,  pork,  chickens,  potatoes,  turnips, 
carrots,  etc.,  of  their  own  raising,  and  the  most  of  them  abundant  in 
quantity  and  superior  in  quality.  I  have  nowhere  seen  such  pota 
toes.  Essex  County  so  abounds  in  hay,  grain,  potatoes,  and  ruta 
bagas,  etc.,  that  I  find  unexpected  difficulty  in  selling  for  cash  oats 
and  some  other  things  we  have  to  spare.  Last  year  it  was  exactly 
the  reverse.  The  weather  was  charming  up  to  the  15th  November, 
when  I  left,  and  never  before  did  the  country  seem  to  hold  out  so  many 
tilings  to  entice  me  to  stay  on  its  soil.  Nothing  but  a  strong  sense  of 
duty,  obligation,  and  propriety  would  keep  me  from  laying  my  bones 
to  rest  there ;  but  I  shall  cheerfully  endeavor  to  make  that  sense  my 
guide,  God  always  helping.  It  is  a  source  of  the  utmost  comfort  to 
feel  that  I  retain  a  ;«rann  place  in  the  sympathies,  affections,  and 


1850.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS   MAN.  77 

confidence  of  my  own  most  familiar  acquaintance,  my  family  ;  and 
allow  me  to  say  that  a  man  can  hardly  get  into  difficulties  too  big  to 
be  surmounted,  if  he  has  a  firm  foothold  at  home.  Eemember  that. 

I  am  glad  Jason  has  made  the  sales  he  mentions,  on  many  accounts. 
It  will  relieve  his  immediate  money  wants,  a  thing  that  made  me 
somewhat  unhappy,  as  I  could  not  at  once  supply  them.  It  will 
lessen  his  care  and  the  need  of  being  gone  from  home,  perhaps  to  the 
injury  somewhat  of  the  flock  that  lies  at  the  foundation,  and  possibly 
to  the  injury  of  Mr.  Perkins's  feelings  on  that  account,  in  some 
measure.  He  will  certainly  have  less  to  divide  his  attention.  I  had 
felt  some  worried  about  it,  and  I  most  heartily  rejoice  to  hear  it ;  for 
you  may  all  rest  assured  that  the  old  flock  has  been,  and  so  long  as 
we  have  anything  to  do  with  it  will  continue  to  be,  the  main  root, 
either  directly  or  indirectly.  In  a  few  short  months  it  will  afford 
another  crop  of  wool. 

I  am  sorry  for  John's  trouble  in  his  throat ;  I  hope  he  will  soon 
get  relieved  of  that.  I  have  some  doubt  about  the  cold-water  prac 
tice  in  cases  of  that  kind,  but  do  not  suppose  a  resort  to  medicines  of 
much  account.  Regular  out-of-door  labor  I  believe  to  be  one  of  the 
best  medicines  of  all  that  God  has  yet  provided.  As  to  Essex,  I  have 
no  question  at  all.  For  stock-growing  and  dairy  business,  consider 
ing  its  healthfulness,  cheapness  of  price,  and  nearness  to  the  two  best 
markets  in  the  Union  (New  York  and  Boston),  I  do  not  know  where 
we  could  go  to  do  better.  I  am  much  refreshed  by  your  letters,  and 
until  you  hear  from  me  to  the  contrary,  shall  be  glad  to  have  you 
write  me  here  often.  Last  night  I  was  up  till  after  midnight  writing 
to  Mr.  Perkins,  and  perhaps  used  some  expressions  in  my  rather 
cloudy  state  of  mind  that  I  had  better  not  have  used.  I  mentioned 
to  him  that  Jason  understood  that  he  disliked  his  management  of  the 
flock  somewhat,  and  was  worried  about  that  an<X  the  poor  hay  he 
would  have  to  feed  out  during  the  winter.  I  did  not  mean  to  write 
him  anything  offensive,  and  hope  he  will  so  understand  me. 

There  is  now  a  fine  plank  road  completed  from  Westport  to  Eliza- 
bethtown.  We  have  no  hired  person  about  the  family  in  Essex. 
Henry  Thompson  is  clearing  up  a  piece  of  ground  that  the  lt  colored 
brethren  "  chopped  for  me.  He  boards  with  the  family ;  and,  by  the 
way,  he  gets  Ruth  out  of  bed  so  as  to  have  breakfast  before  light, 
mornings. 

I  want  to  have  you  save  or  secure  the  first  real  prompt,  fine-look 
ing,  black  shepherd  puppy  whose  ears  stand  erect,  that  you  can  get ; 
I  do  not  care  about  his  training  at  all,  further  than  to  have  him 
learn  to  come  to  you  when  bid,  to  sit  down  and  lie  down  when 
told,  or  something  in  the  way  of  play.  Messrs.  Cleveland  &  Titus, 
our  lawyers  in  New  York,  are  anxious  to  get  one  for  a  plaything ; 


78  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1850. 

and  I  am  well  satisfied,  that,  should  I  give  them  one  as  a  matter  of 
friendship,  it  would  be  more  appreciated  by  them,  and  do  more  to 
secure  their  best  services  in  our  suit  with  Pickersgill,  than  would  a 
hundred  dollars  paid  them  in  the  way  of  fees.  I  want  Jason  to  ob 
tain  from  Mr.  Perkins,  or  anywhere  he  can  get  them,  two  good  junk- 
bottles,  have  them  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  filled  with  the  cherry 
wine,  being  very  careful  not  to  roil  it  up  before  filling  the  bottles,  — 
providing  good  corks  and  filling  them  perfectly  full.  These  I  want 
him  to  pack  safely  in  a  very  small  strong  box,  which  he  can  make, 
direct  them  to  Perkins  &  Brown,  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  send  them 
by  express.  We  can  effect  something  to  purpose  by  producing  un 
adulterated  domestic  wines.  They  will  command  great  prices.1  It 
is  again  getting  late  at  night ;  and  I  close  by  wishing  every  present 
as  well  as  future  good. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  Dec.  6,  1850. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Your  kind  letter  is  received.  By  same  mail 
I  also  have  one  from  Mr.  Perkins  in  answer  to  one  of  mine,  in  which 
I  did  in  no  very  indistinct  way  introduce  some  queries,  not  altogether 
unlike  those  your  letter  contained.  Indeed,  your  letter  throughout  is 
so  much  like  what  has  often  passed  through  iny  own  mind,  that  were 
I  not  a  little  sceptical  yet,  I  should  conclude  you  had  access  to  some 
of  the  knocking  spirits.2  I  shall  not  write  you  very  long,  as  I  mean 

1  This  fixes  the  date  of  the  anecdote  told  by  Mr.  Leonard  concerning 
the  wines  which  Brown  had  to  exhibit ;  it  must  have  been  after  this  time, 
and  probably  in  1851.    John  Brown,  Jr.,  has  been  for  many  years  cultivat 
ing  the  grape  on  an  island  in  Lake  Erie,  and  his  brother  Jason  is  now 
doing  the  same  in  Southern  California.     Their  principles,  however,  forbid 
them  to  make  wine. 

2  This  was  the  period  when  the  Fox  family,  at  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  were 
astonishing  the  world  with  their  knockings  and  the  messages  from  another 
world  which  these  were  supposed  to  convey.    John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  inclined 
to  believe  in  the  reality  of  this  "rat-hole  revelation  "  (as  Emerson  described 
it  to  Henry  Ward  Beecher)  ;  but  his  father  was  sceptical.     He  talked  with 
his  son  at  the  American  House,  Springfield,  in  1848,  concerning  this  mat 
ter,  and  told  him  that  the  Bible  contains  the  whole  revelation  of  God  ;  that 
since  that  canon  was  closed,  "the  book  has  been  sealed."     In  his  later 
years  he  was  less  confident  of  this  ;  and  in  1859,  when  he  last  talked  with 
John  Brown,  Jr.,  on  the  subject,  he  said  he  had  received  messages,  as  he 
believed,  from  Dianthe  Lusk,  which  had  directed  his  conduct  in  cases  of 
perplexity.     Milton  Lusk  has  been  a  believer  in  "  Spiritualism  "  for  many 
years  ;  indeed,  he  is  naturally  heretical,  and  was  excommunicated  by  the 
church  in  Hudson,  in  1835. 


1853.J  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  79 

to  write  again  before  many  days.  Mr.  Perkins's  letter,  to  which  I 
just  alluded,  appears  to  be  written  in  a  very  kind  spirit ;  arid  so  long 
as  he  is  right-side  up,  I  shall  by  no  means  despond  ;  indeed,  I  think 
the  fog  clearing  away  from  our  matters  a  little.  I  certainly  wish  to 
understand,  and  I  mean  to  understand,  u  how  the  land  lies"  before 
taking  any  important  steps.  You  can  assist  me  very  much  about 
being  posted  up ;  but  you  will  be  able  to  get  hold  of  the  right  end 
exactly  by  having  everything  done  up  first-rate,  and  by  becoming 
very  familiar,  and  not  by  keeping  distant.  I  most  earnestly  hope 
that  should  I  lose  caste,  my  family  will  at  least  prove  themselves 
worthy  of  respect  and  confidence ;  and  I  am  sure  that  my  three  sons 
in  Akron  can  do  a  great  job  for  themselves  and  for  the  family  if 
they  behave  themselves  wisely.  Your  letter  so  well  expresses  my 
own  feelings,  that  were  it^  not  for  one  expression  I  would  mail  it 
with  one  I  have  just  finished,  to  Mr.  Perkins.  Can  you  not  all 
three  eifectually  secure  the  name  of  good  business  men  this  winter? 
That  you  are  considered  honest  and  rather  intelligent  I  have  no 
doubt. 

I  do  not  believe  the  losses  of  our  firm  will  in  the  end  prove  so  very 
severe,  if  Mr.  Perkins  can  only  be  kept  resolute  and  patient  in  regard 
to  matters.  I  have  often  made  mistakes  by  being  too  hasty,  and 
mean  hereafter  to  u  ponder  well  the  path  of  my  feet."  I  mean  to 
pursue  in  all  things  such  a  course  as  is  in  reality  wise,  and  as  will  in 
the  end  give  to  myself  and  family  the  least  possible  cause  for  regret. 
I  believe  Mr.  Newton  is  properly  authorized  to  take  testimony.  If 
so,  I  wish  you  to  ascertain  the  fact  and  write  me ;  if  not,  I  want  you 
to  learn  through  Mr.  Perkins  who  would  be  a  suitable  person  for  that 
business,  as  I  expect  before  many  weeks  to  want  your  testimony, 
and  I  want  you  to  give  me  the  name.  I  forgot  to  write  to  Mr.  Per 
kins  about  it,  and  have  sealed  up  my  letter  to  him.  I  mentioned 
about  your  testimony,  but  forgot  what  I  should  have  written. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

As  may  be  inferred  from  these  letters,  the  settlement  of 
Perkins  &  Brown's  affairs  involved  several  lawsuits,  some 
brought  by  them  and  some  against  them.  These  were  tried 
in  several  places,  —  at  New  York,  at  Troy,  and  in  one  in 
stance  at  Boston.  The  latter  was  tried  before  Caleb  Gushing 
in  the  winter  of  1852-53,  and  was  one  of  the  last  cases 
heard  by  Judge  Gushing  before  leaving  his  seat  in  the  Su 
preme  Court  of  Massachusetts  to  take  his  place  in  President 
Pierce' s  cabinet  as  attorney-general.  The  suit  was  brought 


80  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1853. 

by  the  Burlington  Mills  Company  of  Vermont,  represented 
in  Boston  by  Jacob  Sleeper  and  others,  against  John  Brown 
and  others,  for  a  breach  of  contract  in  supplying  wool  to 
these  mills  of  certain  grades ;  and  the  damages  were  laid  at 
sixty  thousand  dollars.  It  was  pending  for  a  loug  time,  the 
counsel  against  Brown  being  Kufus  Choate  and  Francis  B. 
Hayes,  and  his  own  senior  counsel  being  the  eminent  New 
York  lawyer,  Joshua  V.  Spencer.  It  finally  came  to  trial 
in  Boston,  Jan.  14,  1853,  and  after  several  postponements 
and  the  taking  of  much  testimony  it  was  settled,  Feb.  3, 
1853,  by  a  compromise  between  the  counsel,  the  anticipated 
decision  of  the  court  being  against  Brown.  About  a  year 
later  he  won  a  similar  suit  in  a  New  York  court ;  and  he 
always  believed  that  he  should  have  won  his  Boston  suit,  if 
the  case  had  been  tried  on  its  merits.  An  appeal  was  taken 
from  the  verdict  in  Brown's  favor,  at  Troy,  N.  Y. ;  and 
while  this  was  pending,  in  the  spring  of  1854,  he  was  at  Ver- 
non,  near  Utica,  N.  Y.,  assisting  his  counsel,  Mr.  Jenkins, 
to  prepare  the  case.  A  person  in  the  law-office  of  his  coun 
sel  tells  this  anecdote,  to  show  how  his  love  of  liberty 
interfered  with  his  business  :  — 


11  The  morning  after  the  news  of  the  Burns  affair  reached  Vernon, 
Brown  went  at  his  work  immediately  after  breakfast;  but  in  a  few 
minutes  started  up  from  his  chair,  walked  rapidly  across  the  room 
several  times,  then  suddenly  turned  to  his  counsel  and  said,  i  I  am 
going  to  Boston.'  '  Going  to  Boston  ! '  said  the  astonished  lawyer ; 
'  why  do  you  want  to  go  to  Boston  ?  '  Old  Brown  continued  walking 
vigorously,  and  replied,  '  Anthony  Burns  must  be  released,  or  I  will 
die  in  the  attempt.'  The  counsel  dropped  his  pen  in  consternation ; 
then  he  began  to  remonstrate :  told  him  the  suit  had  been  in  progress 
a  long  time,  and  a  verdict  just  gained ;  it  was  appealed  from,  and  that 
appeal  must  be  answered  in  so  many  days,  or  the  whole  labor  would 
be  lost;  and  no  one  was  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  whole  case 
except  himself.  It  took  a  long  and  earnest  talk  with  old  Brown  to 
persuade  him  to  remain.  His  memory  and  acuteness  in  that  long 
and  tedious  lawsuit  often  astonished  his  counsel.  While  here  he 
wore  an  entire  suit  of  snuff-colored  cloth,  the  coat  of  a  decidedly  Qua 
kerish  cut  in  collar  and  skirt.  He  wore  no  beard,  and  was  a  clean 
shaven,  scrupulously  neat,  well  dressed,  quiet  old  gentleman.  He 
was,  however,  notably  resolute  in  all  that  he  did." 


1851.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  81 

At  this  time  Brown  was  fifty-four  years  old,  but  looked 
five  years  beyond  his  age  ;  and  this  aged  appearance  was 
increased  by  his  hardships  in  Kansas,  so  that  he  might  have 
passed  for  seventy  at  his  death  in  1859. 

The  following  letters  relate  to  these  lawsuits  :  — 

STEUBENVILLE,  OHIO,  May  15,  1851. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  wrote  you  some  days  since,  enclosing  ten 
dollars,  and  requesting  you  to  acknowledge  it,  and  also  to  hold  your 
self  in  readiness  to  go  to  Pittsburgh  when  called  upon  ;  since  which 
I  have  not  heard  from  you.  I  am  now  on  my  way  to  Akron ;  and 
as  our  causes  at  Pittsburgh  have  been  continued  until  next  fall,  we 
shall  not  need  you  there  until  then.  We  have  now  no  prospect  of 
any  trial  until  fall,  except  with  Henry  Warren ;  and  we  wish  you  to 
so  arrange  your  business  that  you  can  leave  for  Troy  upon  a  short 
notice.  I  also  want  you  to  keep  me  advised  at  Akron  of  your  where 
abouts,  so  that  I  may  call  upon  you  should  I  have  time.  I  did  ex 
pect  to  go  to  Hartford  when  I  left  home,  but  find  I  must  alter  my 
course.  I  was  in  Essex  on  Tuesday  last.  Left  Ruth  and  husband 
well,  and  very  comfortably  situated.  We  seem  to  get  along  as  pleas 
antly  as  I  expected,  so  far  ;  can't  say  how  long  it  will  be  so ;  hope 
we  may  continue.  I  want  you  to  write  often  and  let  us  know  how 
you  get  along.  Had  sad  work  among  our  Saxony  ewes  and  lambs 
by  dogs,  Saturday  night  last :  probably  forty  killed  and  wounded. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CLEVELAND,  Oct.  30,  1851. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  have  just  landed  here  from  Buffalo,  and 
expect  to  leave  for  Akron  by  next  train.  As  soon  as  I  learn  at  what 
time  we  shall  want  you  at  Pittsburgh  I  will  let  you  know ;  but  I 
now  suppose  we  shall  want  you  there  immediately,  and  wish  you  to 
hold  yourself  in  constant  readiness.  Have  heard  nothing  further 
from  home  or  from  Essex  since  we  parted.  Met  Mr.  Jenkins  at  Al 
bany,  and  we  came  on  together  to  Utica.  He  was  pleased  with  the 
course  we  took  at  Lanesboro,  and  was  in  very  good  spirits ;  says  he 
learned  through  Brigham,  while  at  Albany,  that  Warren's  attorneys 
feel  pretty  well  cornered  up  : l  says  we  did  right  in  not  taking  your 
deposition  in  Burlington  case. 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

1  In  a  previous  letter  to  his  family,  Brown  says  (Oct.  6,  1851)  :  "  I  have 
strong  hopes  of  success  finally  in  disposing  of  our  business  here  [Troy],  but 
it  is  exceedingly  troublesome  and  expensive." 

6 


82  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1852. 

AKROX,  OHIO,  Dec.  1,  1851. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Yours,  dated  November  14,  came  on  in  season, 
but  an  increased  amount  of  cares  has  prevented  me  from  answering 
sooner.  One  serious  difficulty  has  been  with  Frederick,  who  has 
been  very  wild  again.  He  is  again,  however,  to  all  appearance 
nearly  recovered  from  it  by  the  return  to  an  abstemious  course  of 
living,  —  almost,  if  not  quite,  the  only  means  used.  He  had  gradu 
ally  slid  back  into  his  old  habit  of  indulgence  in  eating,  the  effect  of 
which  I  consider  as  being  now  fully  demonstrated.  I  now  expect  to 
set  out  for  Troy  on  Wednesday  of  this  week,  at  furthest ;  and  if  you 
do  not  see  me  at  Vernon  before  the  stage  leaves  on  Thursday,  I  wish 
you  to  take  it  on  that  day,  so  as  to  meet  me-at  Bonnet's  Temperance 
House  in  Buffalo.  The  going  is  too  bad  to  go  by  private  convey 
ance,  and  I  am  yet  at  a  loss  how  I  can  get  through  from  Warren 
to  Vernon  with  my  trunk  of  books,  etc.  I  intend  to  bring  my 
watch  with  me.  I  have  accomplished  a  good  deal  in  the  way  of 
preparation  for  winter,  but  shall  be  obliged  to  leave  a  great  deal  un 
done.  If  you  do  not  find  me  at  Buffalo  (or  before  you  get  there), 
you  may  wait  there  not  longer  than  till  Saturday  evening,  and  then 
take  the  cars  for  Troy.  You  will  learn  at  Bennet's  whether  I  am 
behind  or  not.  If  you  have  not  funds  sufficient  to  take  you  to  Troy, 
you  can  probably  borrow  a  little,  to  be  refunded  immediately  when  I 
see  you,  by  Perkins  &  Brown. 

Yours,  J.  B. 

NEW  YORK,  March  11,  1852. 
SIMON  PERKINS,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  called  on  Messrs.  Cleveland  &  Titus  to-day.  Found 
Mr.  Cleveland  intended  to  charge  us  three  hundred  dollars  as  a  bal 
ance  of  accounts.  I  asked  him  for  the  principal  items  of  his  charge, 
which  he  promised  to  make  up,  and  leave,  directed  to  you,  care  of 
Messrs.  Delano,  Dunlevy,  &  Co.,  39  Wall  Street.  He  said  he  could 
not  make  it  up  without  keeping  me  detained  over  night.  As  I  could 
see  no  advantage  to  be  derived  from  waiting,  after  hearing  his  expla 
nation  of  the  matter,  I  concluded  not  to  wait.  He  says  he  drew  an 
amended  bill  after  drawing  the  first  complaint,  and  that  he  gave 
more  time  to  that  than  he  did  to  the  complaint.  Since  I  left  him  I 
have  thought  this  was  not  quite  right,  after  the  conversation  we  had 
with  him  together,  and  after  our  letter  to  them  dated  May  16,  1851. 
He  said  to  me  that  if  I  was  not  satisfied  with  the  charge  it  should  be 
reduced.  I  did  not  tell  him  what  I  thought ;  but  if  I  had  thought 
of  our  letter  at  the  time  I  should  have  asked  him  to  refer  to  it,  as 
I  think  he  went  contrary  to  his  own  advice,  and  also  to  our  last 
instructions.  If  you  call  on  him,  I  wish  you  would  ask  him  to  read 


1852.J  JOHN   BROWN   AS  A   BUSINESS   MAN.  83 

that  letter  to  you.  I  think  it  can  do  no  harm,  and  that  he  will  prob 
ably  abate  something  from  his  charge.  I  should  not  now,  after 
reflecting  upon  it,  hesitate  to  say  that  I  think  he  ought  to  do  it  (and 
since  looking  up  the  copy  of  our  letter  to  them).  In  haste, 

Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. l 

P.  S.  If  you  call  on  Cleveland  &.  Titus,  and  can  find  room,  I 
\vould  be  glad  to  have  you  bring  the  papers  in  that  case.  I  forgot 
to  ask  for  them. 

Yours  truly,  J.  B. 

The  Boston  trial  was  put  off  from  time  to  time,  —  from 
September,  1852,  to  November,  and  then  to  December.  John 
Brown  wrote  to  his  son  John  in  September :  "  When  our  suit 
comes  on  in  isovember,  we  shall  not  need  to  detain  you  but 
a  few  days,  and  the  want  of  your  testimony  might  work  our 
ruin.  Write  me  on  receipt  of  this."  Nov.  20, 1852,  he  wrote 
again,  — 

I  parted  with  Frederick  at  Ravenna,  on  his  way  to  your  place  ; 
he  has  told  you  of  the  death  of  our  Mr.  Jenkins  (of  Vernou,  N.  Y.,  a 
brother  of  Timothy  Jenkins).  We  have  employed  Timothy  Jenkins, 
M.  C.,  to  finish  up  his  business,  and  I  am  now  on  my  way  to  assist 
him  to  understand  it,  previous  to  having  our  trial  with  0.  J.  Richard 
son.  We  now  expect  our  trial  at  Boston  to  come  off  sometime  about 
the  middle  of  December,  and  hope  to  see  the  end  of  it  before  the 
close.  We  hope  the  situation  of  your  family  is  such,  before  this  time, 
that  you  are  relieved  in  regard  to  the  anxiety  you  have  expressed,  so 
that  you  can  leave  at  once,  and  go  on  when  you  get  notice  of  the  time. 
I  will  send  you  funds  for  your  expenses  and  the  earliest  possible  in 
formation  of  the  exact  time  when  the  trial  will  come  on.  All  were  well 
at  home  and  at  Hudson  this  morning.  I  should  wait  and  go  on  with 
you,  did  not  our  Wan-en  business  require  my  immediate  attention.  I 
suppose  our  Pittsburgh  cause  is  decided  before  this  ;  but  we  had  not 
heard  from  it  when  I  left.  I  will  only  add  that  you  all  have  my  most 
earnest  desire  for  your  real  welfare.  Will  you  drop  me  a  line  (care 
of  A.  B.  Ely,  Esq.,  Boston),  on  receipt  of  this,  to  let  me  hear  how 
you  all  do? 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

1  On  the  same  date  (March  11,  1852),  but  from  New  Haven,  Brown 
writes  to  his  family':  "  I  received  Henry's  letter  of  the  3d  at  Troy,  which 
place  I  left  yesterday  in  order  to  meet  Mr.  Perkins,  who  has  come  on  here 
on  railroad  business.  I  have  at  last  got  through  trying  our  cause  at  Troy, 
but  have  not  yet  got  a  decision.  I  think  it  will,  without  doubt,  be  in  our 
favor." 


84  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1852. 

VERNON,  ONEIDA  COUNTY,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  8,  1852. 
DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  have  this  moment  got  a  line  from  Mr.  Ely, 
saying  our  trial  at  Boston  will  not  come  on  until  the  first  week  in 
January  next.  I  give  you  this  early  notice,  in  hopes  that  it  will  re 
lieve  your  mind  in  a  measure,  and  that  it  will  be  more  convenient  for 
you  to  be  absent  at  that  time.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall  be  able 
to  go  home  again  before  that  time  or  not.  Will  write  you  hereafter 
when  to  set  out  for  Boston,  and  supply  you  with  funds  for  expenses. 
My  best  wishes  for  you  all. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Dec.  9,  1852. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN.  —  I  reached  home  last  night,  and  found  all  well. 
I  came  by  the  Erie  Railroad,  and  got  along  very  well  until  I  left 
Dunkirk.  Fare  from  Dunkirk  to  Cleveland,  $8.90 ;  expenses  from 
same  to  same,  $4.02,  and  was  two  and  a  half  entire  days  getting 
through,  the  roads  being  vastly  worse  than  when  we  went  out.  Had 
I  expected  so  hard  and  so  expensive  a  trip,  I  should  not  have  re 
turned.  I  mean  to  go  back  by  Pittsburgh  and  Philadelphia,  there 
being  on  that  route  but  twenty-eight  miles  of  sleighing,  from  Troy  to 
Hudson,  and  that  on  a  good  road.  I  intend  to  get  back  to  Troy  by 
the  17th  if  I  can.  Have  not  yet  seen  Mr.  Perkins,  to  have  any  con 
versation  with  him  of  any  account.  Whatever  you  may  do  in  the 
preparation  of  papers  will  be  all  well  for  the  Burlington  case.  You 
will  have  saved  a  great  amount  of  exposure,  hardship,  and  expense  by 
staying  behind. 

Your  affectionate  .father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

VERGENNES,  VERMONT,  Dec.  22,  1852. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  have  written  Mr.  Perkins  to  send  you  money 
for  expenses,  so  that  you  may  set  out  for  Boston  by  the  21st  January 
at  furthest.  I  am  too  much  used  up  about  money  to  remit,  or  I  should 
do  so.  I  have  written  Mr.  Perkins  to  come  on  himself  by  way  of 
Vernon;  but  if  he  does  not  get  on,  or  send  you  money  in  time,  do 
not  on  any  account  delay  setting  out,  if  you  have  to  borrow  the 
money  for  a  few  days.  The  money  will  be  sent,  and  if  it  does  not 
reach  you  in  time,  Wealthy  l  can  use  it  to  pay,  should  you  not  have 
it  on  hand.  Mr.  Beebe  has  got  home  from  Europe,  which  we  think 
very  fortunate.  Mr.  Harrington  is  here  with  me  from  Troy  ;  he  has 
got  his  case  against  Warren  affirmed  during  the  last  week.  I  hope 
this  may  prove  a  sickness  to  Warren  about  standing  out  against  us. 

1  The  wife  of  John  Brown,  Jr. 


1851.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  85 

I  am  so  much  in  haste,  and  have  my  mind  so  full,  that  I  can  think 
of  no  more  now,  except  that  I  stop  at  the  Exchange  Coffee  House  in 
Boston.  May  God  in  mercy  bless  you  all. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

This  trial,  so  anxiously  awaited  and  prepared  for,  went 
against  Brown,  as  has  been  said,  and  he  withdrew  from 
trade  and  litigation,  for  which  he  was  ill-fitted,  to  the  life 
of  a  shepherd  and  a  pioneer  once  more.  Profiting  by  his 
experience,  however,  he  gave  this  good  advice  to  his  son 
John,  who  at  one  time  was  tempted  to  take  up  the  business 
of  wool-buying :  — 

HUDSON,  OHIO,  May  20,  1851. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  learn  by  brother  Jeremiah,  who  has  just 
returned,  that  you  have  engaged  yourself  to  buy  wool.  I  have  no 
objection  to  your  doing  so ;  but  an  untiring  anxiety  for  your  welfare 
naturally  inclines  me  to  remind  you  of  some  of  the  temptations  to 
which  you  may  be  exposed,  as  well  as  some  of  the  difficulties  you 
may  meet  with.  Wool-buyers  generally  accuse  each  other  of  being 
unscrupulous  liars;  and  in  that  one  thing  perhaps  they  are  not  so. 
Again,  there  are  but  very  few  persons  who  need  money,  that  can 
wholly  resist  the  temptation  of  feeling  too  rich,  while  handling  any  con 
siderable  amount  of  other  people's  money.  They  are  also  liable  to 
devote  God's  blessed  Sabbath  to  conversation  or  contrivances  for  fur 
thering  their  schemes,  if  not  to  the  examination  and  purchase  of  wool. 
Now,  I  would  not  have  you  barter  away  your  conscience  or  good  nam6 
for  a  commission.  You  will  find  that  many  will  pile  away  their  wool, 
putting  the  best  outside,  and  will  be  entirely  unwilling  you  should 
handle  it  all.  I  would  at  once  leave  such  lots,  unless  that  point  is 
yielded.  I  would  have  an  absolute  limit  of  prices  on  the  different 
grades.  You  can  throw  into  different  grades,  pretty  fast,  a  lot  of  wool, 
so  as  to  see  pretty  nearly  whether  it  will  average  above  or  below  the 
grade  you  wish  generally  to  buy.  Do  not  let  your  anxiety  to  buy  carry 
you  one  inch  beyond  your  judgment.  Do  not  be  influenced  a  particle 
by  what  you  hear  others  have  offered.  Never  make,  an  absolute  offer 
to  any  one  for  Ms  wool.  If  persons  will  not  set  a  price  on  it,  which  you 
feel  confident  you  are  authorized  to  pay,  you  can  ask  them  if  they  will 
not  take  so  much,  without  really  making  any  bid.  If  you  make  bids, 
some  other  buyer  will  follow  you,  and  get  the  wool  by  offering  a 
trifle  more.  A  very  trifling  difference  will  very  often  do  as  much 
towards  satisfying  persons  as  would  a  greater  one.  You  will  geuer- 


86  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1851. 

ally  buy  to  the  best  advantage  where  the  wool  is  generally  good  and 
washed:  you  can  buy  to  better  advantage  by  finding  a  good  stand, 
and  there  buying  no  more  than  you  have  the  funds  on  hand  to  pay 
for.  Do  not  agree  to  pay  money  you  have  not  on  hand.  Remember 
that.  Say  who  you  are  employed  to  buy  for  frankly  if  asked.  The 
less  you  have  to  say  about  the  why  or  wherefore  the  better,  other 
than  that  you  are  limited.  A  book  containing  the  grading  of  numer 
ous  lots  of  wool  is  with  me  at  Akron,  to  which  you  can  have  access ; 
it  may  be  of  service  to  you  about  knowing  how  different  lots  will 
average.  Buy  you  a  superior  cow,  one  that  you  have  milked  your 
self,  and  know  to  give  a  good  quantity  of  milk,  before  getting  a 
horse.  The  getting  of  a  horse  will  get  for  you  numerous  absolute 
wants  you  would  otherwise  not  have.  All  well.  Shall  want  to  know 
where  to  find  you. 

Your  affectionate  father/ 

JOHN  BROWN. 


We  see  here  the  homely,  Franklin-like  wisdom  and  Con 
necticut  caution  of  the  man.  In  his  whole  business  life, 
though  his  judgment  was  often  at  fault,  his  uprightness  was 
manifest.  Though  unfortunate,  he  was  never  unjust.  He 
was  industrious  in  whatever  he  undertook,  fair  and  scru 
pulous  in  his  business  transactions,  but  with  a  touch  of  eccen 
tricity,  which  showed  itself  particularly,  his  friends  thought, 
in  his  deeds  of  charity.  While  living  in  Pennsylvania  he 
declined  to  do  military  duty,  and  paid  his  fine  rather  than 
encourage  war  by  learning  the  art,  resolving,  as  Thoreau 
said  in  1859,  "  that  he  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  any 
war  unless  it  were  a  war  for  liberty."  He  caused  the  arrest 
of  an  offender  there,  who  had  done  him  no  injury,  but  was 
a  plague  to  the  community  ;  and  while  this  man  was  in 
prison,  Brown  supplied  his  wants  and  supported  his  family 
until  the  trial,  out  of  his  own  earnings.  One  of  the  appren 
tices  in  his  tanyard  at  that  time  bears  testimony  to  the 
singular  probity  of  his  life.  "  I  have  known  him  from 
boyhood  through  manhood,"  said  Mr.  Oviatt,  of  Eichfield, 
"  and  he  has  always  been  distinguished  for  his  truthfulness 
and  integrity."  Another  Ohio  acquaintance,  who  first  knew 
him  in  1836,  says :  "  Soon  after  my  removal  to  Akron,  he 
became  a  client  of  mine,  subsequently  a  resident  of  the 
township  in  which  the  town  of  Akron  is  situated,  and  during 


1842.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS   A  BUSINESS  MAN.  87 

a  portion  of  the  time  a  member  of  a  Bible-class  taught  by 
me.  I  always  regarded  him  as  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary 
mental  capacity,  of  very  ardent  and  excitable  temperament, 
of  unblemished  moral  character ;  a  kind  neighbor,  a  good 
Christian,  deeply  imbued  with  religious  feelings  and  sympa 
thies.  In  a  business  point  of  view,  his  temperament  led  him 
into  pecuniary  difficulties,  but  I  never  knew  his  integrity 
questioned  by  any  person  whatsoever."  Mr.  Baldwin,  of 
Hudson,  son-in-law  of  that  Squire  Hudson  for  whom  the 
town  was  named,  said  that  he  first  knew  John  Brown  in 
1814,  and  always  found  him  "  of  rigid  integrity  and  ardent 
temperament,"  which  describes  him  well.  When  he  went 
to  live  in  Springfield,  he  was  for  some  years  the  client  of  the 
late  Chief-Justice  Chapman,  who  called  him  "a  quiet  and 
peaceable  citizen  and  a  religious  man,"  and  further  said : 
"  Mr.  Brown's  integrity  was  never  doubted,  and  he  was  hon 
orable  in  all  his  dealings,  but  peculiar  in  many  of  his  notions, 
and  adhering  to  them  with  great  obstinacy."  This  was  true, 
also,  of  the  chief-justice,  and  is  a  New-England  trait.  But 
for  Brown's  "  peculiar  notions  "  and  "great  obstinacy,"  there 
would  have  been  no  occasion  to  write  this  biography. 


John  Brown,  Jr.,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  his 
father's  business  life  from  1837  onward,  has  furnished 
me  this  statement  bearing  on  several  of  the  events  in  this 
period  of  his  life  :  — 

il  The  bankruptcy  of  1842  had  little  to  do  with  any  speculation  in 
wool,  for  at  that  time  my  father  was  not  a  wool-dealer  on  a  large 
scale,  but  sold  his  own  'clip/  as  other  farmers  did.  His  failure, 
as  I  now  remember,  was  wholly  owing  to  his  purchase  of-  land  on 
credit,  — including  the  Haymaker  farm  at  Franklin,  which  he  bought 
in  connection  with  Seth  Thompson  of  Hartford,  Trumbull  County, 
Ohio,  and  his  individual  purchase  of  three  rather  large  adjoining 
farms  in  Hudson.  When  he  bought  those  farms,  the  rise  in  value 
of  his  place  in  Franklin  was  such  that  good  judges  estimated  his 
property  worth  fully  twenty  thousand  dollars.  He  was  then  thought 
to  be  a  man  of  excellent  business  judgment,  and  was  chosen  one  of 
the  Directors  of  a  Bank  at  Cuyahoga  Falls.  The  financial  crash 


88  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1842. 

came  in  1337,  and  down  came  all  of  father's  castles,  and  buried  the 
reputation  he  had  achieved  of  possessing  at  least  good  common-sense 
in  respect  to  business  matters.  In  his  conversations  with  me  in  later 
years  respecting  the  mistakes  he  had  made,  I  have  heard  him  say 
that  i  these  grew  out  of  one  root,  —  doing  business  on  credit."1 
1  Where  loans  are  amply  secured/  he  would  say,  '  the  borrower, 
not  the  lender,  takes  the  risks,  and  all  the  contingencies  incident  to 
business ;  while  the  accumulations  of  interest  and  the  coming  of 
pay-day  are  as  sure  as  death.  lustead  of  being  thoroughly  im 
bued  writh  the  doctrine  of  pay  as  you  go,'  he  said,  l  I  started  out  in 
life  with  the  idea  that  nothing  could  be  done  without  capital,  and 
that  a  poor  man  must  use  his  credit  and  borrow ;  and  this  pernicious 
notion  has  been  the  rock  on  which  I,  as  well  as  so  many  others, 
have  split.  The  practical  effect  of  this  false  doctrine  has  been  to 
keep  me  like  a  toad  under  a  harrow  most  of  my  business  life.  Run 
ning  into  debt  includes  so  much  of  evil  that  I  hope  all  my  children 
will  shun  it  as  they  would  a  pestilence.' 

"  His  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  had  nothing  to  do  with  any 
of  his  wool  matters,  but  related  entirely  to  the  affair  of  '  the  old  log 
fort.'  The  purchaser  of  the  Hudson  farm  got  out  a  warrant  against 
father,  Jason,  Owen,  and  me  for  breach  of  the  peace,  alleging 
that  he  feared  personal  harm  in  his  attempts  at  taking  possession ; 
and,  alleging  further  that  he  could  not  obtain  justice  in  Hudson,  he 
swore  out  his  warrant  before  a  Justice  in  an  adjoining  township. 
We  made  no  resistance  whatever  to  the  service  of  the  writ,  and 
appeared  for  examination  before  the  Justice  in  that  town,  who  was 
plainly  in  full  sympathy  with  the  complainant ;  and  after  a  brief 
hearing  he  required  us  to  enter  into  bonds  for  our  appearance  at  the 
county  court  in  Akron.  These  we  would  not  give ;  and  next  day 
we  went  to  jail.  The  sheriff,  a  friend  of  father,  and  who  under 
stood  the  merits  of  the  case,  went  through  the  form  of  turning  the 
jail-key  on  us,  then  opened  the  door  and  gave  us  the  liberty  of  the 
town,  putting  as  upon  our  honor  not  to  leave  it.  We  were  then  taken 
to  board  at  a  nice  private  residence,  at  county  expense,  for  three  or 
four  days  only,  as  it  was  just  before  the  sitting  of  Court.  On  call 
ing  the  case  it  was  '  nolkd,'  and  we  returned  home.  This  scheme  of 
the  purchaser  resulted  in  his  getting  possession  of  one  of  the  fine 
farms  which  father  then  owned  in  Hudson,  and  that  too  within  half 
an  hour  after  our  arrest.  This  is  all  there  was  in  the  matter  of  our 
having  once  been  in  Akron  Jail. 

"  In  correction  of  what  you  told  me  Colonel  Perkins  said  to  dis 
parage  my  father's  skill  as  a  shepherd,  his  success  in  business, 
etc.,  let  me  remark  that  the  correspondence  of  Perkins  &  Brown,  if 
exhibited,  would  not  confirm  these  statements.  Since  father  had 


1850.]  JOHN  BROWN  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN.  89 

become  well  known  as  a  'grower  of  the  finest  Saxony  wool  by 
the  fine-wool  growers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  and  somewhat 
of  Western  Virginia,  when  these  men  all  thought  they  were  vic 
timized  by  the  manufacturers  of  fine  wool,  father  was  urged  by 
these  growers  to  undertake  the  work  of  grading  their  wool  and 
selling  it  on  commission,  in  hopes  to  obtain  in  this  way  fairer 
prices.  Mr.  Perkins  not  only  l  allowed '  father  to  undertake  this, 
but  entered  heartily  into  the  plan,  which  for  a  year  or  two  was 
successful,  until  the  manufacturers  discovered  that  Perkins  & 
Brown  were  receiving  a  large  share  of  the  really  fine  wool  grown  in 
this  country,  and  that  if  they  bought  it  they  must  pay  a  fairer  price 
for  it.  This  would  greatly  diminish  the  profits  heretofore  made  by 
the  manufacturers  of  these  very  fine  wools  ;  and  so  this  high-handed 
attempt,  not  to  '  control,'  as  stated  by  Mr.  Musgrave,  but  to 
influence  the  price  somewhat  '  in  the  interest  of  the  farmers,'  must 
be  squelched.  The  manufacturers  combined,  and  'boycotted'  these 
upstart  dealers.  From  the  quoted  prices  in  the  London  market  of 
grades  of  wool  not  equal,  as  father  well  knew,  to  the  wool  he  had, 
he  became  satisfied  that  rather  than  take  the  prices  which  the  com 
bination  would  pay  it  would  be  better  to  send  the  wool  abroad.  The 
clique  had  long  arms,  and  finally  bought  at  low  rates  and  brought 
back  the  wool  he  shipped  to  London  j  and  the  farmers,  most  of 
whom  had  consented  to  the  undertaking  of  sending  it  abroad,  suffered 
great  loss.  Thus  ended  the  wool  business  of  Perkins  &  Brown. n 

The  letter-books  of  Perkins  &  Brown,  which  came  into 
the  hands  of  John  Brown,  Jr.  (May,  1885),  quite  confirm 
this  statement. 


90  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1826. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE  ADIRONDACS. 

THE  Brown  family  were  born  to  be  pioneers,  and  none 
of  them  more  than  our  Kansas  hero.  His  first  Ameri 
can  ancestor  was  a  pioneer  at  Plymouth  in  1620 ;  the  next 
generation  were  pioneers  in  Connecticut;  and  their  descend 
ants  went  from  wilderness  to  wilderness  until  New  Eng 
land  was  fairly  civilized.  Then  Owen  Brown,  of  Torrington, 
took  up  the  march  again,  and  encamped  in  Ohio,  where  his 
famous  son  took  the  first  lessons  of  a  pioneer  among  the 
Indians  of  Cuyahoga  and  the  Great  Portage.  This  expe 
rience  ended,  and  the  attractions  of  civilization  proving  too 
weak  for  him,  he  pushed  eastward  into  the  woods  of  Penn 
sylvania,  where  we  have  seen  him  serving  as  postmaster, 
and  planning  a  negro  village  for  the  education  of  that  en 
slaved  race. 

What  his  way  of  life  was  at  Kichmond  has  been  told  by 
one  of  his  neighbors,  Mr.  Delamater,  who  was  born  at 
Whitehall,  N.  Y.,  but  remembers  when  Brown  built  there 
in  1826-27,  and  cleared  up  his  small  farm.1  The  houses  of 
John  Brown  and  of  the  elder  Delamater  were  four  miles 
apart ;  and  in  these  was  kept  the  school  of  the  neighbor 
hood,  —  at  Brown's  house  in  the  winter,  and  at  Delamater's 
in  the  summer.  Both  houses  were  of  logs,  with  two  large 
rooms  on  the  ground  floor,  —  one  used  as  kitchen,  dining- 
room,  and  living-room ;  and  the  other  for  the  school,  and  as 
a  sleeping-room.  In  family  worship,  which  daily  took 
place  in  the  family  room,  Brown  gave  each  person  present 
some  part  to  take, — himself  leading  in  prayer.  The  post- 
office,  of  course,  was  kept  in  this  log- cabin  of  Brown,  and 

1  Brown  owned  five  hundred  acres  of  land  heavily  timbered  with  hem 
lock,  the  bark  of  which  he  used  for  tanning.  Delamater's  log-house  was 
near  the  State  Road,  about  eight  miles  east  of  Meadville . 


1824.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN   THE   ADIRONDACS.  91 

the  men  who  worked  in  his  tannery  boarded  with  him.  It 
was  here  that  his  first  wife  died,  and  to  this  cabin  he  brought 
his  second  wife  (who  was  related  to  the  Delamaters)  in 
1833.  Ruth  and  Frederick  were  born  in  this  house,  and 
John,  Owen,  and  Jason  received  a  part  of  their  schooling 
there.  Their  father  kept  a  record  of  their  boyish  sins,  and 
on  one  occasion,  at  least,  when  they  amounted  to  twenty 
in  number,  he  allowed  one  blow  of  the  rod  for  each  fault ; 
but  only  half  the  blows  were  given  to  the  boy,  who  then 
took  the  rod  and  punished  his  father  with  just  as  many 
blows.  This  was  an  earlier  example  of  Mr.  Alcott's  method 
of  punishment  in  his  Boston  school.1 

Among  the  childish  recollections  of  the  eldest  son  (who 
was  born  in  a  log-cabin  near  where  his  father  built  in  1824 
a  large  frame  house,  which  is  still  standing)  are  the  follow 
ing,  which  relate  chiefly  to  Richmond,  but  date  back  to  the 
Hudson  tannery :  — 

"  Father  had  a  rule  not  to  threaten  one  of  his  children.  He  com 
manded,  and  there  was  obedience.  Up  to  this  time  (1824)  I  had  not 
heard  a  threat.  I  was  playing  round  where  the  timbers  for  the  new 
house  were  being  hewed,  and  occasionally  I  picked  up  the  tools  be 
longing  to  Mr.  Herman  Peck  the  carpenter,  who  spoke  up  sharp  to 
me  and  said,  '  John,  put  them  down,  or  I'll  cut  your  ears  off! '  Be 
lieving  he  would  do  so,  I  scrambled  under  the  timbers  which  were 
laid  up  on  logs  to  be  hewed  (and  in  my  hurry  I  bumped  the  back  of 
my  head  on  most  of  them  as  I  went),  and  ran  off  to  the  tannery,  in 
a  room  of  which  we  were  temporarily  living  j  for  the  log-house  in 
which  I  \vas  born  had  been  torn  down  to  give  place  to  the  new  one. 
Besides  the  sharpest  recollection  of  this,  I  have  heard  father  mention, 

1  The  family  government  of  Brown  was  always  strict,  but  with  some 
thing  humorous  about  it  too.  His  son  John  relates  that  when  he  and 
George  Delamater  were  playing  one  winter  evening  in  the  school-room,  and 
were  so  noisy  as  to  disturb  the  father  who  was  sitting  in  the  kitchen,  Brown, 
after  repeating  several  times,  "  Children,  you  make  too  much  noise,"  all  at 
once  called  out,  "  John  and  George,  you  may  come  here  to  me  !  "  When 
they  came  and  stood  one  on  each  side  of  him,  he  said,  "  Boys,  I  think  you 
need  to  hear  the  bell  ring."  Then  taking  out  his  clasp-knife  and  opening 
it,  he  held  it  by  the  blade  and  tapped  his  son  John  with  the  handle,  smartly 
on  the  top  of  the  head.  This  made  his  mirthful  expression  change  so 
quickly  that  George  burst  out  laughing.  Thereupon  Brown  tapped  George 
on  the  head,  and  John  burst  out  laughing.  After  "ringing  the  bell "  twice 
or  three  times  in  this  way  their  mirth  was  changed  to  melancholy. 


92  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1829. 

when  speaking  of  the  matter  of  threatening  children,  how  greatly 
alarmed  I  was  on  that  occasion.  I  cannot  say  how  old  I  was  then,  — 
probably  less  than  three,  —  yet  my  memory  of  the  event  is  clear.  I 
don't  know  the  year  when  we  moved  to  Pennsylvania,  though  I  re 
member  the  circumstances.  Owen  was  then  a  baby. 

u  My  first  apprenticeship  to  the  tanning  business  consisted  of  a  three 
years'  course  at  grinding  bark  with  a  blind  horse.  This,  after  months 
and  years,  became  slightly  monotonous.  While  the  other  children 
were  out  at  play  in  the  sunshine,  where  the  birds  were  singing,  I 
used  to  be  tempted  to  let  the  old  horse  have  a  rather  long  rest,  espe 
cially  when  father  was  absent  from  home;  and  I  would  then  join  the 
others  at  their  play.  This  subjected  me  to  frequent  admonitions  and 
to  some  corrections  for  '  eye-service/  as  father  termed  it.  I  did  not 
fully  appreciate  the  importance  of  a  good  supply  of  ground  bark,  and 
on  general  principles  I  think  my  occupation  was  not  well  calculated 
to  promote  a  habit  of  faithful  industry.  The  old  blind  horse,  unless 
ordered  to  stop,  would,  like  Tennyson's  Brook,  l  go  on  forever,'  and 
thus  keep  up  the  appearance  of  business ;  but  the  creaking  of  the 
hungry  mill  would  betray  my  neglect,  and  then  father,  hearing  this 
from  below,  would  come  up  and  stealthily  pounce  upon  me  while  at 
a  window  looking  upon  outside  attractions.  He  finally  grew  tired  of 
these  frequent  slight  admonitions  for  my  laziness  and  other  short 
comings,  and  concluded  to  adopt  with  me  a  sort  of  book-account, 
something  like  this :  — 

JOHN,  DR., 

For  disobeying  mother 8  lashes 

"    unfaithfulness  at  work 3     " 

"    telling  a  lie 8     " 

This  account  he  showed  to  me  from  time  to  time.  On  a  certain  Sun 
day  morning  he  invited  me  to  accompany  him  from  the  house  to  the 
tannery,  saying  that  he  had  concluded  it  was  time  for  a  settlement. 
We  went  into  the  upper  or  finishing  room,  and  after  a  long  and  tear 
ful  talk  over  my  faults,  he  again  showed  me  my  account,  which  ex 
hibited  a  fearful  footing  up  of  debits.  I  had  no  credits  or  off-sets, 
and  was  of  course  bankrupt.  I  then  paid  about  one-third  of  the 
debt,  reckoned  in  strokes  from  a  nicely-prepared  blue-beech  switch, 
laid  on  '  masterly.'  Then,  to  my  utter  astonishment,  father  stripped 
off  his  shirt,  and,  seating  himself  on  a  block,  gave  me  the  whip  and 
bade  me  '  lay  it  on  7  to  his  bare  back.  I  dared  not  refuse  to  obey, 
but  at  first  I  did  not  strike  hard.  '  Harder ! '  he  said  ;  '  harder, 
harder! '  until  he  received  the  balance  of  the  account.  Small  drops  of 
blood  showed  on  his  back  where  the  tip  end  of  the  tingling  beech  cut 
through.  Thus  ended  the  account  and  settlement,  which  was  also 


1833.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE   ADIRONDACS.  93 

my  first  practical  illustration  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement.  I 
was  then  too  obtuse  to  perceive  how  Justice  could  be  satisfied  by  in 
flicting  penalty  upon  the  back  of  the  innocent  instead  of  the  guilty ; 
but  at  that  time  I  had  not  read  the  ponderous  volumes  of  Jonathan 
Edwards's  sermons  which  father  owned." 

Ruth  Thompson,  in  her  reminiscences  of  her  father, 
says  :  — 

"  My  mother,  Dianthe  Lusk  Brown,  died  at  Randolph,  Pa.,  in 
August,  1832.  The  baptism  of  myself  and  my  brother  Fred  must 
have  been  in  the  spring  of  1832,  when  I  was  a  little  more  than  three 
years  old,  and  while  my  own  mother  was  living.  The  first  house 
work  that  I  remember  is  wiping  some  dishes  for  my  new  mother, 
perhaps  when  I  was  five  years  old.  My  father  was  married  a  second 
time  to  Mary  Anne  Day,  July  11,  1833,  and  I  continued  to  live  at 
Randolph  (now  Richmond)  until  1835,  when  we  went  back  to  Ohio, 
where  my  grandfather,  Owen  Brown,  was  living.  While  I  was 
wiping  the  knives,  at  the  time  I  mention,  I  cut  my  finger  and  was 
faint,  so  that  father  got  some  wine  for  me,  and  told  me  to  drink  it. 
The  boys  bothered  me  about  that  wine  for  a  long  time,  but  were  very 
careful  never  to  say  anything  about  it  before  father,  who  was  some 
times  very  stern  and  strict.  He  used  to  whip  me  quite  often  for  tell 
ing  lies,  but  I  can't  remember  his  ever  punishing  me  but  once  when 
I  thought  I  did  n't  deserve  it,  and  then  he  looked  at  me  so  stern  that 
I  did  n't  dare  to  tell  the  truth.  He  had  such  a  way  of  saying  l  tut, 
tut ! '  if  he  saw  the  first  sign  of  a  lie  in  us,  that  he  often  frightened  us 
children.  When  we  were  moving  back  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio, 
father  stopped  at  a  house  and  asked  for  a  pail  of  water  and  a  cup  to 
give  us  a  drink  ;  but  when  he  handed  the  cup  of  water  to  mother  ho 
said,  with  a  queer,  disgusted  look,  '  This  pail  has  sore  ears.' 

"  When  I  first  began  to  go  to  school,  I  found  a  piece  of  calico  one 
day  behind  one  of  the  benches,  —  it  wa's  not  large,  but  seemed  quite 
a  treasure  to  me,  and  I  did  not  show  it  to  any  one  until  I  got  home. 
Father  heard  me  then  telling  about  it,  and  said,  '  Don't  you  know 
what  girl  lost  it  ?  '  I  told  him  I  did  not.  l  Well,  when  you  go  to 
school  to-morrow  take  it  with  you,  and  find  out  if  you  can  who 
lost  it.  It  is  a  trifling  thing,  but  always  remember  that  if  you 
should  lose  anything  you  valued,  no  matter  how  small,  you  would 
want  the  person  that  found  it  to  give  it  back  to  you.'  The  impres 
sion  he  made  on  me  about  that  little  piece  of  calico  has  never  been 
forgotten.  Before  I  had  learned  to  write,  the  school-teacher  wanted 
all  the  scholars  to  write  a  composition  or  read  a  piece.  Father 
wanted  me  to  read  one  of  ^E sop's  fables,  —  I  can't  remember  what 


94  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1838. 

fable.  Brother  John  said  he  would  write  it  for  me.  '  No/  I  said,  1 1 
had  rather  have  one  of  the  other  boys  write  it,  for  if  you  do  the  whole 
school  will  soon  know  I  did  not  write  it.'  My  father  spoke  up  quickly 
and  said,  l  Never  appear  to  be  what  you  are  not,  —  honesty  is  the 
best  policy.'  When  I  was  telling  something  done  by  another  girl 
that  I  thought  was  wrong,  he  said,  '  Who  made  you  to  differ  f  '  He 
showed  a  great  deal  of  tenderness  to  me }  and  one  thing  I  always 
noticed  was  my  father's  peculiar  tenderness  and  devotion  to  his  father. 
In  cold  weather  he  always  tucked  the  bedclothes  around  grandfather, 
when  he  went  to  bed,  and  would  get  up  in  the  night  to  ask  him  if  he 
slept  warm,  —  always  seeming  so  kind  and  loving  to  him  that  his 
example  was  beautiful  to  see.  He  used  to  tell  us  a  story  of  a  man 
whose  old  father  lived  with  him,  and  broke  a  plate  while  he  was 
eating ;  and  then  his  son  concluded  to  make  him  a  trough  to  eat  out 
of.  While  he  was  digging  the  trough,  his  little  boy  asked  him  what 
he  was  making.  '  I  am  making  a  trough  for  your  grandfather  to  eat 
out  of.'  The  little  boy  said,  '  Father,  shall  I  make  a  trough  for  you 
to  eat  out  of  when  you  are  old  ?  '  This  set  the  man  thinking,  and  he 
concluded  his  father  might  still  eat  on  a  plate.  He  often  told  us 
when  we  were  where  old  people  were  standing,  always  to  offer  them 
a  seat  if  we  had  one,  and  used  to  quote  this  verse,  '  Thou  shalt 
rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and  honor  the  face  of  the  old  man.' 
While  we  were  living  at  Hudson,  an  old  man,  leading  an  old  white 
ox,  came  to  our  house  one  rainy  afternoon,  asking  for  something  to 
eat  and  to  stay  over  night.  Father  and  the  older  boys  were  gone 
from  home,  and  mother  and  we  younger  children  were  afraid  of  him, 
—  he  acted  so  strangely,  did  not  talk  much,  but  looked  down  all 
the  time,  and  talked  strangely  when  he  said  anything.  Mother  gave 
him  something  to  eat,  and  told  him  there  was  a  tavern  a  half  mile 
from  there,  where  he  could  stay.  He  went  on,  and  we  thought  no 
more  about  him.  The  next  Sunday  father  was  talking  to  us  about 
how  we  should  treat  strangers,  and  read  this  passage  from  the  Bible, 
1  Forget  not  to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby  some  have  entertained 
angels  unawares.'  Mother  then  told  about  the  old  man.  John  said, 
1  I  met  that  same  old  man  as  I  was  coming  home  from  Franklin 
about  midnight,  riding  his  old  white  ox ;  it  was  raining  and  cold.' 
When  father  heard  that  he  said,  '  Oh,  dear  !  no  doubt  he  had  no 
money,  and  they  turned  him  off  at  the  tavern,  and  he  could  get  no 
place  to  stay,  and  was  obliged  to  travel  all  night  in  the  rain.'  He 
seemed  to  feel  really  hurt  about  it.  When  his  children  were  ill 
with  scarlet  fever,  he  took  care  of  us  himself,  and  if  he  saw  persons 
coming  to  the  house,  would  go  to  the  gate  and  meet  them,  not  wish 
ing  them  to  come  in,  for  fear  of  spreading  the  disease.  Some  of  his 
friends  blamed  him  very  much  for  not  calling  in  a  physician,  —  but 


1843.]  PIONEER  LITE  IN  THE   ADIRONDACS.  95 

he  brought  the  whole  family  through  nicely,  and  without  any  of  the 
terrible  effects  afterward,  which  many  experience.  Right  away  he 
became  famous  as  a  doctor,  and  those  who  blamed  him  most  were 
the  first  to  call  for  him  when  they  were  taken  with  the  same  disease. 
"  As  a  shepherd,  he  showed  the  same  watchful  care  over  his  sheep. 
I  remember  one  spring  a  great  many  of  his  sheep  had  a  disease 
called  *  grub  in  the  head/  and  when  the  lambs  came  the  ewes  would 
not  own  them.  For  two  weeks  he  did  not  go  to  bed,  but  sat  up  or 
slept  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time  in  his  chair,  and  then  would  take  a 
lantern,  go  out  and  catch  the  ewes,  and  hold  them  while  the  lambs 
sucked.  He  would  very  often  bring  in  a  little  dead-looking  lamb, 
and  put  it  in  warm  water  and  rub  it  until  it  showed  signs  of  life, 
and  then  wrap  it  in  a  warm  blanket,  feed  it  warm  milk  with  a  tea 
spoon,  and  work  over  it  with  such  tenderness  that  in  a  few  hours  it 
would  be  capering  around  the  room.  One  Monday  morning  I  had 
just  got  my  white  clothes  in  a  nice  warm  suds  in  the  wash-tub,  when 
he  came  in  bringing  a  little  dead-looking  lamb.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  sign  of  life  about  it.  Said  he,  i  Take  out  your  clothes  quick,  and 
let  me  put  this  lamb  in  the  water.'  I  felt  a  little  vexed  to  be  hindered 
with  my  washing,  and  told  him  I  did  n't  believe  he  could  make  it 
live  ;  but  in  an  hour  or  two  he  had  it  running  around  the  room,  and 
calling  loudly  for  its  mother.  The  next  year  he  came  in  from  the 
barn  and  said  to  me,  'Ruth,  that  lamb  that  I  hindered  you  with 
when  you  were  .washing,  I  have  just  sold  for  one  hundred  dollars.' 
It  was  a  pure-blooded  Saxony  lamb." 

From  Pennsylvania  back  to  Ohio,  in  1835-36,  and  from 
Ohio  to  Massachusetts  in  1845-46,  were  for  the  Brown 
family  a  temporary  recall  from  their  frontier  and  pioneer 
duty  to  the  haunts  of  civilization  ;  and  in  this  interval  the 
children  of  the  second  marriage  were  nearly  all  born,  and 
in  part  educated.  The  older  children  also  received  some 
education  which  the  backwoods  could  not  furnish ;  and  it 
was  seriously  contemplated  at  one  time  to  send  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  to  West  Point,  where  he  might  receive  a  military  educa 
tion  in  the  national  school.  At  Franklin  in  1836  and  during 
the  short  period  when  the  wool  business  at  Springfield  was 
flourishing,  John  Brown  had  hopes  of  becoming  a  capitalist, 
—  not  for  the  sake  of  giving  himself  an  easier  life,  but  to 
educate  his  children  better,  and  to  lay  up  money  with  which 
he  could  carry  out  his  chosen  purpose  of  setting  the  slaves 
free.  This  hope  faded  away,  .but  the  purpose  remained  fixed, 


96  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1848. 

and  was  the  occasion  of  his  seeking  once  more  the  freedom 
and  the  hardships  of  a  backwoodsman.  On  the  anniversary 
of  West  India  emancipation,  August  1,  1846,  Gerrit  Smith, 
the  agrarian  emancipationist  of  New  York,  had  offered  to 
give  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  his  wild  land  in  that 
State  to  such  colored  families,  fugitive  slaves  or  citizens 
of  New  York,  as  would  occupy  and  cultivate  them  in 
small  farms.  Two  years  later  (April  8,  1848)  when  a 
few  of  these  families  had  established  themselves  in  the 
Adirondac  wilderness,  John  Brown  visited  Mr.  Smith  at 
Peterboro',  New  York,  and  proposed  to  take  up  land  in 
the  same  region  for  himself  and  his  children,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  would  employ  arid  direct  the  labor  of 
those  colored  backwoodsmen  who  had  settled  there.  Mr. 
Smith,  who  had  inherited  from  his  father  landed  prop 
erty  in  more  than  fifty  of  the  counties  of  New  York,  knew 
very  well  when  he  made  his  princely  offer  that  those  who 
might  accept  it  would  need  all  the  encouragement  and  di 
rection  they  could  receive  from  men  like  Brown,  for  there 
were  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  its  acceptance  by  the 
Southern  fugitives  and  the  free  people  of  color  in  the 
Northern  cities.  The  Adirondac  counties  were  then,  much 
more  than  now,  a  backwoods  region,  with  few  roads,  schools, 
or  churches,  and  very  few  good  farms.  The  great  current 
of  summer  and  autumn  travel,  which  now  flows  through  it 
every  year,  had  scarcely  begun  to  move;  sportsmen  from 
New  York  and  New  England,  and  the  agents  of  men  in 
terested  in  iron-mines  and  smelting-forges,  were  the  chief 
visitors.  The  life  of  a  settler  there  was  rough  pioneer 
work  :  the  forest  was  to  be  cut  down  and  the  land  burned 
over ;  the  family  supplies  must  be  produced  mainly  in  the 
household ;  the  men  made  their  own  sugar  from  the  maple 
woods,  and  the  women  spun  and  wove  the  garments  from 
the  wool  that  grew  on  the  backs  of  the  farmers'  sheep. 
Winter  lingers  there  for  six  months  out  of  the  twelve,  and 
neither  wheat  nor  Indian  corn  will  grow  on  these  hillsides 
in  ordinary  years.  The  crops  are  grass,  rye.  oats,  potatoes, 
and  garden  vegetables  ;  cows,  and  especially  sheep,  are  the 
wealth  of  the  farmer ;  and,  as  Colonel  Higginson  mentioned 
in  1859,  the  widow  of  Oliver  Brown,  when  he  was  killed  at 


1849.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN   THE   ADIRONDACS.  97 

Harper's  Ferry,  was  considered  not  absolutely  penniless, 
because  her  young  husband  had  left  her  five  sheep,  valued 
at  ten  dollars.  Such  a  region  was  less  attractive  to  the 
negroes  than  Canada,  for  it  was  as  cold,  less  secure  from 
the  slave-hunter,  and  gave  little  choice  of  those  humble  but 
well-paid  employments,  indispensable  in  towns,  to  which 
the  colored  race  naturally  resort.  There  was  no  opening  in 
the  woods  of  Essex  for  waiters,  barbers,  coachmen,  washer 
women,  or  the  other  occupations  for  which  negroes  had  been 
trained. 

In  spite  of  these  discouragements,  at  the  date  of  Brown's 
first  call  at  the  hospitable  home  of  Mr.  Smith  (where  he 
was  ever  after  a  welcome  visitor)  a  small  colony  of  colored 
people  had  gone  to  North  Elba  in  Essex  County,  to  clear  up 
the  forest  land,  and  were  braving  the  hardships  of  the  first 
year  in  the  cold  backwoods  of  Northern  New  York.     Brown 
introduced  himself  to  Mr.  Smith,  and  made  him  this  pro 
posal  :  "  I  am  something  of  a  pioneer ;  I  grew  up  among  the 
woods  and  wild  Indians  of  Ohio,  and  am  used  to  the  climate 
and  the  way  of  life  that  your  colony  find  so  trying.     I  will 
take  one  of  your  farms  myself,  clear  it  up  and  plant  it,  and 
show  my  colored  neighbors  how  such  work  should  be  done ; 
will  give  them  work  as  I  have  occasion,  look  after  them  in 
all  needful  ways,  and  be  a  kind  of  father  to  them."     His 
host  knew  the  value  of  such  services  ;  with  his  quick  eye 
for  the  nobler  traits  of   human  nature,  he  saw  the  true 
character  of  Brown,  and  the  arrangement  was  soon  made. 
Brown  purchased  a  farm  or  two,  obtained  the  refusal  of 
others,  and  in  1848-49,  while  still  engaged  in  his  wool  busi 
ness,  he  removed  a  part  of  his  family  from  Springfield  to 
North  Elba,  where  they  remained  much  of  the  time  between 
1849  and  1864,  and  where  they  lived  when  he  was  attacking  ' 
slavery  in  Kansas,  in  Missouri,  and  in  Virginia.     Besides 
the  other  inducements  which  this  rough  and  bleak  region 
offered  him,  he  considered  it  a  good  refuge  for  his  wife  and 
younger  children,  when  he  should  go  on  his  campaign ;  a 
place  where  they  would  not  only  be  safe  and  independent, 
but  could  live  frugally,  and  both  learn  and  practise  those 
habits  of  thrifty  industry  which  Brown  thought  indispen 
sable  in  the  training  of  children.     When  he  went  there,  his 

7 


98  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1850. 

youngest  son  Oliver  was  ten  years  old,  and  his  daughters 
Anna  and  Sarah  were  six  and  three  years  old.  Ellen,  his 
youngest  child,  was  born  afterwards. 

Brown  soon  fell  in  love  with  the  region  thus  chosen  for 
his  home  and  burial-place.  His  romantic  spirit,  which  in 
early  life  made  him  long  to  be  a  shepherd,  made  him  also 
keenly  alive  to  the  attractions  of  the  wild  and  sublime  in 
Nature.  Had  he  been  born  among  these  mountains  he  could 
not  have  felt  their  beauty  more  deeply.  In  the  summer  and 
early  autumn,  for  a  few  months,  this  wilderness  is  charming. 
The  mountains  rise  grand  and  beautiful  011  all  sides;  the 
untamed  forest  clothes  their  slopes  and  fills  up  the  plains 
and  valleys,  save  where  the  puny  labors  of  men  have  here 
and  there  rescued  a  bit  of  fertile  land  from  its  gloom.  On 
such  spots  the  houses  are  built,  and  around  them  grow  the 
small  cultivated  crops  that  can  endure  the  climate,  while 
the  woods  and  meadows  are  full  of  wild  fruits.  Many  of 
the  dwellings  were  then  log-cabins ;  and  in  the  whole  town 
ship  of  North  Elba  there  was  scarcely  a  house  worth  a 
thousand  dollars,  or  one  which  was  finished  throughout. 
Mrs.  Brown's  house,  at  my  first  visit,  in  1857,  had  but  two 
plastered  rooms,  yet  two  families  lived  in  it,  —  and  at  my 
second  visit,  in  February,  1860,  two  widowed  women  besides, 
whose  husbands  were  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry.  I  slept  on 
both  occasions  in  a  little  chamber  partitioned  off  with  a  rude 
framework,  but  not  plastered,  the  walls  only  ornamented 
with  a  few'pictures  (among  them  a  portrait  of  Brown)  ;  and 
in  winter  the  snow  sifted  through  the  roof  and  fell  upon  the 
bed.  I  arrived  at  nightfall,  closely  pursued  from  the  shore 
of  Lake  Champlain  by  a  snowstorm,  which  murmured  and 
moaned  about  the  chamber  all  night ;  and  in  the  morning  I 
found  a  small  snowdrift  on  my  coverlet,  and  another  on  the 
floor  near  the  bed.1  This  house  had  been  built  by  John 
Brown  about  1850,  and  the  great  rock  beside  which  he  lies 
buried  is  but  a  few  rods  from  its  door.  At  that  time,  far 
more  than  now,  the  wrild  raspberries  and  other  fruits  were 

1  The  new-born  babe  of  Oliver  Brown  (the  captain's  youngest  son,  who 
had  been  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry  four  months  before)  died  in  the  house 
that  night,  and  the  poor  young  mother  did  not  long  survive. 


1850.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE  ADIRONDACS.  99 

in  abundance,  the  woods  abounded  in  game,  and  the  streams 
and  lakes  with  fish.  But  the  mode  of  life  was  rude  and 
primitive,  with  no  elegance,  and  little  that  we  should  call 
comfort,  as  will  appear  by  the  reminiscences  of  Mrs.  Thomp 
son,  soon  to  be  cited.  The  contrast  between  this  region,  in 
1849,  and  the  thriving  towns  of  Massachusetts,  like  Spring 
field,  was  striking. 

One  of  the  first  things  that  Brown  did  in  this  wilderness 
was  to  introduce  his  favorite  breed  of  cattle,  and  to  exhibit 
them  for  a  prize  at  the  animal  cattle-show  of  Essex  County, 
in  September,  1850.  They  were  a  grade  of  Devons,  and  the 
first  stock  of  the  kind  that  had  ever  been  seen  at  the  county 
fair.  The  agricultural  society,  in  its  annual  report  for  1850, 
said :  "  The  appearance  upon  the  grounds  of  a  number  of 
very  choice  and  beautiful  Devons,  from  the  herd  of  Mr. 
John  Brown,  residing  in  one  of  our  most  remote  and  se 
cluded  towns,  attracted  great  attention,  and  added  much  to 
the  interest  of  the  fair.  The  interest  and  admiration  they 
ex-cited  have  attracted  public  attention  to  the  subject,  and 
have  already  resulted  in  the  introduction  of  several  choice 
animals  into  this  region."  The  same  result,  on  a  much 
grander  scale,  was  observed  some  years  later,  when  John 
Brown  exhibited  specimens  of  a  choicer  and  bigger  breed  of 
men  than  had  been  seen  lately  in  Virginia  or  New  England. 
"  We  have  no  doubt,"  added  the  Essex  County  farmers, 
"  that  this  influence  upon  the  character  of  our  stock  will  be 
permanent  and  decisive." 

Mrs.  Ruth  Thompson  has  given  some  anecdotes  of  the 
pioneer  life  at  North  Elba,  whither  she  went  at  the  age  of 
twenty.  She  says  :  — 

"  Before  moving  to  North  Elba,  father  rented  a  farm,  having  a 
good  barn  on  it,  and  a  one-story  house,  which  seemed  very  small  for 
a  family  of  nine.  Father  said,  '  It  is  small ;  but  the  main  thing  is, 
all  keep  good-natured.'  He  had  bought  some  fine  Devon  cattle  in 
Connecticut,  near  his  birthplace ;  these  my  brothers  Owen,  Watson, 
and  Salmon  drove  to  North  Elba.  At  Westport  he  bought  a  span  of 
good  horses,  and  hired  Thomas  Jefferson  (a  colored  man,  who  with 
his  family  were  moving  to  North  Elba  from  Troy)  to  drive  them.  He 
proved  to  be  a  careful  and  trusty  man,  and  so  father  hired  him  as  long 
as  he  stayed  there,  to  be  his  teamster.  Mr.  Jefferson  by  his  kind  ways 


100  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1850. 

soon  won  the  confidence  of  us  all.  He  drove  so  carefully  over  the 
mountain  roads  that  father  thought  he  had  been  very  fortunate  in  meet 
ing  him.  The  day  we  crossed  the  mountain  from  Keene  was  rainy 
and  dreary;  but  father  kept  our  spirits  up  by  pointing  out  some 
thing  new  and  interesting  all  the  way.  We  stopped  occasionally  to  get 
a  cup  of  water  from  the  sparkling  streams,  that  were  so  clear  we  could 
see  the  bottom  covered  with  clean  sand  and  beautiful  white  pebbles. 
We  never  tired  of  looking  at  the  mountain  scenery,  which  seemed 
awfully  grand.  Father  wanted  us  to  notice  how  fragrant  the  air  was, 
filled  with  the  perfume  of  the  spruce,  hemlock,  and  balsams.  The 
little  house  of  Mr.  Flanders,  which  was  to  be  our  home,  was  the  sec 
ond  house  we  came  to  after  crossing  the  mountain  from  Keene.  It 
had  one  good-sized  room  below,  which  answered  pretty  well  for 
kitchen,  dining-room,  and  parlor  ;  also  a  pantry  and  two  bedrooms  ; 
and  the  chamber  furnished  space  for  four  beds,  —  so  that  whenever  '  a 
stranger  or  wayfaring  man  '  entered  our  gates,  he  was  not  turned 
away.  We  all  slept  soundly ;  and  the  next  morning  the  sun  rose 
bright,  and  made  our  little  home  quite  cheerful.  Before  noon  a 
bright,  pleasant  colored  boy  came  to  our  gate  (or  rather,  our  bars) 
and  inquired  if  John  Brown  lived  there.  i  Here  is  where  he  stays,' 
was  father's  reply.  The  boy  had  been  a  slave  in  Virginia,  and 
was  sold  and  sent  to  St.  Augustine,  Fla.  From  there  he  ran  away, 
and  came  to  Springfield,  where  by  his  industry  and  good  habits  he 
had  acquired  some  property.  Father  hired  him  to  help  carry  on 
the  farm,  so  there  were  ten  of  us  in  the  little  house;  but  Cyrus  did 
not  take  more  than  his  share  of  the  room,  and  was  always  good- 
natured. 

u  As  soon  as  father  could  go  around  among  the  colored  families, 
he  employed  Mrs.  Reed,  a  widow,  to  be  our  housekeeper  and  cook ; 
for  mother  was  very  much  out  of  health. 

"  While  we  were  living  in  Springfield  our  house  was  plainly  fur 
nished,  but  very  comfortably,  all  excepting  the  parlor.  Mother  and 
I  had  often  expressed  a  wish  that  the  parlor  might  be  furnished 
too,  and  father  encouraged  us  that  it  should  be ;  but  after  he  made 
up  his  mind  to  go  to  North  Elba  he  began  to  economize  in  many 
ways.  One  day  he  called  us  older  ones  to  him  and  said  :  '  I  want 
to  plan  with  you  a  little ;  and  I  want  you  all  to  express  your  minds. 
I  have  a  little  money  to  spare;  and  now  shall  we  use  it  to  furnish 
the  parlor,  or  spend  it  to  buy  clothing  for  the  colored  people  who  may 
need  help  in  North  Elba  another  year  ? '  We  all  said,  l  Save  the 
money.'  He  was  never  stingy  in  his  family,  but  always  provided 
liberally  for  us,  whenever  he  was  able  to  do  so.  Frederick  Douglass 
has  said  in  his  last  book,  that  John  Brown  economized  so  closely  in 
order  to  carry  out  his  plans,  that  we  did  not  have  a  cloth  on  the 


1850.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE   ADIRONDACS.  101 

table  at  meal-times.  I  think  our  good  friend  is  mistaken  j  for  /  never 
sat  down  to  a  meal  at  my  father's  table  without  a  cloth.  He  was 
very  particular  about  this.  Father  had  been  planning  ever  since  a 
boy  how  he  could  help  to  liberate  t]ie  slaves  at  the  South,  and  never 
lost  an  opportunity  to  aid  in  every  possible  wav  t40.se,  who  were  es 
caping  from  bondage.  He  saw  in  Mr.  Smith's  pyop^oal  an  opening 
through  which  he  thought  he  might  carry  out -his  cherished  scheme. 
He  knew  that  the  colored  people  who  might -settle,  on  those  Adh'on- 
dac  lands  were  inexperienced.  Most  of  them  had  lived  in  cities, 
and  were  unused  to  the  hardships  and  privations  they  must  necessa 
rily  undergo  in  making  homes  in  that  wild  mountain  region.  There 
fore,  as  soon  as  we  had  got  fairly* settled,  father  began  to  think  what 
he  could  do  to  help  the  new  colored  settlers  to  begin  work  on  their 
lands.  The  greater  number  of  them  were  intelligent,  industrious 
people,  and  glad  to  do  the  best  they  could ;  but  many  of  them  had 
been  cheated  badly  by  a  land-surveyor,  who  took  advantage  of  their 
ignorance,  and  got  them  to  settle  on  lands  that  did  not  correspond 
•with  the  deeds  Gerrit  Smith  had  given  them.  Some  of  them  began 
working  on  low  land  that  was  hard  to  cultivate;  and  when  they 
found  they  had  been  cheated  they  were  discouraged,  and  many  went 
back  to  their  city  homes.  Father  felt  deeply  over  the  way  so  many 
of  them  had  been  treated,  and  tried  to  encourage  and  help  them  in 
every  way  he  could.  He  spent  much  of  his  time  in  surveying  their 
land,  running  out  their  lines,  and  helping  them  to  locate  on  land 
actually  belonging  to  them  ;  and  he  also  employed  several  of  the 
colored  men  to  cut  the  timber  off  a  part  of  the  farm  where  he  now 
lies  buried.  He  bought  a  quantity  of  provisions  for  them,  and  some 
cloth  to  be  made  up  into  garments. 

u  It  was  not  long  after  we  settled  in  North  Elba  that  Mr.  R.  H. 
Dana,  with  Mr.  Metcalf,  of  Eastern  Massachusetts,  and  Mr.  Aikens, 
of  Westport,  came  to  our  house  one  morning,  and  asked  for  some 
thing  to  eat.  They  met  father  in  the  yard,  and  told  him  they  had 
been  lost  in  the  woods,  and  had  eaten  nothing  since  the  morning  be 
fore.  Father  came  in,  and  asked  me  if  I  could  get  breakfast  for  some 
men  that  had  been  out  all  night,  and  were  very  hungry.  l  Certainly 
I  can,'  said  I.  They  lay  on  the  grass  while  I  made  preparations  to 
cook  something  substantial  for  them,  but  they  were  so  hungry  they 
could  not  wait ;  so  they  came  in  and  said,  l  Do  not  wait  to  cook 
anything;  just  give  us  some  bread  and  milk,  for  we  are  nearly 
starved.'  I  hurried  some  bread,  butter,  and  milk  on  the  table, 
and  they  ate  as  only  hungry  men  can.  I  filled  the  milk -pitcher  and 
bread-plate  several  times,  until  I  was  afraid  they  would  hurt  them 
selves;  and  then  I  persuaded  them  to  go  upstairs  and  sleep  a  few 
hours  until  I  could  get  them  a  cooked  dinner,  and  they  did  so. 


102  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1849. 

While  they  were  resting  on  the  beds  upstairs,  our  excellent  cook 
got  dinner  for  them,  —  venison  and  some  speckled  brook-trout,  with 
other  things  necessary  to  make  a  substantial  dinner.  After  all  was 
ready  I  called  them,  and  the  three  came  down  and  ate  alone.  They 
seemed  to  .enjoy,  the  dinner;  but  their  appetites  did  not  appear  as 
keen  as  in  the  morning,  when  they  ate  the  bread  and  milk.  They 
paid,  us  liberally  for  their  meals,  and  thanked  us  kindly  for  our 
•trouble  ;  took  their  boots  in  their  hands  (for  their  feet  were  too  much 
swollen  to  put  them  on),  and  bade  us  good-by.  Their  teamster  had 
been  sent  for,  and  he  took  them  to  Mr.  Osgood's,  —  as  Mr.  Dana 
mentions.  We  saw  at  once  that  they  were  gentlemen,  despite  their 
forlorn  appearance ;  we  were  interested  in  their  story,  and  were  glad 
to  entertain  them." 


Mr.  Dana  wrote  an  account  of  this  adventure,  which  was 
printed  in  the  u  Atlantic  Monthly  "  for  July,  1871,  and  in 
which  he  thus  describes  the  country  as  John  Brown  first 
saw  it  in  1848:  — 

"  From  Keene  westward  we  began  to  meet  signs  of  frontier  life, — 
log-cabins,  little  clearings,  bad  roads  overshadowed  by  forests,  moun 
tain  torrents,  and  the  refreshing  odor  of  balsam  firs  and  hemlocks.  In 
the  afternoon  we  came  into  the  Indian  Pass.  This  is  a  ravine  or  gorge, 
formed  by  two  close  and  parallel  walls  of  nearly  perpendicular  cliffs, 
thirteen  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  almost  black  in  their  hue.  Before 
I  had  seen  the  Yosemite  Valley  these  cliffs  satisfied  my  ideal  of  steep 
mountain  walls.  From  the  highest  level  of  the  Pass  flow  two  moun 
tain  torrents  in  opposite  directions,  —  one  the  source  of  the  Hudson, 
and  so  reaching  the  Atlantic ;  and  the  other  the  source  of  the  An 
Sable,  which  runs  into  Lake  Champlain,  and  at  last  into  the  Gulf  of 
St.  Lawrence.  .  .  .  The  Adirondac  Mountains  wave  with  woods,  and 
are  green  with  bushes  to  their  summits ;  torrents  break  down  into  the 
valleys  on  all  sides ;  lakes  of  various  sizes  and  shapes  glitter  in  the 
landscape,  bordered  by  bending  woods  whose  roots  strike  through 
the  waters.  There  is  none  of  that  dreary  barren  grandeur  that  marks 
the  White  Mountains,  although  Tahawus  [Mt.  Marcy],  the  highest 
peak,  is  about  fifty-four  hundred  feet  high,  only  some  six  or  seven 
hundred  feet  less  than  Mt.  Washington.  .  .  .  From  John  Brown's 
small  log-house,  old  White  Face,  the  only  exception  to  the  uniform 
green  and  brown  and  black  hues  of  the  Adirondac  hills,  stood  plain 
in  view,  rising  at  the  head  of  Lake  Placid,  its  white  or  pale-gray 
side  caused,  we  were  told,  by  a  landslide;  all  about  were  the  distant 
highest  summits." 


1849.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE  ADIRONDACS.  103 

This  was  not  the  house  that  Brown  built,  and  near 
which  he  now  lies  buried,  but  the  smaller  one  that  he  first 
occupied.  Of  Brown's  appearance  and  family  arrangements 
in  June,  1849  (he  was  then  forty-nine  years  old),  Mr.  Dana 
says  :  — 

u  He  was  a  tall,  gaunt,  dark-complexioned  man,  walking  before  his 
wagon,  having  his  theodolite  and  other  surveyor's  instruments  with 
him.  He  came  forward  and  received  us  with  kindness  j  a  grave, 
serious  man  he  seemed,  with  a  marked  countenance  and  a  natural 
dignity  of  manner,  —  that  dignity  which  is  unconscious,  and  comes 
from  a  superior  habit  of  mind.  At  table  he  said  a  solemn  grace.  I 
observed  that  he  called  the  two  negroes  by  their  surnames,  with 
the  prefixes  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  He  introduced  us  to  them  in  due  form, 
—  l  Mr.  Dana,  Mr.  Jefferson,'  etc.  We  found  him  well  informed  on 
most  subjects,  especially  in  the  natural  sciences.  He  had  books,  and 
evidently  made  a  diligent  use  of  them.  He  had  confessedly  the  best 
cattle  and  best  farming  utensils  for  miles  round.  He  seemed  to  have 
an  unlimited  family  of  children,  from  a  cheerful,  nice,  healthy  woman 
of  twenty  or  so  [Ruth],  and  a  full-sized,  red-haired  son  [Owen], 
through  every  grade  of  boy  and  girl,  to  a  couple  that  could  hardly 
speak  plain.  Friday,  June  29,  we  found  them  at  breakfast  in  the 
patriarchal  style,  —  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  and  their  large  family  of 
children,  with  the  hired  men  and  women,  including  three  negroes, 
all  at  the  table  together.  Their  meal  was  neat,  substantial,  and 
wholesome." 

Concerning  the  house  in  which  Mr.  Dana  visited  her 
father,  Mrs.  Thompson  says  :  — 

"It  stood  near  the  schoolhouse,  on  the  road  to  Keene  and  Westport, 
from  the  grave  by  the  great  rock  on  father's  own  farm,  and  more  than  a 
mile  east  from  that  spot.  The  Indian  Pass,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Dana, 
is  a  ' notch'  between  Mt.  Marcy  and  Mt.  Mclntyre,  a  few  miles  south 
of  our  cabin,  while  Mt.  White  Face  was  as  many  miles  to  the  north. 
The  Au  Sable  River  is  the  stream  which  drains  these  mountains,  and 
flows  through  North  Elba  in  a  winding  course  into  Lake  Champlain, 
at  Port  Kent.  Westport  is  the  town  on  Lake  Champlain,  south  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Au  Sable,  from  which  travellers  commonly  start  in 
going  into  the  Adirondac  wilderness  by  Keene  ;  and  it  was  through 
this  town  that  father  usually  went  to  and  from  North  Elba.  On  one 
of  his  trips  home  from  Springfield,  in  the  winter,  he  hired  a  man  to 
take  him  from  Westport  to  Keene,  but  could  not  get  any  one  to  carry 
him  over  the  mountain  to  North  Elba  that  afternoon.  Being  very 


104  LIFE  AND  LETTERS    OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1850. 

anxious  to  get  home,  he  started  from  Keene  on  foot,  carrying  a  heavy 
satchel.  Before  he  came  within  several  miles  of  home,  he  got  so 
tired  and  lame  that  he  had  to  sit  down  in  the  road.  The  snow  was 
very  deep,  and  the  road  but  little  trodden.  He  got  up  again  after 
a  while,  went  on  as  far  as  he  could,  and  sat  down  once  more.  He 
walked  a  long  distance  in  that  way,  and  at  last  lay  down  with  fatigue 
in  the  deep  snow  beside  the  path,  and  thought  he  should  get  chilled 
there  and  die.  While  lying  so,  a  man  passed  him  on  foot,  but  did 
not  notice  him.  Father  guessed  the  man  thought  he  was  drunk,  or 
else  did  not  see  him.  He  lay  there  and  rested  a  while,  and  then 
started  on  again,  though  in  great  pain,  and  made  out  to  reach  the 
first  house,  Robert  Scott's.  (This  was  afterwards  a  noted  tavern 
for  sportsmen  and  travellers,  and  became  known  far  and  wide  as 
1  Scott's.'  It  is  now  kept  by  Mr.  Scott's  kinsman  Mr.  Ames,  and 
is  the  nearest  hotel  to  the  '  John  Brown  Farm,'  where  father  lies 
buried.)  Father  rested  at  this  house  for  some  time,  and  then  Mr. 
Scott  hitched  his  oxen  to  the  sled,  and  brought  him  home  to  us. 
Father  could  scarcely  get  into  the  house,  he  was  so  tired. 

"  I  had  in  the  mean  time  married  Henry  Thompson,  of  North  Elba 
(two  of  whose  brothers  were  afterwards  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry), 
and  was  living  with  my  husband  on  his  farm  not  far  from  where 
father's  grave  now  is.  Father's  lawsuits  about  his  wool  business 
had  brought  him  back  from  Ohio  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  from  North  Elba  j  but  hearing  that  the  small-pox  was  in  one 
of  the  mountain  towns  not  far  from  us,  he  made  the  long  journey 
into  the  wilderness,  and  came  to  our  house  early  one  morning  (fearing 
my  husband  had  not  been  vaccinated,  and  so  might  get  the  small 
pox).  We  were  much  surprised  to  see  him ;  and  when  he  told  us 
what  brought  him  back,  I  thought  was  there  ever  such  love  and 
care  as  his  !  When  any  of  the  family  were  sick,  he  did  not  often  trust 
watchers  to  care  for  the  sick  one,  but  sat  up  himself,  and  was  like  a 
tender  mother.  At  one  time  he  sat  up  every  night  for  two  weeks 
while  mother  was  sick,  for  fear  he  would  oversleep  if  he  went  to  bed, 
and  then  the  fire  would  go  out,  and  she  take  cold.  No  one  outside 
of  his  own  family  can  ever  know  the  mingled  strength  and  tenderness 
of  his  character.  Oh,  what  a  loss  his  death  seemed  to  us  !  Yet  we 
did  not  half  know  him  until  he  was  taken  from  us. 

"  He  did  not  lose  his  interest  in  the  colored  people  of  North  Elba, 
and  grieved  over  the  sad  fate  of  one  of  them,  Mr.  Henderson,  who 
was  lost  in  the  woods  in  the  winter  of  1852,  and  perished  with  the 
cold.  Mr.  Henderson  was  an  intelligent  and  good  man,  and  was 
very  industrious,  and  father  thought  much  of  him.  Before  leaving 
for  Kansas  in  1855,  to  help  defend  the  Free  State  cause,  and,  if  an 
opportunity  offered,  to  strike  a  blow  at  slavery,  he  removed  his  family 


1854.]  PIONEER  LIFE  IN  THE  ADIRONDACS.  105 

from  Ohio  back  to  the  farm  in  North  Elba.  On  leaving  us  finally  to 
go  to  Kansas  that  summer,  he  said,  '  If  it  is  so  painful  for  us  to  part 
with  the  hope  of  meeting  again,  how  dreadful  must  be  the  feelings  of 
hundreds  of  poor  slaves  who  are  separated  for  life  ! ' 7) 

When  John  Brown,  Jr.,  visited  with  his  father  at  North 
Elba  in  1858,  he  thus  described  the  place  in  a  letter  to  his 
brother :  — 

"  From  Keene  we  came  by  a  new  road,  laid  south  of  the  old  route 
over  the  mountains.  This  new  road  is  open  for  travel  in  the  winter 
months,  as  it  leads  by  Long  Pond,  which  is  itself  used  as  a  road  when 
frozen  over.  The  route  is  the  most  romantically  grand  and  beautiful 
that  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  North  Elba  is 
the  country  for  us  to  come  to.  Building  materials  of  good  quality 
are  very  cheap  j  and  I  can  purchase  the  wild  lands  having  excellent 
sugar  orchards  on  them,  of  from  two  hundred  to  one  thousand  good 
maple-trees,  for  about  one  dollar  per  acre.  The  land  is  easily  cleared 
by  l  slashing '  and  burning,  and  by  sowing  on  grass-seed  can  be  con 
verted  into  good  pasture  within  a  year.  It  is  excellent  for  rye, 
spring- wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  carrots,  turnips,  etc.,  and  in  some  places 
hardy  apples  can  be  raised  to  advantage.  I  can  get  Mr.  Dickson's 
place  (forty  acres,  with  five  or  six  improved,  or  at  least  cleared), 
with  a  good  log-house,  a  frame  barn,  20  X  30  feet,  for  $150." 

John  Brown  himself  often  declared  his  fondness  for  this 
region,  and  it  was  by  his  express  request  that  he  was  buried 
on  the  hill-side,  in  view  of  Tahawus  and  White  Face.  In 
June,  1854,  while  living  in  Ohio,  he  thus  wrote  to  his  son 
John  :  — 

"  My  own  conviction,  after  again  visiting  Essex  County  (as  I  did 
week  before  last),  is  that  no  place  (of  which  I  know)  offers  so  many 
inducements  to  me,  or  any  of  my  family,  as  that  section ;  and  I  would 
wish  when  you  make  a  move  that  you  go  in  that  direction.  I  will 
give  my  reasons  at  length  when  I  have  a  little  more  time.  Henry 
and  family  are  well,  and  appear  satisfied  that  North  Elba  is  about 
the  place  after  all.  I  never  saw  it  look  half  so  inviting  before." 

In  an  earlier  letter  he  thus  writes  :  — 

NORTH  ELBA,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  15,  1852. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  got  here  last  night,  and  found  all  very  com 
fortable  and  well,  except  Henry,  who  is  troubled  with  a  lame  back, 


106  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1850. 

something  like  rheumatism  I  presume.  The  weather  has  been  very 
mild  so  far,  and  things  appear  to  be  progressing  among  our  old 
neighbors  ;  so  that  I  feel  as  much  as  ever  disposed  to  regard  this  as 
my  home,  and  I  can  think  of  no  objection  to  your  coming  here  to  live 
when  you  can  sell  out  well.  A  middling  good  saw- mill  is  now  run 
ning  a  few  rods  down  the  river 1  from  the  large  pine  log  we  used  to 
cross  on,  when  we  went  to  help  Henry  take  care  of  his  oats.  The 
more  I  reflect  on  all  the  consequences  likely  to  follow,  the  more  I  am 
disposed  to  encourage  you  to  come  here  j  and  I  take  into  the  account 
as  well  as  I  can  the  present  and  future  welfare  of  yourself  and 
family,  and  prospects  of  usefulness.  Our  trial  at  Boston  is  to  come 
on  by  agreement  on  the  6th  January.  I  shall  write  Mr.  Perkins  to 
send  you  money  for  expenses,  so  that  you  can  get,  on  to  Boston  by 
the  3d  January.  We  shall  want  to  look  the  papers  over,  and  talk 
the  business  over  beforehand.  Ruth  intends  occupying  the  balance 
of  the  sheet.  .My  best  wishes  for  you  all. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  hardships  of  existence  in  a  new  country  like  North 
Elba  fall  heaviest  on  the  women.  Mrs.  Brown  had  been  an 
invalid  before  leaving  Springfield,  and  she  was  long  out  of 
health  in  this  forest  home.  To  encourage  her,  as  he  fre 
quently  did,  Brown  had  recourse  to  letters  of  sympathy 
and  exhortation,  mingled  with  prosaic  details  of  the  econ 
omy  they  must  practise  at  ,North  Elba.  One  or  two  of 
these  letters  will  here  be  given,  together  with  letters  to 
Euth  and  his  other  children. 

John  Brown  to  his  Wife. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  Nov.  28,  1850. 

DEAR  WIFE,  —  ...  Since  leaving  home  I  have  thought  that  under 
all  the  circumstances  of  doubt  attending  the  time  of  our  removal,  and 
the  possibility  that  we  may  not  remove  at  all,  I  had  perhaps  en 
couraged  the  boys  to  feed  out  the  potatoes  too  freely.  ...  I  want 
to  have  them  very  careful  to  have  no  hay  or  straw  wasted,  but  I 
would  have  them  use  enough  straw  for  bedding  the  cattle  to  keep 
them  from  lying  in  the  mire.  I  heard  from  Ohio  a  few  days  since  ; 
all  were  then  well.  It  now  seems  that  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  was 
to  be  the  means  of  making  more  Abolitionists  than  all  the  lectures 

1  A  branch  of  the  Au  Sable. 


1851.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE   ADIRONDACS.  107 

we  have  had  for  years.  It  really  looks  as  if  God  had  his  hand  on 
this  wickedness  also.  I  of  course  keep  encouraging  my  colored 
friends  to  u  trust  in  God,  and  keep  their  powder  dry."  I  did  so 
to-day,  at  Thanksgiving  meeting,  publicly.  .  .  .  While  here,  and  at 
almost  all  places  where  1  stoy,  I  am  treated  with  all  kindness  and 
attention  ;  hut  it  does  not  make  home.  I  feel  lonely  and  restless,  no 
matter  how  neat  and  comfortable  my  room  and  bed,  nor  how  richly 
loaded  may  be  the  table ;  they  have  few  charms  for  me,  away  from 
home.  I  can  look  back  to  our  log-cabin  at  the  centre  of  Richfield, 
with  a  supper  of  porridge  and  johnny-cake,  as  a  place  of  far  more 
interest  to  me  than  the  "  Massasoit "  l  of  Springfield.  But  "there  's 
mercy  in  every  place." 

Jan.  17,  1851. 

...  I  wrote  Owen  last  week  that  if  he  had  not  the  means  on  hand 
to  buy  a  little  sugar,  to  write  Mr.  Cutting,  of  Westport,  to  send  out 
some.  I  conclude  you  have  got  your  belt  before  this.  I  could  not 
manage  to  send  the  slates  for  the  boys,  as  I  intended,  so  they  must 
be  provided  for  some  other  way.  .  .  .  Say  to  the  little  girls  that  I 
will  run  home  the  first  chance  I  get ;  but  I  want  to  have  them  learn 
to  be  a  little  more  still.  May  God  in  his  infinite  mercy  bless  and 
keep  you  all  is  the  unceasing  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  Henry  Thompson. 

NORTH  HUDSON,  N.  Y.,  March  15,  1851. 

I  have  drawn  an  order  on  you,  payable  in  board  of  Mail-carrier, 
horse-feed,  or  oats,  in  favor  of  Mr.  Judd  for  $7.09,  which  you  will 
oblige  me  by  paying  in  oats  at  forty  cents  per  bushel,  or  in  board  as 
above,  whichever  he  may  choose.  When  you  can  sell  my  stuff  please 
pay  your  father  $2.00  for  me.  I  also  wish  you  to  send  on  of  my  shin 
gles  that  Hiram  Brown  carried  out,  two  thousand  to  Alva  Holt,  as 
we  settled  about  the  oats  on  condition  of  my  sending  him  two  thou 
sand.  I  wish  you  to  open  an  account  of  debt  and  credit  with  me  from 
this  time  on,  as  I  shall  have  a  good  many  errands  to  trouble  you 
with.  I  wish  you  would  notify  Mr.  Flanders  by  letter  at  once  (if 
Nash  calls  on  you  for  the  $3.00)  to  go  ahead  with  the  suit.  Mr. 
Kellogg  told  me  he  thought  the  Trustees  would  settle  with  me,  were 
he  to  write  to  them.  We  are  getting  along  very  well ;  the  boys  are 
still  ahead,  and  Jack  is  with  us.  Mr.  Blood  talked  of  taking  the 
shingles  before  I  sold  the  two  thousand  to  Holt,  and  said  he  would 

1  A  noted  inn. 


108  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1852. 

go  and  look  at  them,  and  give  me  $1.50  per  thousand  for  them  if  he 
liked  them.  I  wish  to  do  the  handsome  thing  by  him  about  it. 
Would  be  glad  to  have  you  see  him  about  it.  My  love  unceasing 
to  Ruth. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

TROY,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  6,  1851. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  — As  I  am  still  detained  at  this  place,  I  improve 
a  leisure  moment  to  write  you,  as  the  only  means  of  communicating 
with  a  part  of  my  family  in  whose  present  and  future  interests  I  have 
an  inexpressible  concern.  Words  and  actions  are  but  feeble  means 
of  conveying  an  idea  of  what  I  always  feel  whenever  my  absent  chil 
dren  come  into  mind  j  so  I  will  not  enlarge  on  that  head.  .  .  . 

I  wish  you  to  say  to  Mr.  Epps  l  that  if  Mr.  Hall  does  not  soon 
take  care  of  the  boards  that  are  fallen  down  about  the  house  he 
built,  I  wish  he  and  Mr.  Dickson  would  go  and  take  them  away, 
as  I  paid  for  them,  and  am  the  rightful  owner  of  them.  I  wish  to 
have  them  confine  themselves  entirely  to  those  of  the  roof  and  gable- 
ends.  I  mean  to  let  Hall  have  them  if  he  will  occupy  the  building, 
or  have  any  one  do  it  on  his  account ;  but  I  do  not  mean  to  have  him 
let  them  lie  year  after  year  and  rot,  and  do  no  one  any  good.  I  wish 
this  to  be  attended  to  before  the  snow  covers  them  up  again. 

ELIZABETHTOWN,  Feb.  6,  1852. 

DEAR  HENRY,  —  Mr.  Judd  is  wanting  to  buy  a  large  quantity  of 
oats,  for  which  he  is  now  paying  one  cent  per  pound,  cash.  He  also 
wants  to  buy  a  supply  for  his  teams  that  carry  the  mail  to  Saranac, 
for  the  next  season.  He  says  oats  that  have  rye  mixed  with  them 
will  be  worth  as  much  by  the  pound  for  his  own  teams  as  those 
which  have  none.  Thinking*  it  might  be  of  advantage  to  you  to 
know  of  this,  and  perhaps  to  see  him,  I  concluded  to  send  you  a  line 
at  any  rate. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 
To  his  Wife. 

UTICA,  N.  Y.,  Dec.  27,  1852. 

...  I  seem  to  be  pretty  much  over  the  effects  of  the  ague,  except 
as  to  my  sight,  which  is  some  impaired,  and  which  will  not  probably 
ever  become  much  better.  I  made  a  short  visit  to  North  Elba,  and 
left  them  all  well  and  very  comfortable,  one  week  ago  to-day.  ... 
The  colored  families  appear  to  be  doing  well,  and  to  feel  encouraged. 

1  One  of  his  colored  neighbors  at  North  Elba. 


1853.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE  ADIRONDACS.  109 

They  all  send  much  love  to  you.  They  have  constant  preaching  on 
the  Sabbath ;  and  intelligence,  morality,  and  religion  appear  to  be 
all  on  the  advance.  Our  old  neighbors  appear  to  wish  us  back.  I 
can  give  no  particular  instructions  to  the  boys,  except  to  take  the 
best  care  of  everything,  —  not  forgetting  their  own  present  and  eter 
nal  good.  If  any  young  calves  come  that  are  nice  ones,  I  want  them 
to  be  well  looked  after,  and  if  any  very  mean  ones,  I  would  have  them 
killed  at  once.  I  am  much  pleased  to  get  such  a  good  account  from, 
the  boys,  and  from  Anne  and  Sarah. 

To  Henry  and  Ruth  Thompson. 

AKRON,  April  6,  1853. 

I  have  thought  a  good  deal  how  to  arrange  as  well  as  possible  in 
regard  to  a  home,  should  I  live  to  go  back  to  North  Elba.  I  am  a 
good  deal  at  a  loss  how  to  divide  the  land  so  as  to  accommodate  both 
families  in  the  best  way  ;  and  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  that 
matter,  as  you  may  perhaps  be  able  to  think  of  some  way  that  will 
exactly  suit  all  hands.  I  would  be  glad  if  Henry  will  send  me  his 
views  freely  in  regard  to  the  following  questions,  namely :  Are  you 
fond  of  the  business  or  care  of  a  sawmill  f  Are  there  any  springs  on 
that  part  of  the  lot  lying  east  of  the  river,  so  situated  as  to  accommo 
date  a  family  on  that  side  ;  or  do  you  think  there  is  a  prospect  of 
getting  a  good  well  where  the  strip  is  of  some  width,  and  the  face 
such  as  would  be  convenient  to  build  on  ?  Would  you  divide  the 
land  by  the  river,  or  by  a  line  running  east  and  west  ?  Will  it  be 
any  damage  to  you  if  you  defer  building  your  house  until  we  can  hit 
on  some  plan  of  dividing  the  land,  or  at  least  for  another  year?  If  I 
was  sure  of  going  back  next  spring  I  should  want  to  get  some  logs 
peeled  for  a  house,  as  I  expect  to  be  quite  satisfied  with  a  log-house 
for  the  rest  of  my  days.  Perhaps  by  looking  over  the  land  a  little 
with  a  view  to  these  things,  you  can  devise  a  plan  that  will  suit  well. 
I  do  not  mean  to  be  hard  to  please  j  but  such  is  the  situation  of  the 
lot,  and  so  limited  are  my  means,  that  I  am  quite  at  a  loss.  Will  it 
be  convenient  to  have  the  ground  that  is  gone  over  on  the  east  side 
of  the  river  got  into  grass  this  season  ?  .  .  .  I  can  think  of  but  little 
to  write  that  will  be  worth  reading.  Wishing  you  all  present  and 
future  good,  I  remain, 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  June  30,  1853. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  Your  very  welcome  letters  were  received  last 
*night.     In  regard  to  a  house,  I  did  not  prefer  a  log  one,  only  in  view 


110  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1854. 

of  the  expense ;  and  I  would  wish  Henry  to  act  according  to  his  own 
best  judgment  in  regard  to  it.  If  he  builds  a  better  house  than  I  can 
pay  for,  we  must  so  divide  the  land  as  to  have  him  keep  it.  I  would 
like  to  have  a  house  to  go  into  next  spring,  if  it  can  be  brought  about 
comfortably.  I  ought  to  have  expressed  it  more  distinctly  in  better 
season,  but  forgot  to  do  so.  We  are  in  comfortable  health,  so  far  as 
I  know,  except  father,  Jason,  and  Ellen,  all  of  whom  have  had  a  run 
of  ague.  Father,  when  I  saw  him  last,  was  very  feeble ;  and  I  fear 
that  in  consequence  of  his  great  age  he  will  never  get  strong  again. 
It  is  some  days  since  I  went  to  see  him.  We  are  not  through  sheep- 
shearing  or  hoeing,  and  our  grass  is  needing  to  be  cut  now.  We  have 
lately  had  very  dry  weather.  ...  I  am  much  rejoiced  at  the  news 
of  a  religious  kind  in  Ruth's  letter ;  and  would  be  still  more  rejoiced 
to  learn  that  all  the  sects  who  bear  the  Christian  name  would  have 
no  more  to  do  with  that  mother  of  all  abominations,  —  man-stealing. 
I  hope,  unfit  and  unworthy  as  I  am,  to  be  allowed  a  membership  in 
your  little  church  before  long ;  and  I  pray  God  to  claim  it  as  his  own, 
and  that  he  will  most  abundantly  bless  all  in  your  place  who  love  him 
in  truth.  u  If  any  man  love  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  how 
can  he  love  God  whom  he  hath  not  seen  ?  "  I  feel  but  little  force 
about  me  for  writing  or  any  kind  of  business,  but  will  try  to  write 
you  more  before  long.  Our  State  fair  commences  at  Dayton  the  20th 
of  September,  and  will  be  held  open  four  days. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  April  14,  1854. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  did  not  get  Ruth's  letter,  dated  on  the  1st 
instant,  until  the  12th,  but  was  very  glad  to  hear  from  you  then,  and 
to  learn  that  you  found  things  as  well  as  you  did.  In  fact,  God 
never  leaves  us  without  the  m«st  abundant  cause  for  gratitude ;  and 
let  us  try  and  have  it  in  habitual  exercise.  We  have  had  some  com 
plaints  among  several  of  us  of  late,  but  none  of  us  have  been  very 
unwell.  We  had  a  most  comfortable  settlement  of  last  year's  busi 
ness  with  Mr.  Perkins,  and  division  of  stock.  I  had  nine  of  the 
company  calves,  and  he  sold  me  four  of  the  old  for  one  hundred  dol 
lars,  which  I  used  to  have.  I  have  two  young  bull  calves,  —  one  a 
full  blood,  —  which  I  think  among  the  best  I  ever  saw. 

AKRON,  Nov.  2,  1854. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  feel  still  pretty  much  determined  to  go  back 
to  North  Elba ;  but  expect  Owen  and  Frederick  will  set  out  for  Kan 
sas  on  Monday  next,  with  cattle  belonging  to  John,  Jason,  and  them-  ' 


1855.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE   ADIRONDACS.  Ill 

selves,  intending  to  winter  somewhere  in  Illinois.  I  expect  to  set 
out  for  Albany  to-morrow,  and  for  Connecticut  after  the  8th.  I  mean 
to  go  and  see  you  before  I  return,  if  my  money  for  expenses  will  hold 
out.  Money  is  extremely  scarce,  and  I  have  been  some  disappointed, 
so  that  I  do  not  now  know  as  I  shall  be  able  to  go  and  see  you  at 
this  time.  Nothing  but  the  want  of  means  will  prevent  me,  if  life 
and  health  are  continued.  Gerrit  Smith  wishes  me  to  go  back  to 
North  Elba ;  from  Douglass  and  Dr.  McCune  Smith  I  have  not  yet 
heard.  I  shipped  you  a  cask  of  pork  containing  347  pounds  clear 
pork,  on  the  19th,  directed  to  Henry  Thompson,  North  Elba,  Essex 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  care  C.  B.  Hatch  &  Son,  Westport.  We  are  all  in 
usual  health. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

This  letter  was  preliminary  to  Brown's  first  expedition  to 
Kansas  in  1855,  in  defence  of  the  free  settlers  there,  par 
ticularly  his  own  sons. 

While  he  was  preparing  for  the  further  defence  of  Kansas 
in  1857-58,  and  for  his  attack  on  slavery  elsewhere,  he 
did  not  by  any  means  forget  or  neglect  the  family  at  North 
Elba,  but  busied  himself  in  securing  for  them  an  addition 
to  the  two  farms  in  the  wilderness  on  which  his  wife  and 
married  daughter,  Mrs.  Thompson,  were  living.  Several  of 
his  Massachusetts  friends,  chief  among  whom  were  Mr. 
George  L.  Stearns  and  Mr.  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  raised  a 
subscription  of  one  thousand  dollars  to  purchase  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  for  division  in  equal  portions 
between  these  farms.  Mr.  Stearns  contributed  $260  to  this 
fund,  and  Mr.  Lawrence  $310, — these  two  gentlemen  hav 
ing  made  up  the  sum  by  which  the  original  subscription  fell 
short  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The  connection  of  Mr.  Law 
rence  with  this  transaction,  and  his  personal  acquaintance 
with  Brown  in  1857,1  were  afterwards  held  to  imply  that  he 

1  At  this  time  neither  Gerrit  Smith  nor  Mr.  Stearns  nor  myself  had  any 
knowledge  of  Brown's  scheme  for  a  campaign  in  Virginia.  The  subscrip 
tion  paper  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  family  of  Captain  John  Brown,  of  Ossawatomie,  have  no  means  of 
support,  owing  to  the  oppression  to  which  he  has  been  subjected  in  Kansas 
Territory.  It  is  proposed  to  put  them  (his  wife  and  five  children)  in  pos 
session  of  the  means  of  supporting  themselves,  so  far  as  is  possible  for  per 
sons  in  their  situation.  The  undersigned,  therefore,  will  pay  the  following 


112  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

had  some  knowledge  of  Brown's  Virginia  plans,  which  was 
not  the  case.  The  subscription  thus  raised  was  expended 
in  completing  the  purchase  of  the  tract  in  question,  origi 
nally  sold  by  Gerrit  Smith  to  the  brothers  of  Henry  Thomp 
son  (Brown's  son-in-law),  but  which  had  not  been  wholly 
paid  for.  In  August,  1857,  as  the  agent  of  Messrs.  Stearns 
and  Lawrence,  I  visited  North  Elba,  examined  the  land,  paid 
the  Thompsons  their  stipulated  price  for  improvements,  and 
to  Mr.  Smith  the  remainder  of  the  purchase  money,  took 
the  necessary  deeds,  and  transferred  the  property  to  Mrs. 
Brown  and  Mrs.  Thompson,  according  to  the  terms  arranged 
by  Captain  Brown  in  the  preceding  spring.  I  have  before 
ine  as  I  write  the  pencil  memorandum,  in  Gerrit  Smith's 

sums,  provided  one  thousand  dollars  should  be  raised.  With  this  sum  a 
small  farm  can  now  be  purchased  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  late  resi 
dence  in  Essex  County,  New  York. 

May,  '57.    Paid.    William  R.  Lawrence,  Fifty  dollars. 

)one  hundred  dollars. 
$235  more. 
$335 

1   Fifty  dollars. 
Paid.    George  L.  Stearns,     [  ^5  more 

j   $285 

Paid.  John  E.  Lodge,  twenty-five  dollars. 

Paid.  J.  Carter  Brown  [by  A.  A.  L.],  one  hundred  dollars. 

Paid.  J.  M.  S.  Williams,  fifty  dollars. 

Paid.  John  Bertram  [by  M.  S.  W.],  seventy-five  dollars. 

Paid.  W.  D.  Pickman,  fifty  dollars. 

Paid.  R,  P.  Waters  [by  W.  D.  P.],  ten  dollars. 

Paid.  S.  E.  Peabody,  ten  dollars. 

Paid.  John  H.  Silsbee,  ten  dollars. 

Paid.  B.  Silsbee,  five  dollars. 

Paid.  Cash,  ten  dollars. 

Paid.  Wendell  Phillips,  twenty-five  dollars. 

Paid.  W.  J.  Rotch,  ten  dollars. 

Paid.  George  L.  Stearns,  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars. 

Paid.  A.  A.  Lawrence,  two  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars. 
One  thousand  dollars  in  all.     July  27,  1857. 

BOSTON,  Nov.  5,  1857.  John  Bertram's  subscription  being  $75,  instead 
of  $25,  as  I  supposed,  I  have  returned  to  Amos  A.  Lawrence  twenty- five 
dollars,  making  his  whole  subscription,  $310 ;  my  subscription,  $260  ;  all 
others,  $430,  —  total,  $1000. 

(Signed)  GEORGE  L.  STEARNS." 


1857.]  PIONEER  LIFE  IN  THE   ADIRONDACS.  113 

familiar  handwriting,  showing  this  transaction.     Here  it 

is  :  — 

Draft  of  F.  B.  S $1000 

Due  Thompsons $574 

Due  ine  on  note 111.66 

"    "   on  land 288.89       974.55 

$25.45 

This  sura  ($25.45)  I  handed  to  Mrs.  Brown  at  North  Elba, 
Aug.  13,  1857. 

A  few  days  later  I  reported  to  Mr.  Stearns  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  wrote  you  from  Buffalo,  I  think,  telling  you  of  the  settling  of 
the  business  of  Captain  Brown  with  Mr.  Smith ;  since  when  I  have 
been  in  North  Elba,  and  passed  a  night  under  his  roof.  There  I 
found  Mrs.  Brown,  a  tall,  large  woman,  fit  to  be  the  mother  of  heroes, 
as  she  is.  Her  family  are  her  two  sons  and  three  daughters,  one  of 
them  a  child  of  three  years.  One  of  the  sons  has  been  in  Kansas  j 
the  other  was  to  go  with  his  father  this  summer,  but  I  think  his  mar 
riage,  which  took  place  in  April,  may  have  prevented  it.  Owen  is 
now  with  his  father,  and  both,  I  suppose,  are  in  Kansas,  for  on  the 
17th  of  July  they  were  beyond  Iowa  City  with  their  teams.  I  shall 
have  much  to  tell  you  about  this  visit.  The  subscription  could  not 
have  been  better  bestowed,  and  the  small  balance,  which  I  paid  Mrs. 
Brown,  came  very  opportunely." 

I  had  previously  written  to  Brown,  August  14,  from  Au 
Sable  Forks,  to  which  he  replied  from  Tabor,  in  Iowa,  Aug. 
27,  1857,  as  follows  :  — 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Your  most  welcome  letter  of  the  14th  hist., 
from  Au  Sable  Forks,  is  received.  I  cannot  express  the  gratitude  I 
feel  to  all  the  kind  friends  who  contributed  towards  paying  for  the 
place  at  North  Elba,  after  I  had  bought  it,  as  I  am  thereby  relieved 
from  a  very  great  embarrassment  both  with  Mr.  Smith  and  the  young 
Thompsons,  and  also  comforted  with  the  feeling  that  my  noble-hearted 
wife  and  daughters  will  not  be  driven  either  to  beg  or  become  a  bur 
den  to  my  poor  boys,  who  have  nothing  but  their  hands  to  begin  with. 
I  am  under  special  obligation  to  you  for  going  to  look  after  them  and 
cheer  them  in  their  homely  condition.  May  God  reward  you  all  a 
thousandfold!  No  language  I  have  can  express  the  satisfaction  it 
affords  me  to  feel  that  I  have  friends  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  look 
after  them  and  know  the  real  condition  of  my  family,  while  I  am  "  far 
away,"  perhaps  never  to  return.  I  am  still  waiting  here  for  company, 

8 


114  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

additional  teams,  and  means  of  paying  expenses,  or  to  know  that  I  can 
make  a  diversion  in  favor  of  our  friends,  in  case  they  are  involved 
again  in  trouble.  Colonel  Forbes  has  come  on  and  has  a  small 
school  at  Tabor.  I  wrote  you  some  days  ago,  giving  a  few  particu 
lars  in  regard  to  our  movements;  and  I  intend  writing  my  friend 
Stearns,  as  soon  as  I  have  anything  to  tell  him  that  is  worth  a 
stamp.  Please  say  to  him,  that,  provided  I  do  not  get  into  such  a 
speculation  as  shall  swallow  up  all  the  property  I  have  been  furnished 
with,  I  intend  to  keep  it  all  safe,  so  that  he  may  be  remunerated  in 
the  end ;  but  that  I  am  wholly  in  the  dark  about  it  as  yet,  and  that  I 
caunot  flatter  him  much  now.  Will  direct  where  to  write  me  when 
I  know  how  to  do  so. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

N.  H. 

"  N.  H."  stands  for  "  Nelson  Hawkins,"  one  of  the  names 
by  which  Brown  was  known  to  his  friends  when  in  an 
enemy's  country.  Soon  afterwards  he  did  write  to  Mr. 
Stearns  :  "  I  have  learned  with  gratitude  what  has  been  done 
to  render  my  wife  and  children  more  comfortable.  May 
God  himself  be  the  everlasting  portion  of  all  the  contri 
butors  !  This  generous  act  has  lifted  a  heavy  load  from 
my  heart." 

John  Brown  had  returned  to  North  Elba  in  April,  1857, 
after  two  years'  absence ;  and  it  was  on  this  visit  that  he 
carried  with  him  the  old  tombstone  of  his  grandfather,  Cap. 
tain  John  Brown,  the  Revolutionary  soldier,  from  the  burial 
place  of  his  family  in  Canton,  Conn.  He  caused  the  name 
of  his  son  Frederick,  who  fell  in  Kansas,  to  be  carved  on 
this  stone,  with  the  date  of  his  death,  and  placed  it  where 
he  desired  his  own  grave  to  be,  —  beside  a  huge  rock  on  the 
hillside  where  his  house  stands,  —  giving  directions  that  his 
own  name  and  the  date  of  his  death  should  be  inscribed  there 
too,  when  he  should  fall,  as  he  expected,  in  the  conflict  with 
slavery.  That  stone  now  marks  his  grave,  and  tells  a  story 
wrhich  more  costly  monuments  and  longer  inscriptions  could 
not  so  well  declare.  Beside  him  are  buried,  after  a  strange 
separation  of  many  years,  the  bones  of  his  son  Watson, 
over  which  funeral  services  were  performed  on  this  hillside 
in  October,  1882,  in  the  presence  of  his  mother,  his  wife, 
his  two  eldest  brothers,  and  his  sister  Ruth.  The  wander- 


1882.]  PIONEER  LIFE   IN  THE  ADIRONDACS.  115 

ings  of  the  father  and  the  son  have  ceased,  and  they  rest 
together  in  this  mountain-home  of  their  affections,  —  these 
pioneers  of  Liberty,  their  long  march  ended  at  last.1 

1  This  pioneer  instinct  of  the  family  has  led  the  sons  of  John  Brown  into 
many  a  new  country,  either  for  exploration  or  for  settlement.  All  of  them 
at  one  time  or  another  tried  their  fortune  in  Kansas  ;  the  youngest  surviv 
ing  son,  after 'the  Civil  War  was  decided,  journeyed  with  his  mother  and 
sisters  across  the  great  plains  to  California,  Avhere  he  is  a  sheep-farmer  on 
the  ranges  of  Humboldt  County.  Others  of  the  family  have  since  gone  to 
Southern  California  ;  while  the  two  eldest  sous  established  themselves 
among  the  first  on  one  of  the  charming  vineyard  islands  of  Lake  Erie. 
The  oldest  son,  in  1875,  while  exploring  the  region  about  the  Black  Hills, 
encountered  Indians  on  the  journey,  who  made  some  threats  of  attacking 
"men  with  hats"  if  the  United  States  should  try  to  remove  them  from 
their  hunting-grounds  as  had  been  proposed  ;  but  they  were  friendly  to  the 
exploring  party,  and  being  told  that  this  was  the  son  of  Captain  Brown, 
of  Harper's  Ferry,  of  whom,  though  wild  Indians,  they  had  heard  the  story, 
they  testified  much  respect  for  the  son  of  such  a  brave.  The  whole  Brown 
family  now  live  widely  separated,  and  all  are  far  away  from  their  father's 
grave  among  the  Adirondac  Mountains,  Kuth,  the  oldest  daughter,  with 
her  husband  Henry  Thompson,  is  living  with  her  children  and  grand 
children  at  Pasadena,  Cal.  ;  Anne  has  long  been  married,  and  has  a  fam 
ily  of  .children  ;  Salmon  has  seven  or  eight  children  ;  John,  the  eldest 
brother,  has  two  children,  —  so  that  the  grandchildren  of  Captain  Brown 
already  number  about  twenty.  There  is  no  danger  of  that  family  becoming 
extinct,  even  though  it  lost  so  many  members  in  the  war  with  slavery. 
Nor  are  the  Browns  likely  to  become  enervated  by  too  much  contact  with 
luxury  and  the  life  of  cities,  for  they  follow  the  romantic  impulse  of  their 
father,  and  of  Daniel  Boone,  and  keep  on  the  advancing  edge  of  civilization, 
—  whereof  they  are  pioneers,  in  more  senses  than  one. 


116  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 


CHAPTER   V. 
PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT. 

x  A  LL  this  unwearied  industry  of  John  Brown  in  pioneer 
**•  life,  in  the  pursuit  of  wealth,  in  the  establishment 
of  his  children,  in  the  formation  of  acquaintance,  and  the 
maintenance  of  his  family,  was  but  preparatory,  in  his 
thought  and  in  fact,  to  the  fore-ordained  and  chosen  task  of 

(..  his  life,  —  the  overthrow  of  American  slavery.  During  the 
English  war  of  1812  he  began  to  reflect,  he  says,  "  on  the 
wretched,  hopeless  condition  of  fatherless  and  motherless 
slave  children,  sometimes  raising  the  question,  '  Is  God  their 
Father  ? '  When  this  was  answered  in  the  Old  Testament 

r  way,  the  boy  in  his  teens  declared  and  swore  '  eternal  war 
with  slavery.' 9}  He  did  not  hasten  forward  towards  the 
achievement  of  what  he  had  undertaken,  until  the  fulness 
of  time  had  come,  and  he  had  furnished  himself  with  such 
military  and  general  knowledge  as  he  deemed  requisite. 
He  kept  it  steadily  before  him  for  forty  years,  educated 
himself  and  his  children  for  it,  and  made  it  as  much  a  part 
of  his  household  discipline  as  were  his  prayers  at  morning 
and  evening.  Emerson,  indeed,  in  his  speech  at  Salem  in 
1859,  a  month  before  Brown's  death,  fixes  a  much  earlier 
date  as  the  beginning  of  his  enterprise  against  slavery  in 
Virginia.  "  It  was  not  a  piece  of  spite  or  revenge,  —  a  plot 
of  two  years  or  of  twenty  years,  —  but  the  keeping  of  an 
oath  made  to  heaven  and  earth  forty-seven  years  before. 
Forty-seven  years  at  least,  —  though  I  incline  to  accept  his 
own  account  of  the  matter  a,t  Charlestown,  which  makes 
the  date  a  little  older,  when  he  said,  '  This  was  all  settled 
millions  of  years  before  the  world  was  made.' "  Mrs.  Brown 
told  me  in  1860  that  she  had  known  his  design  and  been 
pledged  to  aid  it  for  more  than  twenty  years  ;  and  John 
Brown  himself  had  said  in  1857,  early  in  my  acquaintance 


1858.J  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  117 

with  him,  "  I  always  told  her  that  when  the  time  came  to 
fight  against  slavery,  that  conflict  would  be  the  signal  for 
our  separation.  She  made  up  her  mind  to  have  me  go  long 
before  this ;  and  when  I  did  go,  she  got  ready  bandages  and 
medicine  for  the  wounded." 

"  For  twenty  years,"  he  told  Bichard  Hinton  in  1858,  "  I 
have  never  made  any  business  arrangement  which  would 
prevent  me  at  any  time  answering  the  call  of  the  Lord.  I 
have  kept  my  affairs  in  such  condition  that  in  two  weeks 
I  could  wind  them  up  and  be  ready  to  obey  that  call ;  per 
mitting  nothing  to  stand  in  the  way  of  duty,  • —  neither  wife, 
children,  nor  worldly  goods.  Whenever  the  time  should 
come,  I  was  ready  ;  that  hour  is  very  near  at  hand,  and  all 
who  are  willing  to  act  should  be  ready." 

In  1820,  at  the  time  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  when 
his  hostility  to  slavery  took  definite  shape  ;  in  1837,  when  he 
formed  his  plans  for  attacking  slavery  by  force ;  and  even 
in  1858,  when  he  had  organized  an  armed  band  to  carry  them 
out,  —  his  scheme  would  have  seemed  mere  madness  to  most 
persons.  But  Brown  had  the  spirit  of  his  ancestors,  the  Pil 
grim  Fathers  ;  he  entered  upon  his  perilous  undertaking  with 
deliberate  resolution,  after  considering  what  was  to  be  said  for 
and  against  it,  as  did  the  Pilgrims  before  they  set  forth  from 
Holland  to  colonize  America.  William  Bradford,  their  brav 
est  leader  and  their  historian,  has  recorded  the  arguments 
for  attempting  the  voyage  to  America  in  words  which  will 
apply,  with  very  little  change,  to  the  adventure  undertaken 
two  centuries  and  a  half  later  by  Peter  Brown's  stalwart 
descendant,  the  last  of  the  Puritans. 

11  It  was  answered/'  says  Bradford  in  his  History,  "  that  all  great 
and  honourable  actions  are  accompanied  with  great  difficulties,  and 
must  be  both  enterprised  and  overcome  with  answerable  courages.  It 
was  granted  the  dangers  were  great,  but  not  desperate ;  the  difficulties 
were  many,  but  not  invincible.  For  though  there  were  manie  of  them 
likely,  yet,  they  were  not  certain.  It  might  be  sundrie  of  the  things 
feared  might  never  befall;  others,  by  provident  care  and  the  use  of 
good  means,  might  in  a  great  measure  be  prevented  ;  and  all  of  them, 
through  the  help  of  God,  by  fortitude  and  patience,  might  either  be  borne 
or  overcome.  True  it  was  that  such  attempts  were  not  to  be  made  and 
undertaken  without  good  ground  and  reason  ;  not  rashly  or  lightly  as 


118  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1820. 

many  have  done  for  curiosity  or  hope  of  gaine,  etc.  But  their  condi 
tion  was  not  ordiuarie;  their  ends  were  good  and  honourable;  their 
calling  lawfull  and  urgente ;  and  therefore  they  might  expecte  the 
blessing  of  God  in  their  proceeding.  Yea,  though  they  should  loose 
their  lives  in  this  action,  yet  might  they  have  comforte  in  the  same, 
and  endeavors  would  be  honourable." 

The  world  now  sees  how  honorable  the  endeavors  of  Brad 
ford,  Standish,  and  John  Brown  were,  and  what  momentous 
results  have  followed.  "  Christ  died  on  the  tree,"  said  Car- 
lyle  to  Emerson  at  Craigenputtock  in  August,  1833 :  "  that 
built  Dunscone  kirk  yonder ;  that  brought  you  and  me  to 
gether."  The  sequence  of  events  in  John  Brown's  case  was 
the  same,  and  far  more  important,  —  since  from  the  cruci 
fixion  at  Jerusalem  a  light  sprang  forth  that  was  reflected 
back  without  obstruction  from  the  ugly  gallows  of  Virginia. 
John  Brown  took  up  his  cross  and  followed  his  Lord  ;  and 
it  was  enough  for  this  servant  that  he  was  as  his  Master. 

Even  from  the  statesman's  point  of  view  the  enterprise 
was  glorious,  as  the  event  has  proved.  John  Quincy  Adams 
was  a  statesman  sufficiently  prudent ;  yet  when  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise  was  under  fierce  debate  in  Congress  (Mr. 
Adams  being  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr.  Calhoun 
Secretary  of  War,  to  James  Monroe)  he  made  this  entry  in 
his  journal :  — 

"  Feb.  24,  1820.  I  had  some  conversation  with  Calhoun  on  the 
slave -question  pending  in  Congress.  He  said  he  did  not  think  it 
would  produce  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  if  it  should,  the  South 
would  be  compelled  to  form  an  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  with 
Great  Britain.  I  said  that  would  be  returning  to  the  colonial  state. 
He  said,  *  Yes,  pretty  much  ;  but  it  would  be  forced  upon  them.7  .  .  . 
I  pressed  the  conversation  no  further.  But  if  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union  should  result  from  the  slave-question,  it  is  as  obvious  as  any 
thing  that  can  be  foreseen  of  futurity,  that  it  must  shortly  afterwards 
be  followed  by  the  universal  emancipation  of  the  slaves ;  ...  the 
destructive  progress  of  emancipation,  which,  like  all  great  religious 
and  political  reformations,  is  terrible  in  its  means,  though  happy  and 
glorious  in  its  end.  Slavery  is  the  great  and  foul  stain  upon  the 
North  American  Union,  and  it  is  a  contemplation  worthy  of  the  most 
exalted  soul  whether  its  total  abolition  is  or  is  not  practicable  j  if 
practicable,  by  what  means  it  may  be  effected,  and  if  a  choice  of 


1859.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  119 

means  be  with  ID  the  scope  of  the  object,  what  means  would  accomplish 
it  at  the  smallest  cost  of  human  sufferance  f  A  dissolution,  at  least 
temporary,  of  the  Union  as  now  constituted  would  be  necessary  ;  and 
the  dissolution  must  be  upon  a  point  involving  the  question  of  slav 
ery,  and  no  other.  The  Union  might  then  be  reorganized  on  the 
fundamental  principle  of  emancipation.  This  object  is  vast  in  its 
compass,  awful  in  its  prospects,  sublime  and  beautiful  in  its  issue. 
A  life  devoted  to  it  would  be  nobly  spent  or  sacrificed." 

Such  a  life  was  that  of  John  Brown.  He  entered  upon  it 
when  as  a  boy,  "  during  the  war  with  England/'  seven  years 
before  this  colloquy  of  Adams  with  Calhoun,  he  saw  his 
little  black  playmate  starved  and  beaten,  and  with  boyish 
ardor  "  swore  eternal  war  with  slavery."  He  ended  it  upon 
the  gallows  in  Virginia,  and  men  said  he  "  died  as  a  fool 
dieth."  But  the  method  that  he  devised  for  emancipation^—^ 
was  that  which,  within  five  years  from  his  death,  the  nation 
adopted  and  carried  to  a  successful  issue.  It  was  the  method 
of  force ;  and  it  proceeded  gradually,  as  Brown  had  foreseen 
that  it  must,  from  State  to  State,  and  without  overthrowing 
the  general  government.  There  was,  however,  what  Adams 
had  predicted,  —  a  temporary  dissolution  of  the  Union,  fol 
lowed  by  "  amendment  and  repeal,"  as  Brown  desired ;  and 
then  by  that  which  Adams  and  Brown  both  had  longed  for,  — 
a  reorganization  of  the  Union  uon  the  fundamental  question 
of  emancipation."  Thus,  again,  in  human  history,  as  so  many 
times  before,  did  the  divine  paradox  reassert  itself,  and  the 
stone  which  the  builders  rejected  became  the  head  of  the 
corner.  Beside  the  Potomac,  where  the  founder  of  our  Ee- 
public  lived  and  died,  crowned  with  honors,  it  was  decreed 
that  the  restorer  of  the  Eepublic  should  also  die  by  the 
hangman's  hand.  The  work  that  Washington  and  Jeffer 
son  left  unfinished,  Brown  came  to  complete  ;  and  Lincoln 
with  his  proclamations,  Grant  and  Sherman  with  theiru 
armies,  did  little  more  than  follow  in  the  path  that  Brown 
had  pointed  out.  "  Of  all  the  men  who  were  said  to  be  my 
contemporaries,"  wrote  a  Concord  poet,  "  it  seemed  to  me 
that  John  Brown  was  the  only  one  who  had  not  died.  I 
meet  him  at  every  turn.  He  is  more  alive  than  ever  he  was  ; 
he  is  no  longer  working  in  secret ;  he  works  in  public,  and 
in  the  clearest  light  that  shines  on  this  land." 


120  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1874. 

This  was  Thoreau's  verdict  in  1860,  before  the  great  Civil 
War  had  shown  the  world  what  Brown's  true  place  was  among 
the  successful  champions  of  humanity.  Fifteen  years  after 
his  death,  when  the  American  Republic' had  regained  the 
universal  freedom  of  men,  for  which  Jefferson  formulated 
its  charter  in  1776,  and  when  the  French  Republic  had  re 
called  Victor  Hugo  from  his  long  and  honorable  exile,  that 
commanding  genius  of  his  century  thus  addressed  the  widow 
of  John  Brown  : 1  — 

MADAM,  —  Several  years  have  passed  away  since  your  noble  hus 
band  completed  the  sacrifice  of  a  life  consecrated  to  the  most  generous 
of  all  aims.  The  gallows  on  which  he  suffered  called  forth  a  cry  of 
universal  indignation,  which  was  the  signal  for  securing  the  emanci 
pation  of  a  race  till  then  disinherited.  Honor  be  to  him,  and  to 
his  worthy  sons  who  were  associated  with  him  in  his  endeavors ! 
To  the  blessing  with  which  the  present  age  crowns  their  memory 
shall  be  added  that  of  future  generations.  These  thoughts,  Madam, 

1  This  letter,  written  by  Hugo,  was  signed  also  by  the  other  members  of 
a  French  committee  which  presented  to  Mrs.  Brown  in  1874  a  gold  medal 
in  honor  of  her  husband.  Their  names  were  Louis  Blanc,  Victor  Schoelcher, 
Patrice  Larroque,  Eugene  Pelletan,  Melvil-Bloncourt,  Capron,  Ch.  L.  Chas* 
sin,  Eiienne  Arago,  Laureut-Pichat,  and  L.  Gomes.  "The  medal  itself  was 
modelled  by  "VVurder,  of  Brussels,  bearing  on  one  side  a  bearded  head  of 
Brown,  and  on  the  reverse  this  inscription  :  "  To  the  memory  of  John 
Brown,  judicially  murdered  at  Charlestown,  in  Virginia,  on  the  2d  of  De 
cember,  1859  ;  and  in  commemoration  also  of  his  sons  and  comrades  who, 
with  him,  became  the  victims  of  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  negro  eman 
cipation."  This  medal  (weighing  nearly  five  ounces)  was  sent  to  Mrs. 
Brown  in  California  by  her  son  John,  who  received  it  from  William  Lloyd 
Garrison,  to  whom  the  French  committee  gave  a  bronze  copy  of  the  medal, 
with  the  following  letter  :  — 

PARIS,  Oct.  20,  1874. 
Wm.  Lloyd  Garrison. 

SIR,  — We  have  received,  through  the  hands  of  M.  Victor  Schcelcher,  the  letter  by 
which  the  son  of  John  Brown  informs  you  that  the  family  will  receive,  with  all  due 
appreciation,  the  gold  medal  struck  in  memory  of  the  glorious  death  of  his  father.  We 
beg  yon,  therefore,  to  be  kind  enough,  in  accordance  with  your  generous  offer,  to  charge 
yourself  with  its  delivery  to  the  Brown  family,  together  with  the  letter  to  Mrs.  Brown 
accompanying  it.  In  thanking  you  for  your  kind  intervention,  we  beg  you  to  accept 
the  assurance  of  our  high  esteem  ;  and  also  a  copy  of  the  medal,  in  bronze,  which  is  the 
work  (without  remuneration)  of  a  sympathizing  artist.  We  have  sent  to  the  agency  of 
the  house  of  Lebeau,  who  represent  the  line  of  steamers  from  Liverpool  to  Boston,  the 
box  containing  the  gold  medal  addressed  to  the  widow  of  John  Brown,  —  expenses  pre 
paid. 

The  Delegate  CAPRON. 

PATRICE  LARROQUE,  Secretary. 


1839.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  121 

must  assuredly  tend  greatly  to  alleviate  your  great  sorrow.  But  you 
have  sought  a  higher  consolation  for  your  grief,  in  the  reflection  that 
beyond  the  imperfect  justice  of  man  sits  enthroned  that  Supreme 
Justice  which  will  leave  no  good  action  unrewarded  and  no  crime 
unpunished.  We  hope,  also,  that  you  may  derive  some  comfort  from 
this  expression  of  our  sympathy,  as  citizens  of  the  French  Republic, 
which  would  have  reached  you  earlier  but  for  the  prolonged  and  cruel 
sufferings  through  which  our  unfortunate  country  has  been  forced  to 
pass. 

Though  Brown  drew  this  applause  from  the  French 
Kepublicans  for  his  generous  martyrdom,  nothing  could  be 
further  from  the  Ked  ^Republican  temper  and  from  French 
impiety  than  were  his  temper  and  devout  purpose.  He  was 
(a  Saxon  follower  of  the  French  Calvin  and  the  Mauritanian 
Augustine,  as  they  were  followers  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures. 
John  Brown  was  a  Bible-worshipper,  if  ever  any  man  was.  •-* 
He  read  and  meditated  on  the  Bible  constantly  ;  in  his  will 
he  bequeathed  a  Bible  to  each  of  his  children  and  grand 
children  ;  and  he  wrote  to  his  family  a  few  days  before  his 
execution,  "  I  beseech  you  every  one  to  make  the  Bible  your 
daily  and  nightly  study.7'  Such  was  the  man  —  of  the  best 
New  England  blood,  of  the  stock  of  the  Plymouth  Pilgrims, 
and  bred  up  like  them  "  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of 
the  Lord"  —  who  was  selected  by  God,  and  knew  himself  to 
be  so  chosen,  to  overthrow  the  bulwark  of  oppression  in 
America.  His  prayers  and  meditations  from  childhood  had 
been  leading  him  towards  this  consecration  of  himself  to  a 
great  work,  and  he  had  no  dearer  purpose  in  life  than  to 
fulfil  the  mission.  He  seems  to  have  declared  a  definite*" 
plan  of  attacking  slavery  in  one  of  its  strongholds,  by  force, 
as  early  as  1339 ;  and  it  was  to  obtain  money  for  this  enter-  < 
prise  that  he  engaged  in  land-speculations  and  wool-mer 
chandise  for  the  next  ten  or  twelve  years.  His  ventures 
failed  ;  it  was  not  destined  that  he  should  grow  rich  and  be 
able  to  help  the  poor  from  his  abundance ;  and  he  accepted 
the  narrow  path  of  poverty.  While  tending  his  flocks  in 
Ohio,  with  his  sons  and  daughters  about  him,  he  first  com 
municated  to  them  his  purpose  of  attacking  slavery  in  arms. 
From  that  time  forward,  a  period  of  more  than  twenty  years, 
he  devoted  himself,  not  exclusively,  but  mainly,  to  the  un- 


122  LITE   AND  LETTERS  OE   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

dertaking  in  which  he  sacrificed  his  life.  He  looked  on  his 
mercantile  connections,  on  his  acquaintance  at  home  and  his 
travels  abroad,  as  means  to  this  great  end ;  he  came  back 

•-  from  Europe  poor,  but  more  in  love  than  ever  with  Amer 
ican  democracy,  and  more  resolved  that  American  slavery 

s  should  be  destroyed.  In  his  campaign  against  it  he  did  not 
contemplate  insurrection,  but  partisan  warfare,  —  at  first  on  a 
small  scale,  then  more  extensive  ;  yet  he  did  not  shrink  from 
the  extreme  consequences  of  his  theory.  A  man  of  peace 
for  more  than  fifty  years  of  his  life,  he  nevertheless  under 
stood  that  war  had  its  uses,  and  that  there  were  worse  evils 
than  battles  for  a  great  principle.  He  more  than  once  said 
to  me,  and  doubtless  to  others,  "I  believe  in  the  Golden 
Rule  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  I  think  they 
both  mean  the  same  thing ;  and  it  is  better  that  a  whole 
generation  should  pass  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  —  men, 
women,  and  children,  —  by  a  violent  death,  than  that  one 
jot  of  either  should  fail  in  £/m  country.  I  mean  exactly  so, 
sir."  He  also  told  me  that  "  he  had  much  considered  the 
matter,  and  had  about  concluded  that  forcible  separation  of 
the  connection  between  master  and  slave  was  necessary  to 
fit  the  blacks  for  self-government."  First  a  soldier,  then  a 
citizen,  was  his  plan  with  the  liberated  slaves.  "When  they 
stand  like  men,  the  nation  will  respect  them,"  he  said ;  "  it 
is  necessary  to  teach  them  this."  He  looked  forward,  no 
doubt,  to  years  of  conflict,  in  which  the  blacks,  as  in  the  later 
years  of  the  Civil  War,  should  be  formed  into  regiments 
and  brigades  and  be  drilled  in  the  whole  art  of  war,  —  like 
the  black  soldiers  of  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  and  Dessalines, 
in  Hayti.  But  in  his  more  inspired  moments  he  foresaw  a 
speedier  end  to  the  combat  which  he  began.  Once  he  said, 

""  A  few  men  in  the  right,  and  knowing  they  are  right,  can 
overturn  a  mighty  king.  Fifty  men,  twenty  men,  in  the 
Alleghanies,  could  break  slavery  to  pieces  in  two  years." 

The  actual  attempt  of  Brown  in  Virginia  to  break  in 
pieces  this  national  idol  of  slavery  was  judged  as  mad. 
ness  by  his  countrymen  at  the  moment,  and  even  now,  as 
we  look  back  on  it,  seems  devoid  of  the  elements  which 
would  make  success  possible.  But  with  God  all  things  are 
possible,  —  and  success  followed  the  noble  madness  of  his 


1851.]  PREPARATIONS   FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  123 

assault.  That  brief  campaign,  with  its  immediate  frustra 
tion  and  its  ultimate  and  speedy  triumph,  is  now  seen  to 
have  been  an  omen  of  the  divine  purpose.  It  has  already 
become  a  part  of  the  world's  history  and  literature,  —  a  new 
chapter  added  to  the  record  of  heroism  and  self-devotion,  a 
new  incident  in  the  long  romance  which  has  been  for  three 
hundred  years  the  history  of  Virginia.  It  was  little  to  the 
honor  of  Virginia  then  ;  but  so  heavy  has  been  the  penalty 
since  visited  on  that  State  and  her  people,  that  we  may  omit 
all  censure  upon  what  was  done.  God  has  judged  between 
them  and  John  Brown ;  and  His  judgment,  as  always,  will  be 
found  not  only  just  but  merciful,  since  it  has  removed  from 
a  brave  and  generous  people  the  curse  of  human  slavery.  It 
was  for  this  result,  and  this  alone,  that  Brown  plotted  and 
fought,  prayed  and  died ;  and  even  before  his  death  he  saw 
that  his  prayers  would  be  answered. 

Although  John  Brown  would  have  justified  a  slave  insur-  ^ 
rection,  or  indeed  almost  any  means  of  destroying  slavery, 
he  did  not  seek  to  incite  general  insurrection  among  the    " 
Southern  slaves.     Th.e  venture  in  which  he  lost  his  life  was  ->^k 
not  an  insurrection  in  any  sense  of  the  word,  but  an  invasion 
or  foray,  similar  in  its  character  to  that  which  Garibaldi  was 
to  make  six  months  later  in  Sicily  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
infamous  Bourbon  tyranny  there.     The  Italian  hero  suc 
ceeded,  and  became  dictator  of  the  island  he  had  conquered; 
the  American  hero  failed  for  the  moment,  and  was  put  to 
death.     But  his  soul  went  marching  on ;  and  millions  of  his 
countrymen  followed  in  his  footsteps  two  years  later,  to 
complete  the  campaign  in  which  Brown  had  led  the  forlorn 
hope.     As  usual,  the  forlorn  hope  was  sacrificed,  but  by  their 
death  the  final  victory  .was  won. 

While  this  servant  and  prophet  of  God  was  waiting  for 
the  accepted  time,  he  continued  those  efforts  in  behalf  of 
fugitive  slaves  which  began  so  early.  He  was  specially  ac 
tive  in  this  after  the  enactment  of  Senator  Mason's  Fugitive 
Slave  Bill  in  1850,  —  supported  as  it  was  by  Webster,  of 
Massachusetts,  and  Clay,  of  Kentucky.  Poor  black  men  were 
then  hunted  down  at  the  instigation  of  rich  white  men,  even 
in  Boston ;  and  the  courts  of  Massachusetts  were  disgraced 
by  the  chains  of  Virginian  slavery.  Early  in  1851,  while 


124  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1851. 

Brown  was  nominally  a  resident  of  the  Adirondac  woods, 
he  was  at  his  old  home  in  Springfield,  and  there  formed  an 
organization  among  the  colored  people,  many  of  whom  were 
refugees,  to  resist  the  capture  of  any  fugitive  slave,  no  mat 
ter  by  what  authority.  The  letter  of  instructions  given  by 
Brown  at  that  time  to  his  Springfield  "  Grileadites,"  as  he 
called  them,  deserves  to  be  cited  here,  as  an  authentic  docu 
ment  throwing  light  on  the  character  and  purposes  of 
Brown  at  that  time,  nearly  nine  years  before  his  campaign 
in  Virginia.  It  is  somewhat  condensed  from  his  manuscript : 

WORDS  OF   ADVICE. 

Branch  of  the  United  States  League  of  Gileadites.     Adapted  Jan.  15,  1851, 
as  written  and  recommended  by  John  Brown. 

"UNION   18   STRENGTH." 

•  Nothing  so  charms  the  American  people  as  personal  bravery. 
Witness  the  case  of  Cinques,  of  everlasting  memory,  on  board  the 
"  Amistad."  The  trial  for  life  of  one  bold  and  to  some  extent  successful 
man,  for  defending  his  rights  in  good  earnest,  would  arouse  more  sym 
pathy  throughout  the  nation  than  the  accumulated  wrongs  and  suffer 
ings  of  more  than  three  millions  of  our  submissive  colored  population. 
We  need  not  mention  the  Greeks  struggling  against  the  oppressive 
Turks,  the  Poles  against  Russia,  nor  the  Hungarians  against  Austria 
and  Russia  combined,  to  prove  this.  No  jury  can  be  found  in  the 
Northern  States  that  would  convict  a  man  for  defending  his  rights  to 
the  last  extremity.  This  is  ivell  understood  by  Southern  Congressmen, 
tcho  insisted  that  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  should  not  be  granted  to 
the  fugitive.  Colored  people  have  ten  times  the  number  of  fast 
friends  among  the  whites  than  they  suppose,  and  would  have  ten 
times  the  number  they  now  have  were  they  but  half  as  much  in  ear 
nest  to  secure  their  dearest  rights  as  they  are  to  ape  the  follies  and 
extravagances  of  their  white  neighbors,  and  to  indulge  in  idle  show, 
in  ease,  and  in  luxury.  Just  think  of  the  money  expended  by  indi 
viduals  in  your  behalf  in  the  past  twenty  years !  Think  of  the  num 
ber  who  have  been  mobbed  and  imprisoned  on  your  account !  Have 
any  of  you  seen  the  Branded  Hand  ?  Do  you  remember  the  names 
of  Lovejoy  and  Torrey  ? 

Should  one  of  your  number  be  arrested,  you  must  collect  together 
as  quickly  as  possible,  so  as  to  outnumber  your  adversaries  who  are 
taking  an  active  part  against  you.  Let  no  able-bodied  man  appear 
on  the  ground  unequipped,  or  with  his  weapons  exposed  to  view : 


1851.1  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  125 

let  that  be  understood  beforehand.  Your  plans  must  be  known  only 
to  yourself,  and  with  the  understanding  that  all  traitors  must  die, 
wherever  caught  and  proven  to  be  guilty.  "  Whosoever  is  fearful  or 
afraid,  let  him  return  and  part  early  from  Mount  Gilead  "  (Judges, 
vii.  3;  Deut.  xx.  8).  Give  all  cowards  an  opportunity  to  show  it  on 
condition  of  holding  their  peace.  Do  not  delay  one  moment  after  you 
are  ready  :  you  ivill  lose  all  your  resolution  if  you  do.  Let  the  first 
Now  be  the  signal  for  all  to  engage  ;  and  when  engaged  do  not  do 
your  work  by  halves,  but  make  clean  work  with  your  enemies,  —  and 
be  sure  you  meddle  not  with  any  others.  By  going  about  your  busi 
ness  quietly,  you  will  get  the  job  disposed  of  before  the  number  that 
an  uproar  would  bring  together  can  collect  ;  and  you  will  have  the 
advantage  of  those  who  come  out  against  you,  for  they  will  be  wholly 
unprepared  with  either  equipments  or  matured  plans  ;  all  with  them 
will  be  confusion  and  terror.  Your  enemies  will  be  slow  to  attack 
you  after  you  have  done  up  the  work  nicely  ;  and  if  they  should,  they 
will  have  to  encounter  your  white  friends  as  well  as  you ;  for  you 
I  may  safely  calculate  on  a  division  of  the  whites,  and  may  by  that 
means  get  to  an  honorable  parley. 

Be  firm,  determined,  and  cool ;  but  let  it  be  understood  that  you 
are  not  to  be  driven  to  desperation  without  making  it  an  awful  dear 
job  to  others  as  well  as  to  you.  Give  them  to  know  distinctly  that 
those  who  live  in  wooden  houses  should  not  throw  fire,  and  that  you 
are  just  as  able  to  suffer  as  your  white  neighbors.  After  effecting  a 
rescue,  if  you  are  assailed,  go  into  the  houses  of  your  most  prominent 
and  influential  white  friends  with  your  ivives;  and  that  will  effectually 
fasten  upon  them  the  suspicion  of  being  connected  ivith  you,  and  ivill 
compel  them  to  make  a  common  cause  ivith  you,  whether  they  would 
othenvise  live  up  to  their  profession  or  not.  This  would  leave  them 
no  choice  in  the  matter.  Some  would  doubtless  prove  themselves 
true  of  their  own  choice  j  others  would  flinch.  That  would  be  taking 
them  at  their  own  words.  You  may  make  a  tumult  in  the  court-room 
where  a  trial  is  going  on,  by  burning  gunpowder  freely  in  paper  pack 
ages,  if  you  cannot  think  of  any  better  way  to  create  a  momentary 
alarm,  and  might  possibly  give  one  or  more  of  your  enemies  a  hoist. 
But  in  such  case  the  prisoner  will  need  to  take  the  hint  at  once,  and 
bestir  himself;  and  so  should  his  friends  improve  the  opportunity  for 
a  general  rush. 

A  lasso  might  possibly  be  applied  to  a  slave-catcher  for  once 
with  good  effect.  Hold  on  to  your  weapons,  and  never  be  persuaded 
to  leave  them,  part  with  them,  or  have  them  far  away  from  you. 
Stand  by  one  another  and  by  your  friends,  while  a  drop  of  blood  re 
mains  ;  and  be  hanged,  if  you  must,  but  tell  no  tales  out  of  school. 
Make  no  confession. 


126  LITE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1851. 

Union  is  strength.  Without  some  well-digested  arrangements 
nothing  to  any  good  purpose  is  likely  to  be  done,  let  the  demand  be 
never  so  great.  Witness  the  case  of  Hamlet  and  Long  in  New  York, 
when  there  was  no  well-defined  plan  of  operations  or  suitable  prepa 
ration  beforehand. 

The  desired  end  may  be  effectually  secured  by  the  means  pro 
posed  ;  namely,  the  enjoyment  of  our  inalienable  rights. 

AGREEMENT. 

As  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America,  trusting  in  a  just 
and  merciful  God,  whose  spirit  and  all-powerful  aid  we  humbly  im- 
plore,  we  will  ever  be  true  to  the  flag  of  our  beloved  country,  always 
acting  under  it.  We.  whose  names  are  hereunto  affixed,  do  constitute 
ourselves  a  branch  of  the  United  States  League  of  Gileadites.  That 
we  will  provide  ourselves  at  once  with  suitable  implements,  and  will 
aid  those  who  do  not  possess  the  means,  if  any  such  are  disposed  to 
join  us.  We  invite  every  colored  person  whose  heart  is  engaged  in 
the  performance  of  our  business,  whether  male  or  female,  old  or 
young.  The  duty  of  the  aged,  infirm,  and  young  members  of  the 
League  shall  be  to  give  instant  notice  to  all  members  in  case  of  an 
attack  upon  any  of  our  people.  We  agree  to  have  no  officers  except 
a  treasurer  and  secretary  pro  tern.,  until  after  some  trial  of  courage 
and  talent  of  able-bodied  members  shall  enable  us  to  elect  officers 
from  those  who  shall  have  rendered  the  most  important  services. 
Nothing  but  wisdom  and  undaunted  courage,  efficiency,  and  general 
good  conduct  shall  in  any  way  influence  us  in  electing  our  officers. 

Then  follows,  in  the  original  manuscript,  a  set  of  resolves, 
such  as  John  Brown,  with  his  methodical,  forward-looking 
mind,  was  in  the  habit  of  drawing  up  whenever  he  organized 
any  branch  of  his  movement  against  slavery.  This  paper, 
which  is  sufficiently  curious,  reads  as  follows :  — 

Resolutions  of  the  Springfield  Branch  of  the  United  States  League 
of  Gileadites.     Adopted  15th  Jan.,  1851. 

1.  Resolved,  That  we,  whose  names  are  affixed,  do  constitute  our 
selves  a  Branch  of  the  United  States  League,  under  the  above  name. 

2.  Resolved,  That  all  business  of  this  Branch  be  conducted  with 
the  utmost  quiet  and  good  order  ;  that  we  individually  provide  our 
selves  with  suitable  implements  without  delay ;   and  that  we  will 
sufficiently  aid  those  who  do  not  possess  the  means,  if  any  such  are 
disposed  to  join  us. 


1851.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  127 

3.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  one  or  more  discreet,  influential 
men  be  appointed  to  collect  the  names  of  all  colored  persons  whose 
heart  is  engaged  for  the  performance  of  our  business,  whether  male 
or  female,  whether  old  or  young. 

4.  Resolved,   That  the  appropriate  duty  of  all  aged,   infirm,   fe 
male,  or  youthful  members  of  this  Branch  is  to  give  instant  notice  to 
all  other  members  of  any  attack  upon  the  rights  of  our  people,  first 
informing  all  able-bodied  men  of  this  League  or  Branch,  and  next,  all 
well  known  friends  of  the  colored  people;  and  that  this  information 
be  confined  to  such  alone,  that  there  may  be  as  little  excitement  as 
possible,  arid  no  noise  in  the  so  doing. 

5.  Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  one  or  more  discreet  persons 
be  appointed  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  colored  persons  in  regard 
to  implements,  and  to  instruct  others  in  regard  to  their  conduct  in 
any  emergency. 

6.  Resolved,  That  no  other  officer  than  a  treasurer,  with  a  pres 
ident  and  secretary  pro  tern.,  be  appointed  by  this  Branch,  until  after 
some  trial  of  the  courage  and  talents  of  able-bodied  members  shall 
enable  a  majority  of  the  members  to  elect  their  officers  from  those 
who  shall  have  rendered  the  most  important  services. 

7.  Resolved,   That,  trusting  in  a  just  and  merciful  God,  whose 
spirit  and  all-powerful  aid  we  humbly  implore,  we  will  most  cheer 
fully  and  heartily  support  and  obey  such  officers,  when  chosen  as  be 
fore  ;  and  that  nothing  but  wisdom,  undaunted  courage,  efficiency,  and 
general  good  conduct  shall  in  any  degree  influence  our  individual  votes 
in  case  of  such  election. 

8.  Resolved,  That  a  meeting  of  all  members  of  this  Branch  shall 
be  immediately  called  for  the  purpose  of  electing  officers  (to  be  chosen 
by  ballot)  after  the  first  trial  shall  have  been  made  of  the  qualifica 
tions  of  individual  members  for  such  command,  as  before  mentioned. 

9.  Resolved,  That  as  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  America  we 
will  ever  be  found  true  to  the  flag  of  our  beloved  country,  always 
acting  under  it.1 

1  This  is  signed  by  the  following  members  :  — 


B.  C.  Dowling. 
John  Smith. 
Keverdy  Johnson. 
Samuel  Chandler. 

Henry  Johnson. 
G.  W.  Holmes. 
C.  A.  Gazam. 
Eliza  Green. 

Henry  Hector. 
John  Strong. 
Wm.  Burns. 
Wm.  Gordon. 

J.  N.  Howard. 
Charles  Rollins. 

Jane  Fowler. 
H.  J.  Jones. 

Joseph  Addams. 
Wm.  Green. 

Scipio  Webb. 
Charles  Odell. 
L.  Wallace, 

Ann  Johnson. 
Cyrus  Thomas. 
Henry  Robinson. 

Wm.  H.  Montague. 
Jane  Wicks. 
James  Madison. 

And  seventeen  others. 


128  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1850. 

This  was  not  the  only  undertaking  of  the  sort  in  which 
John  Brown  lent  his  aid  and  advice  to  the  fugitive  slaves 
and  their  free  brethren  of  color  at  the  North.  For  years 
he  labored  quietly  among  them,  seeking  to  bring  them  to 
a  better  knowledge  of  their  position,  and  to  form  habits 
that  would  fit  them  for  freedom  ;  and  in  this  period  he 
wrote  some  curious  papers.  Among  these  are  the  following 
chapters  of  an  unfinished  pamphlet  called  "Sambo's  Mis 
takes,"  which  he  began  to  publish  in  an  obscure  Abolitionist 
journal  called  "The  Bamshorn,"  —  with  a  distant  allusion, 
I  suppose,  to  the  downfall  of  Jericho  at  the  blowing  of  the 
Hebrew  horns.  The  manuscript  of  these  chapters  is  now  in 
the  library  of  the  Maryland  Historical  Society  at  Baltimore, 
in  the  handwriting  of  John  Brown,  and  reads  thus  :  — 


SAMBO'S    MISTAKES. 
I. 

MESSRS.  EDITORS,  —  Notwithstanding  I  may  have  committed  a 
few  mistakes  in  the  course  of  a  long  life,  like  others  of  my  colored 
brethren,  yet  you  will  perceive  at  a  glance  that  I  have  always  been 
remarkable  for  a  seasonable  discovery  of  my  errors  and  quick  percep 
tion  of  the  true  course.  I  propose  to  give  you  a  few  illustrations  in 
this  and  the  following  chapters. 

For  instance,  when  I  was  a  boy  I  learned  to  read ;  but  instead  of 
giving  my  attention  to  sacred  and  profane  history,  by  which  I  might 
have  become  acquainted  with  the  true  character  of  God  and  of  man; 
learned  the  true  course  for  individuals,  societies,  and  nations  to  pur 
sue  ;  stored  my  mind  with  an  endless  variety  of  rational  and  prac 
tical  ideas  ;  profited  by  the  experience  of  millions  of  others  of  all 
ages  ;  fitted  myself  for  the  most  important  stations  in  life,  and  for 
tified  my  mind  with  the  best  and  wisest  resolutions,  and  noblest 
sentiments  and  motives,  —  I  have  spent  my  whole  life  devouring 
silly  novels  and  other  miserable  trash,  such  as  most  newspapers  of 
the  day  and  other  popular  writings  are  filled  with  ;  thereby  unfitting 
myself  for  the  realities  of  life,  and  acquiring  a  taste  for  nonsense  and 
low  wit,  so  that  I  have  no  relish  for  sober  truth,  useful  knowledge, 
or  practical  wisdom.  By  this  means  I  have  passed  through  life 
without  profit  to  myself  or  others,  a  mere  blank  on  which  noth 
ing  worth  perusing  is  written.  But  I  can  see  in  a  twiuk  where  I 
missed  it. 


1850.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  129 

Another  error  into  which  I  fell  in  early  life  was  the  notion  that 
chewing  and  smoking  tohacco  would  make  a  man  of  me,  but  little 
inferior  to  some  of  the  whites.  The  money  I  spent  in  this  way 
would,  with  the  interest  of  it,  have  enabled  me  to  have  relieved  a 
great  many  sufferers,  supplied  me  with  a  well-selected,  interesting 
library,  and  paid  for  a  good  farm  for  the  support  and  comfort  of  my 
old  age  j  whereas  I  have  now  neither  books,  clothing,  the  satisfac 
tion  of  having  benefited  others,  nor  where  to  lay  my  hoary  head. 
But  I  can  see  in  a  moment  where  I  missed  it. 

Another  of  the  few  errors  of  my  life  is,  that  I  have  joined  the 
Free  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  Sons  of  Temperance,  and  a  score  of 
other  secret  societies,  instead  of  seeking  the  company  of  intelligent, 
wise,  and  good  men,  from  whom  I  might  have  learned  much  that 
would  be  interesting,  instructive,  and  useful ;  and  have  in  that  way 
squandered  a  great  amount  of  most  precious  time,  and  money  enough, 
sometimes  in  a  single  year,  which  if  I  had  then  put  the  same  out  on 
interest  and  kept  it  so,  would  have  kept  me  always  above  board, 
given  me  character  and  influence  among  men,  or  have  enabled  me 
to  pursue  some  respectable  calling,  so  that  I  might  employ  others 
to  their  benefit  and  improvement  j  but,  as  it  is,  I  have  always  been 
poor,  in  debt,  and  now  obliged  to  travel  about  in  search  of  employment 
as  a  hostler,  shoe-black,  and  fiddler.  But  I  retain  all  my  quickness 
of  perception  ;  I  can  see  readily  where  I  missed  it. 


II. 

Another  error  of  my  riper  years  has  been,  that  when  any  meeting 
of  colored  people  has  been  called  in  order  to  consider  of  any  impor 
tant  matter  of  general  interest,  I  have  been  so  eager  to  display  my 
spouting  talents,  and  so  tenacious  of  some  trifling  theory  or  other 
that  I  have  adopted,  that  I  have  generally  lost  all  sight  of  the  busi 
ness  in  hand,  consumed  the  time  disputing  about  things  of  no  mo 
ment,  and  thereby  defeated  entirely  many  important  measures  calcu 
lated  to  promote  the  general  welfare ;  but  I  am  happy  to  say  I  can 
see  in  a  minute  where  I  missed  it. 

Another  small  error  of  my  life  (for  I  never  committed  great  blun 
ders)  has  been  that  I  never  would  (for  the  sake  of  union  in  the 
furtherance  of  the  most  vital  interests  of  our  race)  yield  any  minor 
point  of  difference.  In  this  way  I  have  always  had  to  act  with  but 
a  few,  or  more  frequently  alone,  and  could  accomplish  nothing  worth 
living  for ;  but  I  have  one  comfort,  I  can  see  in  a  minute  where  I 
missed  it. 

Another  little  fault  which  I  have  committed  is,  that  if  in  anything 
another  man  has  failed  of  coming  up  to  my  standard,  notwithstanding 

9 


130  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1850. 

that  he  might  possess  many  of  the  most  valuable  traits,  and  be  most 
admirably  adapted  to  fill  some  one  important  post,  I  would  reject  him 
entirely,  injure  his  influence,  oppose  his  measures,  and  even  glory 
in  his  defeats,  while  his  intentions  were  good,  and  his  plans  well 
laid.  But  I  have  the  great  satisfaction  of  being  able  to  say,  without 
fear  of  contradiction,  that  I  can  see  very  quick  where  I  missed  it. 


III. 

Another  small  mistake  which  I  have  made  is,  that  I  could  never 
bring  myself  to  practise  any  present  self-denial,  although  my  theories 
have  been  excellent.  For  instance,  I  have  bought  expensive  gay 
clothing,  nice  canes,  watches,  safety- chains,  finger-rings,  breastpins, 
and  many  other  things  of  a  like  nature,  thinking  I  might  by  that 
means  distinguish  myself  from  the  vulgar,  as  some  of  the  better  class 
of  whites  do.  I  have  always  been  of  the  foremost  in  getting  up 
expensive  parties,  and  running  after  fashionable  amusements  ;  have 
indulged  my  appetite  freely  whenever  I  had  the  means  (and  even 
with  borrowed  means)  ;  have  patronized  the  dealers  in  nuts,  candy, 
etc.,  freely,  and  have  sometimes  bought  good  suppers,  and  was 
always  a  regular  customer  at  livery  stables.  By  these,  and  many 
other  means,  I  have  been  unable  to  benefit  my  suffering  brethren, 
and  am  now  but  poorly  able  to  keep  my  own  soul  and  body  together; 
but  do  not  think  me  thoughtless  or  dull  of  apprehension,  for  I  can 
see  at  once  where  I  missed  it. 

Another  trifling  error  of  my  life  has  been,  that  I  have  always  ex 
pected  to  secure  the  favor  of  the  whites  by  tamely  submitting  to  every 
species  of  indignity,  contempt,  and  wrong,  instead  of  nobly  resisting 
their  brutal  aggressions  from  principle,  and  taking  my  place  as  a 
man,  and  assuming  the  responsibilities  of  a  man,  a  citizen,  a  husband, 
a  father,  a  brother,  a  neighbor,  a  friend,  —  as  God  requires  of  every 
one  (if  his  neighbor  will  allow  him  to  do  it)  ;  but  I  find  that  I  get, 
for  all  my  submission,  about  the  same  reward  that  the  Southern 
slaveocrats  render  to  the  dough-faced  statesmen  of  the  North,  for 
being  bribed  and  browbeat  and  fooled  and  cheated,  as  the  Whigs  and 
Democrats  love  to  be,  and  think  themselves  highly  honored  if  they 
may  be  allowed  to  lick  up  the  spittle  of  a  Southerner.  I  say  I  get 
the  same  reward.  But  I  am  uncommon  quick-sighted;  I  can  see  in 
a  minute  where  I  missed  it 

Another  little  blunder  which  I  made  is,  that  while  I  have  always 
been  a  most  zealous  Abolitionist,  I  have  been  constantly  at  war  with 
my  friends  about  certain  religious  tenets.  I  was  first  a  Presbyterian, 
but  I  could  never  think  of  acting  with  my  Quaker  friends,  for  they 
were  the  rankest  heretics  ;  and  the  Baptists  would  be  in  the  water, 


1851.]  PREPARATIONS   FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  131 

and  the  Methodists  denied  the  doctrine  of  Election,  etc.  Of  later 
years,  since  becoming  enlightened  by  Garrison,  Abby  Kelly,  and 
other  really  benevolent  persons,  I  have  been  spending  all  my  force 
on  my  friends  who  love  the  Sabbath,  and  have  felt  that  all  was  at 
stake  on  that  point;  just  as  it  has  proved  to  be  of  late  in  France,  in 
the  abolition  of  slavery  in  their  colonies.  Now  I  cannot  doubt, 
Messrs.  Editors,  notwithstanding  I  have  been  unsuccessful,  that  you 
will  allow  me  full  credit  for  my  peculiar  quick-sighteduess.  I  can  see 
in  one  second  where  I  missed  it. 

This  paper,  dating  before  1850,  illustrates  the  points 
of  resemblance  between  Franklin  and  John  Brown,  —  for 
"Poor  Bichard"  himself  might  have  written  these  keen 
and  kindly  sayings.  Brown  disliked  the  effort  of  writing, 
which  led  him  to  shorten  almost  everything  he  wrote ;  so 
that  "  Sambo's  Mistakes "  was  one  of  his  longest  essays, 
and  perhaps  the  most  satirical.  He  took  little  part  in  the 
public  debates  on  slavery,  and  when  in  the  last  year  of  his 
life  (1859),  he  was  present  for  a  day  or  two  at  the  Antislav- 
ery  meetings  in  Boston,  he  came  out  saying,  "  Talk  !  talk  ! 
talk  !  —  that  will  never  set  the  slave  free."  His  form  of 
activity  was  something  that  would  operate,  as  he  said  in 
his  letter  of  1834,  "like  powder  confined  in  rock;"  and 
such  was  the  effect  of  his  own  movements  in  Kansas  and 
in  Virginia. 

His  daughter,  Mrs.  Thompson,  thus  speaks  of  his  concern 
for  the  fugitive  slaves  in  the  anxious  season  of  1850-51, 
when  the  slaveholders,  encouraged  by  the  success  of  the 
Clay  and  Webster  Compromises,  sought  to  insult  and  worry 
the  people  of  the  North  by  reclaiming  all  runaway  slaves 
wherever  they  might  be  :  — 

"  Father  did  not  close  up  his  wool  business  in  Springfield  when  he 
went  to  North  Elba,  and  had  to  make  several  journeys  back  and  forth 
•m  1849-50.  He  was  at  Springfield  in  January,  1851,  soon  after  the 
passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and  went  round  among  his  colored 
friends  there  who  had  been  fugitives,  urging  them  to  resist  the  law, 
no  matter  by  -what  authority  it  should  be  enforced.  He  told  them  to 
arm  themselves  with  revolvers,  men  and  women,  and  not  to  be  taken 
alive.  When  he  got  to  North  Elba  he  told  us  about  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  and  bade  us  resist  any  attempt  that  might  be  made  to 
take  any  fugitive  from  our  town,  regardless  of  fine  or  imprisonment. 


132  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1851. 

Our  faithful  boy  Cyrus  was  one  of  that  class  j  and  our  feelings  were 
so  roused  that  we  would  all  have  defended  him,  though  the  wromen 
folks  had  resorted  to  hot  water.  Father  at  this  time  said,  '  Their 
cup  of  iniquity  is  almost  full.'  One  evening  as  I  was  singing  '  The 
Slave  Father  Mourning  for  his  Children/  containing  these  words,  — 

*  Ye  're  gone  from  me,  my  gentle  ones, 
"With  all  your  shouts  of  mirth  ; 
A  silence  is  within  my  walls, 
A  darkness  round  my  hearth,'  — 

father  got  up  and  walked  the  floor,  and  before  I  could  finish  the 
song,  he  said,  '  0  Ruth !  don't  sing  any  more;  it  is  too  sad ! ' " 

This  letter  to  Mrs.  Brown  relates  to  the  same  emer 
gency  :  — 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  Jan.  17,  1851. 

DEAR  WIFE,  —  ...  Since  the  sending  off  to  slavery  of  Long 
from  New  York,  I  have  improved  my  leisure  hours  quite  busily  with 
colored  people  here,  in  advising  them  how  to  act,  and  in  giving  them 
all  the  encouragement  in  my  power.  They  very  much  need  encour 
agement  and  advice  ;  and  some  of  them  are  so  alarmed  that  they  tell 
me  they  cannot  sleep  on  account  of  either  themselves  or  their  wives 
aud  children.  I  can  only  say  I  think  I  have  been  enabled  to  do 
something  to  revive  their  broken  spirits.  I  want  all  my  family  to 
imagine  themselves  in  the  same  dreadful  condition.  My  only  spare 
time  being  taken  up  (often  till  late  hours  at  night)  in  the  way  I 
speak  of,  has  prevented  me  from  the  gloomy  homesick  feelings 
which  had  before  so  much  oppressed  me :  not  that  I  forget  my 
family  at  all. 

Some  of  the  advice  thus  given  has  already  been  copied : 
more  condensed  suggestions  are  as  follows  :  — 

"  Collect  quietly,  so  as  to  outnumber  the  adversaries  who  are  taking 
an  active  part  against  you  j  make  clean  work  with  all  such,  and  be 
sure  you  meddle  not  with  any  other.  Do  not  delay  one  moment  after 
you  have  a  fair  majority  of  your  own  men  over  those  who  are  actually 
about  the  mischief.  Let  the  collection  of  a  fair  majority  be  your  sig 
nal  to  engage ;  and  when  engaged  do  not  do  your  business  by  halves. 
When  one  of  you  engage,  let  all  the  others  fall  to  work  without  noise 
or  confusion.  Stand  by  one  another  and  by  your  friends  while  a  drop 
of  blood  remains,  and  be  hanged  if  you  must,  but  tell  no  tales  out  of 
school ;  make  no  confessions.  Hold  011  to  your  tools,  and  never  be 


1846.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  133 

scared  or  persuaded,  by  the  world  combined,  to  part  with  them,  or  to 
leave  them  away  from  you.  Do  not  trust  them  with  friend  or  foe. 
Always  keep  your  families  advised  of  the  places  where  you  may  be 
found  when  absent  from  home." 

Four  or  five  years  earlier  than  this,  and  soon  after 
Brown's  arrival  in  Springfield,  lie  had  begun  to  communi 
cate  his  purpose  of  attacking  slavery  by  force  to  the  colored 
men  whom  he  found  to  be  worthy  of  trust.  In  1846  there 
was  living  in  Springfield  (where  he  still  resides)  a  fugitive 
slave  from  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  —  Thomas  Thomas 
by  name,  — whom  Brown  engaged  to  work  for  him  as  a  porter 
in  his  wool  warehouse.  "  How  early  shall  I  come  to-morrow,'7 
said  Thomas  the  day  he  was  hired.  "  We  begin  work  at 
seven,"  said  Brown ;  "  but  I  wish  you  would  come  round 
earlier,  so  that  I  can  talk  with  you."  Thomas  therefore 
went  to  his  employer's  the  next  morning  between  five  and 
six  o'clock,  found  Brown  waiting  for  him,  and  there  re 
ceived  from  him  the  outlines  of  his  plan  to  liberate  the 
slaves,  and  was  invited  to  join  in  the  enterprise,  which  he 
agreed  to  do.  This  was  nine  years  before  Brown  went  to 
Kansas,  and  two  years  before  Simmer,  Wilson,  Adams,  S.  C. 
Phillips,  Hoar,  and  their  friends  formed  the  Free  Soil  party 
of  Massachusetts.  Thomas  was  afterward  sent  by  Brown  to 
look  up  Madison  Washington,  the  leader  of  the  courageous 
slaves  of  the  vessel  "  Creole,"  who  was  wanted  as  a  leader 
among  the  colored  recruits  that  were  to  join  the  band  of 
liberators  ;  but  Washington,  when  found,  proved  to  be  an 
unfit  person  for  such  a  task. 

It  is  said  that  the  first  definite  thought  of  the  place  where 
he  should  make  his  attack  upon  the  slave  system  came  to 
Brown  while  he  was  surveying  lands  for  Oberlin  College,  in 
what  is  now  West  Virginia,  in  1840.  These  lands  were,  in 
part  at  least,  in  the  county  of  Jackson,  which  borders  on 
Ohio,  and  is  separated  from  that  State  by  the  Ohio  River. 
It  is  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  is  not  very  mountainous  ; 
but  in  approaching  or  leaving  it  Brown  had  occasion  to  ob 
serve  how  useful  those  mountains  would  be  to  any  band  of 
men  who  were  aiming  at  emancipation  by  force.  "  The 
mountains  and  swamps  of  the  South,"  said  Brown  in  Kansas, 


134  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1840. 

"  were  intended  by  God  as  a  refuge  far  the  slave,  and  a  de 
fence  against  his  master."  That  he  cherished  this  purpose 
when  he  wrote  the  following  from  West  Virginia,  nearly 
twenty  years  before  his  foray  at  Harper's  Ferry,  is  certain ; 
and  the  thought  that  he  had  his  great  project  in  mind  then, 
gives  an  interest  to  the  brief  letter  :  — 

To  his  Family. 

KIPLEY,  VA.,  April  27,  1840. 

...  I  like  the  country  as  well  as  I  expected,  and  its  inhabitants 
rather  better ;  and  I  have  seen  the  spot  where,  if  it  be  the  will  of 
Providence,  I  hope  one  day  to  live  with  niy  family.  .  .  .  Were 
the  inhabitants  as  resolute  and  industrious  as  the  Northern  people, 
and  did  they  understand  how  to  manage  as  well,  they  would  become 
rich  j  but  they  are  not  generally  so.  They  seem  to  have  no  idea  of 
improvement  in  their  cattle,  sheep,  or  hogs,  nor  to  know  the  use  of 
enclosed  pasture-fields  for  their  stock,  but  spend  a  large  portion 
of  their  time  in  hunting  for  their  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses ;  and  the 
same  habit  continues  from  father  to  son.  .  .  .  By  comparing  them 
with  the  people  of  other  parts  of  the  country,  I  can  see  new  and 
abundant  proof  that  knowledge  is  power.  I  think  we  might  be  very 
useful  to  them  on  many  accounts,  were  we  so  disposed.  May  God 
in  mercy  keep  us  all,  and  enable  us  to  get  wisdom ;  and  with  all  our 
getting  or  losing,  to  get  understanding  ! 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Before  John  Brown  went  to  the  Adirondacs  to  look  after 
the  colored  people  there,  he  seems  to  have  had  another 
project  of  the  same  sort  in  view,  in  connection  with  these 
Oberlin  lands.  The  records  of  that  Ohio  college  (where 
white  and  colored  students  were  educated  together,  before 
any  other  such  institution  ventured  to  do  so)  show  the  fol 
lowing  entries  :  — 

"  April  1,  1840.  In  the  Prudential  Committee,  Brother  John 
Brown  from  Hudson  being  present,  some  negotiations  were  opened 
in  respect  to  our  Virginia  lands. 

'•'•April  3,  1840.  A  communication  from  Brother  John  Brown,  of 
Hudson,  was  presented  and  read  by  the  Secretary,  containing  a  pro 
position  to  visit,  survey,  and  make  the  necessary  investigation  re 
specting  boundaries,  etc.,  of  those  lands,  for  one  dollar  per  day,  and 
a  moderate  allowance  for  necessary  expenses ;  said  paper  frankly 


1840.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  135 

expressing  also  his  design  of  viewing  the  lands,  as  a  preliminary  step 
to  locating  his  family  upon  them,  should  the  opening  prove  a  favor 
able  one  :  whereupon,  Voted,  that  said  proposition  be  acceded  to,  and 
that  a  commission  and  needful  outfit  be  furnished  by  the  Secretary 
and  Treasurer.'7 

"July  ]4,  1840.  The  report  of  John  Brown,  respecting  his 
agency  to  Virginia  and  examination  of  the  Smith  donation  of  land, 
was  read  by  the  Secretary  and  deferred." 

"  Aug.  11,  1840.  Voted,  that  the  Secretary  address  a  letter  to 
John  Brown,  of  Hudson,  in  reference  to  the  Virginia  land  agency." 

In  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  under  date  of 
Aug.  28,  1840,  is  the  following  minute  :  — 

"  Voted,  that  the  Prudential  Committee  be  authorized  to  perfect 
negotiations,  and  convey  by  deed  to  Brother  John  Brown,  of  Hudson, 
one  thousand  acres  of  our  Virginia  land  on  the  conditions  suggested 
in  the  correspondence  which  has  already  transpired  between  him  and 
the  committee." 

There  is  nothing  in  the  record  of  the  subsequent  action  of 
the  Prudential  Committee  or  of  the  Trustees  which  goes  to 
show  that  a  deed  was  actually  given  to  John  Brown,  or  that 
the  conditions  were  fulfilled  by  him. 

Concerning  the  opening  of  this  negotiation,  I  find  this 
letter  from  an  Oberlin  official,  Levi  Burnell,  to  John  Brown's 
father,  Owen,  who  was  a  Trustee  of  the  college  :  — 

OBERLIN,  April  3,  1840. 

DEAR  BROTHER  BROWN,  —  I  received  your  favor  by  your  son 
John,  and  our  committee  have  opened  negotiations  with  him  pre 
liminary  to  his  visiting  our  Virginia  lands.  We  hope  for  a  favorable 
issue,  both  for  him  and  the  institution.  When  he  has  thoroughly 
examined  the  papers  and  spent  the  necessary  time  upon  the  premises, 
we  expect  that  he  will  know  more  than  all  of  us  about  the  matter ; 
and  I  trust  we  shall  feel  disposed  to  offer  liberal  inducements  for  him 
and  others  to  settle  there,  if  that  is  best.  Should  he  succeed  in  clear 
ing  up  titles  without  difficulty  or  lawsuits,  it  would  be  easy,  as  it 
appears  to  me,  to  make  provision  for  religious  and  school  privileges, 
and  by  proper  efforts,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  soon  see  that  wilder 
ness  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

The  main  outlines  of  Brown's  plan  have  been  given  by 
one  of  his  Kansas  company,  Kichard  Bealf,  who  heard  him 


136  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1858. 

explain  it  in  Canada  in  1858,  and  who  professed  to  have 
made  this  statement  up  from  Brown's  own  words.  It  is 
evidently  colored  and  exaggerated  in  many  particulars  by 
the  imagination  of  the  reporter,  and  at  several  points  is 
contrary  to  what  is  otherwise  known.  But  with  these 
abatements,  it  may  be  taken  as  a  general  outline  of  what 
Brown  actually  said.  This  is  Eealf  s  report,  which  it  needs 
a  long  breath  to  read,  for  its  odd  rhetoric :  — 

"  John  Brown  stated  that  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  the  idea  had 
possessed  him  like  a  passion  of  giving  liberty  to  the  slaves ;  that  he 
made  a  journey  to  England,  during  which  he  made  a  tour  upon  the 
European  continent,  inspecting  all  fortifications,  and  especially  all 
earthwork  forts  which  he  could  find,  with  a  view  of  applying  the 
knowledge  thus  gained,  with  modifications  and  inventions  of  his  own, 
to  a  mountain  warfare  in  the  United  States.  He  stated  that  he  had 
read  all  the  books  upon  insurrectionary  warfare  that  he  could  lay  his 
hands  on  :  the  Roman  warfare,  the  successful  opposition  of  the  Span 
ish  chieftains  during  the  period  when  Spain  was  a  Roman  province, 
—  how  with  ten  thousand  men,  divided  and  subdivided  into  small 
companies,  acting  simultaneously  yet  separately,  they  withstood  the 
whole  consolidated  power  of  the  Roman  Empire  through  a  number 
of  years.  In  addition  to  this,  he  had  become  very  familiar  with  the 
successful  warfare  waged  by  Scharnyl,1  the  Circassian  chief,  against 
the  Russians  j  he  had  posted  himself  in  relation  to  the  war  of  Tous- 
saint  L'Ouverture ;  he  had  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
wars  in  Hayti  and  the  islands  round  about ;  and  from  all  these  things 
he  had  drawn  the  conclusion,  —  believing,  as  be  stated  there  he  did 
Relieve,  and  as  we  all  (if  I  may  judge  from  myself)  believed,  —  that 
upon  the  first  intimation  of  a  plan  formed  for  the  liberation  of  the 
slaves,  they  would  immediately  rise  all  over  the  Southern  States. 
He  supposed  that  they  would  come  into  the  mountains  to  join  him, 

1  It  is  singular  that  while  this  Schamyl,  the  daring  Lesghian  chieftain, 
who,  in  alliance  with  the  Circassians,  had  defied  the  Czar  for  twenty  years, 
was  visiting  St.  Petersburg  as  the  honored  guest  of  his  foeman,  John  Brown 
at  that  very  time  was  captured  and  executed  by  the  American  slaveholders. 
Schamyl  was  at  once  the  warrior  and  the  prophet  of  his  race,  and  in  the  fast 
nesses  of  the  Caucasus,  where  the  Russians  assailed  him,  he  had  worn  out 
their  armies  by  delays,  ambuscades,  and  surprises.  At  last,  after  enormous 
losses  of  men  and  material  by  the  Russians,  they  stormed  his  stronghold, 
and  he  surrendered  in  1859.  The  same  New  York  newspapers  which  con 
tained  the  news  of  Brown's  failure  described  the  hospitable  reception  of 
Schamyl  at  the  capital  of  Nicholas. 


1858.]  PREPARATIONS  FOR  THE   CONFLICT.  137 

where  he  purposed  to  work,  and  that  by  flocking  to  his  standard 
they  would  enable  him  (making  the  line  of  mountains  which  cuts 
diagonally  through  Maryland  and  Virginia,  down  through  the  South 
ern  States  into  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  the  base  of  his  operations) 
to  act  upon  the  plantations  on  the  plains  lying  on  each  side  of  that 
range  of  mountains  ;  that  we  should  be  able  to  establish  ourselves 
in  the  fastnesses.  And  if  any  hostile  action  were  taken  against  us, 
either  by  the  militia  of  the  States  or  by  the  armies  of  the  United 
States,  we  purposed  to  defeat  first  the  militia,  and  next,  if  possible, 
the  troops  of  the  United  States ;  and  then  organize  the  free  blacks 
under  the  provisional  constitution,  which  would  carve  out  for  the 
locality  of  its  jurisdiction  all  that  mountainous  region  in  which  the 
blacks  were  to  be  established,  in  which  they  were  to  be  taught 
the  useful  and  mechanical  arts,  and  all  the  business  of  life.  Schools 
were  also  to  be  established,  and  so  on.  The  negroes  were  to  be  his 
soldiers." 


This  was  in  fact  the  purpose  of  Brown,  —  to  enlist  a  suffi 
cient  number  of  the  slaves  and  the  free  negroes  of  the  North 
as  soldiers,  without  exciting  a  general  insurrection,  and  then 
to  establish  his  armed  force  where  it  could  best  annoy  the 
slaveholders  and  make  their  property  unsafe.  He  intended 
to  officer  his  army  with  white  and  colored  men,  but  to  use 
the  latter  for  soldiers  chiefly.  He  had  a  higher  opinion 
than  most  men  at  that  time  of  the  capacity  of  the  negro  as 
a  soldier  and  a  citizen,  — an  opinion  since  justified  by  events. 
I  have  often  heard  Brown  dwell  on 'this  subject,  and  mention 
instances  of  his  fitness  to  take  care  of  himself ;  saying,  in 
his  quaint  way,  "  negroes  behaved  so  much  like  folks,  he 
almost  thought  they  were  so."  He  thought  a  forcible  sepa 
ration  between  master  and  slave  might  be  necessary,  in  order 
to  educate  the  slaves  for  self-government. 

A  part  of  Brown's  preparation  for  the  warfare  in  which 
he  meant  to  engage  was  his  Spartan  mode  of  life  and  his 
self-denial  in  most  matters  of  food,  dress,  amusement,  and 
personal  comfort.  His  daughter's  testimony  is  clear  on  this 
point ;  and  all  who  knew  him  can  recall  instances  of  this 
self-denial.  He  followed  strictly  the  sage's  injunction,  "  At 
rich  men's  tables  eat  thou  bread  and  pulse ; "  and  he  was 
rather  averse  to  accept  the  hospitality  of  those  friends  who 
lived  luxuriously.  He  avoided  the  sumptuous  hotels  of 


138  -LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1839. 

New  York  and  other  cities,  and  went  by  preference  to  plain 
taverns  where  farmers  and  drovers  were  entertained.  His 
dress  was  neat  but  plain,  and  he  wore  the  same  garments  a 
long  time,  always  from  choice,  and  sometimes  from  necessity. 
He  never  used  tobacco  in  any  form,  and  seldom  drank  wine 
or  spirits.  When  at  home  he  drank  milk  or  water.  It  was 
not  till  a  few  years  before  his  death  that  he  drank  tea  or 
coffee,  and  he  took  up  this  habit  only  from  the  desire  to 
give  no  trouble  to  others ;  for  he  found  that  in  travelling  it 
sometimes  annoyed  good  people  to  see  their  guest  drink 
water  instead  of  tea.  He  never  ate  cheese  or  butter ;  and 
said  that  as  a  boy,  ten  years  old,  he  was  once  sent  of  an 
errand  where  a  lady  gave  him  a  piece  of  bread  and  butter ; 
he  was  so  bashful  that  he  did  not  dare  tell  her  he  never  ate 
butter,  but  as  soon  as  he  got  out  of  the  house  he  ran  as  fast 
as  he  could  for  a  long  time,  and  then  threw  her  gift  out  of 
sight.  He  had  great  skill  in  providing  for  a  company  of 
men,  and  could  have  maintained  a  force  in  the  field  at  very 
little  cost.  But  his  health  was  much  affected  in  his  later 
years  by  malaria  and  other  ills  of  advancing  age,  from  which, 
when  he  entered  upon  active  service,  he  lost  much  time  and 
suffered  great  hardships.1 

1  Jason  Brown,  who  remembers  well  the  oath  taken  by  himself  and  his 
family  when  his  father  first  made  known  to  them  his  purpose  of  attacking 
slavery  by  force,  thinks  the  time  was  not  1837,  but  1839.  The  place,  he 
says,  was  Franklin,  and  the  time  was  "when  the  colored  preacher  Mr. 
Fayette  was  at  father's;  and  he  (Mr.  F. )  and  mother,  John,  Jason,  and 
Owen  were  sworn  to  secrecy,  and  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  abolish  slav 
ery."  Jason  also  thinks  he  cut  the  date  of  the  year  on  a  rock  near  the 
swimming-place  in  Hudson  which  he  and  Owen  used  to  frequent.  Mrs. 
Brown  gave  me  the  impression  it  was  in  1838  ;  but  the  exact  date  is 
unimportant.  The  Oberlin  College  enterprise  was  connected  with  the  suc 
cessful  effort  made  by  Miss  Martineau  and  others  in  England  in  December, 
1839,  to  raise  funds  for  the  college  in  which  education  was  given  without 
distinction  of  color  or  sex.  See  "Harriet  Martineau's  Autobiography," 
edited  by  Mrs.  Chapman,  vol.  ii.  pp.  345,  346. 


1841.]  FAMILY  COUNSELS  AND  HOME  LIFE.  139 


CHAPTEE  VI. 
FAMILY   COUNSELS  AND   HOME  LIFE. 

A  LTHOUGrH  he  lived  so  actively  in  his  business  affairs, 
**•  and  planned  so  much  public  activity,  yet  a  great  part 
of  John  Brown's  life  was  spent  in  the  most  quiet,  humble, 
and  domestic  manner.  Before  entering,  therefore,  upon 
the  startling  record  of  his  public  career,  let  me  disclose  more 
fully  his  home  life,  and  his  affectionate,  practical  relations 
to  all  those  who  depended  upon  him ;  which  can  best  be 
done  by  his  family  letters  at  different  dates,  before  he  sent 
his  sons  to  Kansas  or  set  forth  to  join  them  there. 

^ 

To  his  Children. 

HUDSON,  Jan.  18,  1841. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Since  I  parted  with  you  at  Hudson  some 
thoughts  have  passed  through  my  mind  which  my  intense  anxiety 
for  your  welfare  prompts  me  to  communicate  by  writing.  I  think 
the  situation  in  which  you  have  been  placed  by  Providence  at  this 
early  period  of  your  life  will  afford  to  yourself  and  others  some  little 
test  of  the  sway  you  may  be  expected  to  exert  over  minds  in  after  life, 
and  I  am  glad,  on  the  whole,  to  have  you  brought  in  some  measure 
to  the  test  in  your  youth.  If  you  cannot  now  go  into  a  disorderly 
country  school  and  gain  its  confidence  and  esteem,  and  reduce  it  to 
good  order,  and  waken  up  the  energies  and  the  very  soul  of  every  ra 
tional  being  in  it,  — yes,  of  every  mean,  ill-behaved,  ill-governed  boy 
and  girl  that  compose  it,  and  secure  the  good- will  of  the  parents,— 
then  how  are  you  to  stimulate  asses  to  attempt  a  passage  of  the  Alps  ? 
If  you  run  with  footmen  and  they  should  weary  you,  how  should  you 
contend  with  horses  ?  If  in  the  land  of  peace  they  have  wearied  you, 
then  how  will  you  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jordan  ?  Shall  I  answer  the 
question  myself?  "If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God, 
who  giveth  liberally  and  upbraideth  not."  Let  me  say  to  you  again, 


140  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1845. 

love  them  all,  and  commend  them  and  yourself  to  the  God  to  whom 
Solomon  sought  in  his  youth,  and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass.  You 
have  heard  me  tell  of  dividing  a  school  into  two  large  spelling-classes, 
and  of  its  effects ;  if  you  should  think  best,  and  can  remember  the 
process,  you  can  try  it.  Let  the  grand  reason,  that  one  course  is 
right  and  another  wrong,  be  kept  continually  before  your  own  mind 
and  before  your  school. 

From  your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


AKRON,  May  23,  1845. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Yours  of  the  28th  April  we  did  not  get  very 
seasonably,  as  we  have  been  very  busy,  and  not  at  the  post-office 
often.  We  are  all  obliged  for  your  letter,  and  I  hope  thankful  for 
any  comfort  or  success  that  may  attend  you.  If  the  days  of  mourn 
ing  have  indeed  and  in  truth  ceased,  then  I  trust  all  is  well,  —  all  is 
well  as  it  should  be ;  and  I  have  known  fair  days  to  follow  after  very 
foul  weather.  The  great  trouble  is,  we  are  apt  to  get  too  damp  in  a 
wet,  foggy  spell.  We  are  all  well  but  little  Annie,  who  is  afflicted 
with  a  singular  eruption  of  the  skin,  and  is  withal  quite  unwell.  We 
get  along  in  our  business  as  well  as  we  ever  have  done,  I  think.  We 
have  some  sheep,  but  not  as  many  as  for  two  seasons  past.  Matters 
seem  to  go  well  betwixt  us  and  our  friend  Perkins,  and  for  anything 
that  I  know  of,  our  worldly  prospects  are  as  good  as  we  can  bear. 
I  hope  that  entire  leanness  of  soul  may  not  attend  any  little  success 
in  business.  I  do  not  know  as  we  have  yet  any  new  plans ;  when  we 
have,  we  will  let  you  hear.  We  are  nearly  through  another  yean 
ing  time,  and  have  lost  but  very  few.  Have  not  yet  counted  tails : 
think  there  may  be  about  four  hundred.  Never  had  a  finer  or  more 
thrifty  lot.  Expect  to  begin  washing  sheep  next  week.  Have  re 
ceived  our  medals  and  diploma.  They  are  splendid  toys,  and  appear 
to  be  knock-down  arguments  among  the  sheep-growers  who  have 
seen  them.  All  were  well  at  Hudson  a  few  days  since.  Father  was 
here,  and  had  just  moved  into  the  Humiston  house  out  west.  You 
did  not  say  in  your  letter  whether  you  ever  conversed  with  him  in 
regard  to  his  plans  for  his  old  age,  as  was  talked  of  when  you  were 
here  and  were  helping  pick  sheep ;  should  like  to  know  if  you  did, 
etc.  Cannot  tell  you  much  more  now,  except  it  be  that  we  all  appear 
to  think  a  great  deal  more  about  this  world  than  about  the  next, 
which  proves  that  we  are  still  very  foolish.  I  leave  room  for  some 
others  of  the  family  to  write,  if  they  will. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


1846.]  FAMILY  COUNSELS  AND   HOME  LIFE.  141 

May  30,  1845. 

DEAR  SON,  —  We  are  at  this  time  all  well,  but  very  busy  prepar 
ing  for  shearing.  Have  had  a  most  dreadful  frost  over  night,  and  am 
afraid  the  wheat  is  all  killed.  There  will  be  here  no  article  of  fruit. 
I  trust  you  will  perform  your  service  with  patient  spirit,  doing  with 
your  might.  The  children  will  write  you  hereafter. 
Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  June  6,  1846. 

DEAR  SON  AND  DAUGHTER,  —  I  wrote  you  some  time  since,  en 
closing  five  dollars ;  but  neither  of  you  have  let  me  know  whether 
you  received  it  or  not,  nor  how  much  you  were  in  immediate  want  of. 
Two  lines  would  have  told  me  all,  and  that  you  were  or  were  not 
well.  I  now  enclose  you  ten  dollars ;  and  I  want  to  hear  from  you 
without  one  moment's  delay,  or  I  cannot  till  I  get  to  New  England 
(possibly).  Say  to  me  how  much  you  must  have  for  your  bills  at 
Austinburg  and  expenses  back  to  this  place.  I  can  calculate  for 
John's  expenses  to  Springfield  from  here,  and  will  provide  for  that. 
I  have  some  nice  cloth  for  an  entire  suit,  which  I  think  I  had  better 
take  for  you  (John)  to  Springfield,  so  that  you  can  have  it  made  up 
there  if  you  have  any  want  of  clothes  before  winter.  We  have  plenty 
of  it  on  hand,  and  it  will  save  paying  out  the  money.  We  are  getting 
a  good  pair  of  calfskin  boots  made  for  you.  We  intend  to  take  on 
a  good  supply  of  nice  well-made  shirts,  in  order  to  save  your  paying 
there  for  such  things  more  than  is  indispensable,  and  also  to  prevent 
your  being  delayed  after  you  come  back  here  with  Ruth. 

It  is  barely  possible  that  Jason  and  I  may  come  by  way  of  Austin- 
burg.  We  expect  to  start  in  a  little  more  than  a  week  from  this. 
If  I  do  not  come  by  your  place  on  my  way,  you  may  look  for  another 
letter  before  I  start  for  the  East.  It  may  be  that  some  of  your  bills 
can  lie  unpaid  till  I  can  sell  some  of  our  wool,  and  let  you  draw  on 
Perkins  &  Brown  at  Springfield  for  the  amount,  instead  of  making 
a  remittance  by  mail.  Some  of  your  merchants  or  other  business 
men  might  be  glad  to  get  a  small  draft  of  that  kind,  payable  at  sight. 
Let  me  know  all  about  matters.  All  are  well  here. 
Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  letter  above  printed  was  written  to  John  and  Ruth 
Brown, -who  were  then  at  school,  or  taking  lessons,  in  Aus 
tinburg,  Ohio.  Their  father  was  about  removing  to  Massa 
chusetts. 


142  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1846. 

To  his  Wife  and  Children. 

SPRINGFIELD,  Sept.  29,  1846. 

DEAR  MARY,  —  ...  Your  letter  dated  the  20th  was  received  last 
night,  and  afforded  me  a  real  though  a  mournful  satisfaction.  That 
you  had  received,  or  were  to  receive,  a  letter  from  either  John  or 
Jason  I  was  in  perfect  ignorance  of  till  you  informed  me ;  and  I  am 
glad  to  learn  that,  wholly  uninfluenced  by  me,  they  have  shown  a 
disposition  to  afford  you  the  comfort  in  your  deep  affliction  which  the 
nature  of  the  case  would  admit  of.  Nothing  is  scarcely  equal  with 
me  to  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  that  one  portion  of  my  remaining 
family  are  not  disposed  to  exclude  from  their  sympathies  and  their 
warm  affections  another  portion.  I  accept  it  as  one  of  the  most 
grateful  returns  that  can  be  made  to  me  for  any  care  or  exertion  on 
my  part  to  promote  either  their  present  or  their  future  well-being  : 
and  while  I  am  able  to  discover  such  a  feeling,  I  feel  assured  that 
notwithstanding  God  has  chastised  us  often  and  sore,  yet  he  has  not 
entirely  withdrawn  himself  from  us  nor  forsaken  us  utterly.  The 
sudden  and  dreadful  manner  in  which  he  has  seen  fit  to  call  our  dear 
little  Kitty  to  take  her  leave  of  us  is,  I  need  not  tell  you  how  much, 
in  my  mind ;  but  before  Him  I  will  bow  my  head  in  submission  and 
hold  my  peace.  ...  I  have  sailed  over  a  somewhat  stormy  sea  for 
nearly  half  a  century,  and  have  experienced  enough  to  teach  me 
thoroughly  that  I  may  most  reasonably  buckle  up  and  be  prepared 
for  the  tempest.  Mary,  let  us  try  to  maintain  a  cheerful  self-command 
while  we  are  tossing  up  and  down  ;  and  let  our  motto  still  be  Action, 
Action,  —  as  we  have  but  one  life  to  live. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  Jan  5,  1847. 

DEAR  DAUGHTER  RUTH,  —Yours  dated  the  20th  and  Jason's  dated 
the  16th  of  December  were  both  received  in  season,  and  were  very 
grateful  to  our  feelings,  as  we  are  anxious  to  hear  from  home  often, 
and  had  become  very  uneasy  before  we  got  word  from  Jason.  We 
are  middling  well,  and  very  much  perplexed  with  our  work,  accounts, 
and  correspondence.  We  expect  now  to  go  home,  if  our  lives  and 
health  are  spared,  next  month,  and  we  feel  rejoiced  that  the  time  is 
so  near  when  we  hope  to  meet  you  all  once  more.  Sometimes  my 
imagination  follows  those  of  my  family  who  have  passed  behind  the 
scenes;  and  I  would  almost  rejoice  to  be  permitted  to  make  them  a 
personal  visit.  I  have  outlived  nearly  half  of  all  my  numerous  fam 
ily,  and  I  ought  to  realize  that  in  any  event  a  large  proportion  of  my 
journey  is  travelled  over. 


1847.]  FAMILY  COUNSELS   AND   HOME   LIFE.  143 

You  say  that  you  would  like  very  much  to  have  a  letter  from  me, 
with  as  much  good  advice  as  I  will  give.  Well,  what  do  you  sup 
pose  I  feel  most  anxious  for  in  regard  to  yourself  and  all  at  home  ? 
Would  you  believe  that  I  ever  had  any  such  care  on  my  mind  about 
them  as  we  read  that  Job  had  about  his  family  (not  that  I  would 
ever  think  to  compare  myself  with  Job)  I  Would  you  believe  that 
the  long  story  would  be  that  ye  sin  not,  that  you  form  no  foolish 
attachments,  and  that  you  be  not  a  companion  of  fools  ? 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  March  12,  1847. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Yours  dated  Feb.  27th  I  this  day  received. 
It  was  written  about  the  same  time  I  reached  this  place  again.  I 
am  glad  to  learn  that  you  are  relieved  in  a  good  measure  from  another 
season  of  suffering.  Hope  you  will  make  the  right  improvement  of 
it.  I  have  been  here  nearly  two  weeks.  Have  Captain  Spencer, 
Freeman,  the  Hudsons,  together  with  Schlessinger  and  Ramsden,  all 
helping  me  again.  Have  turned  about  four  thousand  dollars'  worth 
of  wool  into  cash  since  I  returned  j  shall  probably  make  it  up  to 
seven  thousand  by  the  16th.  Sold  Musgrave  the  James  Wallace  lot 
yesterday  for  fifty-eight  cents  all  round.  Hope  to  get  pretty  much 
through  by  the  middle  of  April.  Have  paid  your  account  for  the 
11  Cincinnati  Weekly  Herald  and  Philanthropist,"  together  with  two 
dollars  for  one  year's  subscription  to  "  National  Era,"  being  in  all 
three  dollars.  I  should  have  directed  to  have  the  "National  Era  " 
sent  you  at  Austinburg,  but  could  not  certainly  know  as  you  would 
be  there  to  take  it.  You  had  better  direct  to  have  it  sent  to  you 
there.  I  now  intend  to  send  Ruth  on  again  soon  after  my  return. 
Jason  writes  on  the  3d  that  all  are  well  at  home.  I  feel  better  than 
when  I  left  home,  and  send  my  health  to  all  in  and  about  Austinburg. 
Yours  affectionately, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  April  12,  1847. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Yours  of  the  5th  is  just  received.  I  was  very 
glad  to  learn  by  it  that  you  were  then  well.  I  had  begun  to  feel 
anxious,  not  hearing  for  so  long  a  time  since  you  wrote,  that  you 
were  unwell.  My  own  health  is  middling  good  ;  and  I  learn  that 
all  at  home  were  well  a  few  days  since.  I  enclose  ten  dollars;  and 
I  must  say  that  when  you  continue  to  make  INDEFINITE  applica 
tions  for  money,  without  giving  me  the  least  idea  of  the  amount  you 
need,  after  I  have  before  complained  of  the  same  thing,  —  namely, 


144  LIFE  AND  LETTEKS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1847. 

your  not  telling  me  frankly  how  much  you  need,  —  it  makes  me  feel 
injured.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  always  affords  me  the  greatest 
pleasure  to  assist  you  when  I  can ;  but  if  you  want  five,  ten,  twenty, 
or  fifty  dollars,  why  not  say  so,  and  then  let  me  help  you  so  far  as  I 
am  able  ?  It  places  me  in  an  awkward  fix.  I  am  much  more  will 
ing  to  send  you  all  you  actually  need  (if  in  my  power),  than  to  send 
any  when  you  do  not  tell  what  your  wants  require. 

I  do  not  now  see  how  we  could  make  the  exchange  Mr.  Walker 
proposes  in  regard  to  sheep,  but  should  suppose  it  might  be  done  to 
his  mind  somewhere  in  our  direction.  I  should  think  your  brother 
student  might  pay  the  postage  of  a  letter  ordering  the  "  Era"  to  you 
at  Austinburg  till  the  year  expires.  I  have  ten  times  as  many  papers 
as  I  can  read.  Have  got  on  middling  well,  since  I  wrote  you,  with 
the  wool-trade,  and  mean  to  return  shortly,  and  send  Ruth  to  Austin- 
burg.  Do  not  see  how  to  take  time  to  give  you  further  particulars 
now,  having  so  much  every  hour  to  attend  to.  Write  me  on  receipt 
of  this.  Will  send  you  a  Steubenville  report. 

Affectionately  your  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  Had  I  sent  you  twenty  dollars,  you  deprive  me  of  the  com 
fort  of  knowing  that  your  wishes  have  been  at  all  complied  with. 


AKRON,  July  9,  1847. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  wrote  you  yesterday  to  urge  your  coming 
here  to  keep  up  the  family  for  a  few  months,  as  I  knew  of  no  way  to 
provide  for  Jason  or  Owen's  board ;  but  that  matter  is  all  got  over, 
and  the  probability  is  that  Jason  will  have  a  wife  as  soon  as  you. 
We  mean  to  have  the  business  done  up  before  we  leave,  so  as  to 
have  no  breaking  up  of  the  family  here.  I  would  now  say  that  if 
you  can  get  ready  and  meet  us  at  Buffalo  on  the  14th  or  15th,  we 
shall  be  glad  to  have  you  go  on  with  us.  I  would  be  willing  to 
delay  for  a  day  or  more  in  order  to  bring  it  about.  It  would  seem  as 
though  you  might  bring  it  about  by  that  time,  so  early  as  to  get  here 
on  the  16th,  as  you  wrote.  As  matters  now  stand,  I  feel  very  anx 
ious  to  have  you  go  on  with  us,  —  and  partly  on  Frederick's  account. 
I  sent  you  yesterday  a  certificate  of  deposit  for  fifty  dollars,  directed  to 
Vernon,  care  of  Miss  Wealthy  Hotchkiss.1  Should  it  so  happen  that 
you  get  to  Buffalo  before  we  do,  wait  for  us  at  Bennett's  Hotel ;  or 
we  will  wait  for  you  awhile.  Inquire  for  us  at  Bennett's,  or  of  George 
Palmer,  Esq.  If  you  get  this  in  season,  you  may  perhaps  get  to 

1  Soon  to  be  Mrs.  John  Brown,  Jr. 


1851.1  FAMILY  COUNSELS  AND   HOME  LIFE.  145 

Buffalo  before  we  can.    Mary  is  still  quite  feeble.    Frederick  appears 
to  be  quite  as  well  as  when  you  left.     Say  to  Ruth  I  remember  her. 
Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  Sept.  1,  1847. 

DEAR  DAUGHTER  RUTH,  —  I  have  not  heard  from  you  since  John 
left  to  come  on  here  ;  and  I  can  assure  you  it  is  not  for  want  of  inter 
est  in  your  welfare  that  I  have  so  long  delayed  writing  you.  We 
got  over  the  tedious  job  of  moving  as  \vell  as  we  could  expect,  and 
have  both  families  comfortably  fixed.  Frederick  has  been  under  the 
treatment  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  physicians  in  Massachusetts, 
and  for  some  part  of  the  time  has  appeared  to  be  as  well  as  ever,  but 
has  not  appeared  so  well  for  a  few  days  past.  Your  mother  is  quite 
unwell  with  a  bilious  fever,  and  has  been  so  for  a  day  or  two.  We 
think  she  is  doing  well  now,  and  hope  she  will  get  around  soon. 
We  have  almost  all  of  us  complained  more  or  less  since  we  got  on 
here.  We  have  heard  from  Akron  every  few  days  since  we  came  on. 
All  were  well  there  a  short  time  since. 

Our  business  here  seems  to  go  on  middling  well,  and  should  noth 
ing  befall  me  I  hope  to  see  you  about  the  last  of  this  month  or  early 
next.  John  says  he  will  write  you  soon.  I  supposed  he  had  done 
BO  before  this,  until  now.  We  are  very  busy,  and  suppose  we  are 
likely  to  be  for  the  present.  We  expect  you  to  write  us  how  you  get 
along,  of  course. 

Affectionately  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

VERNON,  ONEIDA  Co.,  N.  Y.,  March  24,  1851. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  now  enclose  draft  on  New  York  for  fifty 
dollars,  which  I  think  you  can  dispose  of  to  some  of  the  merchants 
for  a  premium  at  this  time  in  the  season.  I  shall  pay  you  the  bal 
ance  as  soon  as  I  can ;  but  it  may  be  out  of  my  power  until  after  we 
sell  our  wool,  which  I  think  there  is  a  prospect  now  of  doing  early. 
I  hope  to  get  through  here  so  as  to  be  on  our  way  again  to  Ohio  be 
fore  the  week  closes,  but  want  you  and  Jason  both  to  hold  on  and 
take  the  best  possible  care  of  the  flock  until  I  do  get  on,  at  any  rate. 
I  wrote  you  last  week  that  the  family  is  on  the  road :  the  boys  are 
driving  on  the  cattle,  and  my  wife  and  the  little  girls  are  at  Oneida 
Depot,  waiting  for  me  to  go  on  with  them.1 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

1  The  family  were  removing  from  North  Elba  to  Akron,  leaving  Ruth 
and  her  husband,  Henry  Thompson,  in  the  Adirondac  woods. 

10 


146  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1851. 

To  his  Wife. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  Dec.  22,  1851. 

DEAR  MARY,  —  ...  There  is  an  unusual  amount  of  very  inter 
esting  things  happening  in  this  and  other  countries  at  present,  and  no 
one  can  foresee  what  is  yet  to  follow.  The  great  excitement  pro 
duced  by  the  coining  of  Kossuth,  and  the  last  news  of  a  new  revolution 
in  France,  with  the  prospect  that  all  Europe  will  soon  again  be  in  a 
blaze,  seems  to  have  taken  all  by  surprise.  I  have  only  to  say  in 
regard  to  those  things,  I  rejoice  in  them,  from  the  full  belief  that  God 
is  carrying  out  his  eternal  purpose  in  them  all.  I  hope  the  boys 
will  be  particularly  careful  to  have  no  waste  of  feed  of  any  kind,  for 
I  am  strongly  impressed  with  the  idea  that  a  long,  severe  winter  is 
before  us. 

This  letter  shows  how  closely  Brown  attended  to  politics 
in  Europe  as  well  as  in  America,  notwithstanding  his  la 
borious  life  and  the  urgency  of  his  private  affairs.  The 
"  new  revolution  in  France  "  was  the  coup  d'etat  of  Louis 
Napoleon,  which  happened  in  this  month  of  December, 
1851.  At  the  same  time  the  Hungarian  patriot  Kossuth 
was  exciting  great  enthusiasm  in  Massachusetts  and  the 
Northern  States  in  general ;  Charles  Sumner  was  celebrat 
ing  him  in  an  eloquent  speech  at  Washington  ;  Emerson  at 
Concord  was  bidding  him  welcome  to  the  historic  battle 
ground  there ;  and  Theodore  Parker,  in  his  Boston  pulpit, 
was  preaching  in  behalf  of  Hungarian  independence.  The 
friends  of  Brown,  on  whom  he  relied  in  later  years,  were 
singularly  in  accord  with  him  in  1851,  though  neither  Emer 
son  nor  Parker  nor  Sumner  had  then  seen  Brown.  I  was 
then  a  student  at  Exeter,  preparing  for  Harvard  College, 
and  I  remember  the  interest  that  Kossuth  aroused  there. 
An  old  lady  with  whom  I  sometimes  took  tea,  and  with 
whom  in  her  youth  Daniel  Webster  had  taken  tea  when  a 
student  at  Exeter  fifty -five  years  before,  used  to  divide  the 
talk  at  her  little  round  tea-table  between  anecdotes  of  Web 
ster  (whom  she  admired  for  his  beauty  and  eloquence,  but 
abhorred  for  his  betrayal  of  the  Northern  cause)  and  eulogies 
of  Kossuth,  Sumner,  Garrison,  and  the  other  friends  of  free 
dom  in  Europe  and  America.  While  Miss  Betsey  Clifford 
thus  manifested  her  enthusiasm  at  the  age  of  seventy,  her 


1850.]  FAMILY   COUNSELS  AND   HOME   LIFE.  147 

young  guest  at  the  age  of  twenty  was  publishing  verses  ad 
dressed  to  Kossuth  in  praise  and  to  Webster  in  censure  of 
their  public  action.  But  the  pithy  comment  of  John  Brown 
—  "  God  is  carrying  out  his  eternal  purpose  in  them  all  "  — 
was  as  profitable  an  utterance  as  that  of  any  scholar  or 
statesman  of  that  period.  He  belonged  to  the  school  of  the 
prophets,  though  a  herdsman  like  Amos  the  Hebrew  and 
the  Arabian  seer.  I  have  been  able  to  find  but  few  of 
Brown's  letters  in  the  years  1850-51,  when  the  first  general 
agitation  against  the  aggression  of  Southern  slaveholders 
took  place  in  the  North ;  nor  do  his  earlier  letters  contain 
much  allusion  to  the  antislavery  crusade  of  Garrison,  Gerrit 
Smith,  Arthur  Tappan,  Wendell  Phillips,  and  the  other 
emancipationists.  But  he  took  the  warmest  interest  in 
these  discussions  from  the  first,  and  like  Garrison  and  his 
associates  early  declared  against  the  colonizationists,  who 
would  send  the  free  negroes  away  to  Liberia.  Milton  Lusk, 
Brown's  brother-in-law,  already  quoted,  has  given  me  some 
details  of  antislavery  action  at  Hudson  fifty  years  ago.  At 
that  time  Eev.  Charles  B.  Storrs,  a  devoted  antislavery  man, 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Western  Reserve  College  in  Hudson, 
and  a  communicant,  if  not  pastor,  of  a  Congregational  church 
there.  In  that  to  which  Mr.  Lusk  belonged  it  had  been 
customary  before  1835  to  take  up  a  collection  occasionally 
for  the  cause  of  colonization,  which  was  advocated  from  the 
pulpit  by  agents  of  the  Colonization  Society.  On  one  of 
these  occasions  "Brother  Lusk"  was  asked  to  take  up  the 
collection  as  usual,  but  refused.  His  pastor  earnestly  ques 
tioned  him  why ;  whereupon  Milton  Lusk  showed  the  cler 
gyman  a  speech  or  letter  of  Chief- Justice  Marshall,  in 
which  colonization  was  advocated  as  a  relief  to  the  Virginia 
slaveholders,  by  removing  the  troublesome  class  of  the  free 
negroes  from  the  State.  "  If  that  is  genuine,"  argued  Mr. 
Lusk,  "then  the  slaveholders  are  asked  to  give  money  for 
colonization  to  protect  slavery ;  while  we  are  asked  for 
money  to  remove  slavery  by  colonization.  If  our  contri 
butions  go  into  the  same  fund,  I  for  one  will  never  help 
to  raise  another  dollar."  The  pastor  could  not  deny  the 
premises  of  his  parishioner,  and  was  forced  to  accept  his 
conclusion  ;  but  not  long  afterward  Milton  Lusk  was  ex- 


148  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1852 

communicated  for  various  errors  of  opinion,  among  which 
the  colonization  incident  was  not  quite  forgotten.1 

TROY,  N.  Y.,  Jan.  23,  1852. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  returned  here  on  the  evening  of  the  19th 
inst.,  having  left  Akron  on  the  14th,  the  date  of  your  letter  to  John. 
I  was  very  glad  to  hear  from  you  again  in  that  way,  not  having  re 
ceived  anything  from  you  while  at  home.  I  left  all  in  usual  health, 
and  as  comfortable  as  could  be  expected ;  but  am  afflicted  with  you 
on  account  of  your  little  boy.  Hope  to  hear  by  return  mail  that  you 
are  all  well.  As  in  this  trouble  you  are  only  tasting  of  a  cup  I  have 
had  to  drink  deeply,  and  very  often,  I  need  not  tell  you  how  fully  I 
can  sympathize  with  you  in  your  anxiety.  .  .  . 

How  long  we  shall  continue  here  is  beyond  our  ability  to  foresee, 
but  think  it  very  probable  that  if  you  write  us  by  return  mail  we 
shall  get  your  letter.  Something  may  possibly  happen  that  may 
enable  us  (or  one  of  us)  to  go  and  see  you,  but  do  not  look  for  us.  I 
should  feel  it  a  great  privilege  if  I  could.  We  seem  to  be  getting 
along  well  with  our  business  so  far,  but  progress  miserably  slow. 
My  journeys  back  and  forth  this  winter  have  been  very  tedious.  If 
you  find  it  difficult  for  you  to  pay  for  Douglass'  paper,  I  wish  you 
would  let  me  know,  as  I  know  I  took  liberty  in  ordering  it  contin 
ued.  You  have  been  very  kind  in  helping  me,  and  I  do  not  mean 
to  make  myself  a  burden. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  March  20,  1852. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  reached  home  on  the  18th  at  evening,  meet 
ing  with  father  on  the  way,  who  went  home  with  me  and  left  us 
yesterday;  he  kept  me  so  busied  that  I  had  no  time  to  write  you 
yesterday.  I  found  all  in  usual  health  but  Frederick,  who  has  one 
of  his  poor  turns  again  ;  it  is  not  severe,  and  we  hope  will  not  be  so. 
I  now  enclose  the  Flanders  lease.  You  will  discover  that  the  bar 
gain  I  had  with  him  for  the  second  year  is  simply  an  extension  of  the 

1  "  '  I  threw  down  Judge  Marshall's  speech  arid  stamped  on  it,'  said  Mil 
ton  Lusk.  '  Why,  Milton,  what  ails  you  ? '  said  my  sister.  I  told  her  I 
had  got  through  raising  money  for  colonization.  I  asked  our  minister  if 
our  contributions  here  in  Ohio  went  into  the  same  chest  with  those  from 
Virginia,  where  men  sold  slaves  and  put  a  part  of  the  purchase-money  into 
the  contribution-box  ?  He  said  he  supposed  so.  Then,  I  said,  I  could  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it." 


1852.]  FAMILY   COUNSELS  AND   HOME  LIFE.  149 

time  made  on  the  back  of  it,  except  that  for  the  last  year  I  was  to 
pay  the  taxes.  Owen  says  he  thinks  the  tooth  fell  out  of  the  harrow 
while  lying  on  a  pile  of  sticks  and  old  boards  near  the  corner  of  the 
barn,  between  that  and  the  house ;  and  that  if  you  do  not  find  it 
among  the  rubbish,  nor  in  the  house  or  barn,  —  over  the  door  from 
the  barn  into  the  back  shed,  —  he  cannot  tell  where  it  will  be  found. 
Expecting  to  hear  from  you  again  soon, 

I  remain  your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


AKRON,  OHIO,  May  14,  1852. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  have  a  great  deal  to  write,  and  but  very 
little  time  in  which  to  do  it.  A  letter  was  received  from  you,  which 
Salmon  put  in  his  pocket  before  it  had  been  opened,  and  lost  it.  This 
grieved  me  very  much  indeed  j  I  could  hardly  be  reconciled  to  it. 
We  have  been  having  the  measles,  and  now  have  the  whooping- 
cough  among  the  children  very  bad.  Your  mother  was  confined  by 
the  birth  of  the  largest  and  strongest  boy  she  ever  had  two  weeks 
ago,  and  has  got  along  well  considering  all  our  difficulties.  The 
little  one  took  the  measles,  and  was  very  sick,  and  has  now  the 
whooping-cough  so  bad  that  we  expect  to  lose  him ;  we  thought 
him  dying  for  some  time  last  night.  Annie  and  Sarah  cough  badly ; 
Oliver  is  getting  over  it.  Our  little  one  has  dark  hair  and  eyes  like 
Watson's  ;  notwithstanding  our  large  number,  we  are  very  anxious  to 
retain  him. 

Jason  and  Owen  have  gone  on  to  a  large  farm  of  Mr.  Perkins  over 
in  Talmadge.  Frederick  is  with  us,  and  is  pretty  well.  The  family 
of  Mr.  Perkins  have  the  whooping-cough,  and  have  had  the  measles. 
They  have  another  son,  a  few  days  older  than  ours.  Our  other 
friends  are  well,  so  far  as  we  know.  Father  was  with  us,  quite  well, 
a  few  days  ago.  We  have  had  so  much  rain  that  we  could  do  but 
little  towards  spring  crops.  Have  planted  our  potatoes.  The  grass 
is  forward  ;  great  prospect  of  apples  and  cherries,  but  no  peaches 
scarcely.  Have  twelve  of  the  finest  calves  I  ever  saw.  Our  Troy 
suit  went  in  our  favor,  but  not  to  the  extent  that  it  ought.  I 
have  bought  out  the  interests  of  Jason  and  Owen  in  the  lot  we 
got  of  Mr.  Smith,  on  which,  I  suppose,  you  are  living  before  this. 
I  can  send  you  no  more  now  than  my  earnest  wishes  for  your 
good,  and  my  request  that  as  soon  as  you  can  you  send  me  the 
substance  of  your  last  letter,  with  such  additions  as  you  may  be  able 
to  make. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


150  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1852. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  July  20,  1852. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  wrote  you  a  few  days  before  the  death  of 
our  infant  son,  saying  we  expected  to  lose  him ;  since  then  we  have 
some  of  us  been  sick  constantly.  The  measles  and  whooping-cough 
went  so  hard  with  Sarah  that  we  were  quite  anxious  on  her  account, 
but  were  much  more  alarmed  on  account  of  my  wife,  who  was  taken 
with  bleeding  at  the  lungs  two  or  three  days  after  the  death  of  her 
child.  She  was  pretty  much  confined  to  her  bed  for  some  weeks,  and 
suffered  a  good  deal  of  pain,  but  is  now  much  more  comfortable,  and 
able  to  be  around.  About  the  time  she  got  about  I  was  taken  with 
fever  and  ague,  and  am  unable  to  do  much  now,  but  have  got  the 
shakes  stopped  for  the  present.  The  almost  constant  wet  weather 
put  us  back  very  much  about  our  crops,  and  prevented  our  getting  in 
much  corn.  What  we  have  is  promising.  Our  wheat  is  a  very  good 
quality,  but  the  crop  is  quite  moderate.  Our  grass  is  good,  and  we 
have  a  good  deal  secured.  We  shall  probably  finish  harvesting 
wheat  to-day.  Potatoes  promise  well.  Sheep  arid  cattle  are  doing 
well ;  and  I  would  most  gladly  be  able  to  add  that  in  wisdom  and 
good  morals  we  are  all  improving.  The  boys  have  done  remarkably 
well  about  the  work  ;  I  wish  I  could  see  them  manifest  an  equal 
regard  for  their  future  well-being.  Blindness  has  happened  to  us  in 
that  which  is  of  most  importance. 

We  are  at  a  loss  for  a  reason  that  we  do  not  hear  a  word  from  you. 
The  friends  are  well,  so  far  as  I  know.  Heard  from  Henry  and  Ruth 
a  few  days  since. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

.    AKRON,  OHIO,  Aug.  6,  1852. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  had  just  written  a  short  letter  to  you,  di 
rected  and  sealed  it,  when  I  got  yours  of  the  1  st  instant.  I  am  glad 
to  hear  from-  you  again,  and  had  been  writing  that  I  could  not  re 
member  hearing  anything  from  you  since  early  last  spring.  I  air 
pretty  much  laid  up  with  the  ague,  and  have  been  for  more  than  a 
month.  The  family  are  about  in  their  usual  health.  Your  mother 
is  not  well,  but  is  about  the  house  at  work.  The  other  friends  are 
well,  so  far  as  I  know.  After  something  of  a  drouth,  the  weather 
has  become  very  unsteady  j  yet  we  have  not  had  a  great  amount  of 
rain.  We  get  a  little  so  often  that  we  progress  slowly  with  our  hay 
ing,  of  which  we  have  yet  considerable  to  do;  we  have  also  some 
late  oats  to  cut.  Have  our  wheat  secured.  Our  corn  we  had  to 
plant  over  once  ;  it  now  looks  promising.  The  prospect  for  potatoes, 
since  the  rains  have  begun  to  come,  is  good.  Our  sheep  and  cattle 


1852.]  FAMILY   COUNSELS  AND   HOME   LIFE.  151 

are  doing  well ;  we  think  of  taking  some  to  Cleveland  to  show. 
Have  not  heard  from  Henry  and  Ruth  since  June  26,  when  they  were 
well.  Mr.  Ely  of  Boston  writes  us  that  our  trial  there  will  corne  on 
about  the  21st  September,  and  that  we  must  then  be  ready.  He  says 
Mr.  Beebe  had  not  returned  from  Europe  July  24,  but  is  expected 
this  month.  We  want  you  without  fail  to  have  your  business  so 
arranged  that  you  can  go  on  and  be  there  by  that  date,  as  we  cannot 
do  without  you  at  all.  We  have  not  yet  sold  our  wool.  I  hope 
your  corn  and  oats  will  recover ;  ours  that  was  blown  down  last  year 
did  in  a  good  measure. 

One  word  in  regard  to  the  religious  belief  of  yourself,  and  the  ideas 
of  several  of  my  children.  My  affections  are  too  deep-rooted  to  be 
alienated  from  them;  but  "  rny  gray  hairs  must  go  down  in  sorrow 
to  the  grave  "  unless  the  true  God  forgive  their  denial  and  rejection 
of  him,  and  open  their  eyes.  I  am  perfectly  conscious  that  their 
eyes  are  blinded  to  the  real  truth,  their  minds  prejudiced  by  hearts 
unreconciled  to  their  Maker  and  Judge  j  and  that  they  have  no  right 
appreciation  of  his  true  character,  nor  of  their  own.  il  A  deceived 
heart  hath  turned  them  aside."  That  God  in  infinite  mercy,  for 
Christ's  sake,  may  grant  to  you  and  Wealthy,  and  to  my  other  chil 
dren,  u  eyes  to  see,"  is  the  most  earnest  and  constant  prayer  of 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


AKRON,  OHIO,  Aug.  10,  1852. 

DEAR  RUTH, — Your  letter  to  mother  and  children  is  this  day 
received.  We  are  always  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  are  much 
pleased  with  the  numerous  particulars  your  letters  contain.  I  have 
had  a  return  of  the  ague  (rather  severe),  so  that  I  am  pretty  much 
laid  up,  and  not  good  for  much  anyway;  am  now  using  means  to 
break  it  up  again.  Your  mother  is  still  more  or  less  troubled  with 
her  difficulties,  but  is  able  to  keep  about  and  accomplish  a  good  deal. 
The  remainder  of  the  family  (and  friends,  so  far  as  I  know)  are  quite 
well.  We  are  getting  nearly  through  haying  and  harvest.  Our  hay 
crop  is  most  abundant ;  and  we  have  lately  had  frequent  little  rains, 
which  for  the  present  relieves  us  from  our  fears  of  a  terrible  drouth. 
We  are  much  rejoiced  to  learn  that  God  in  mercy  has  given  you  some 
precious  showers.  It  is  a  great  mercy  to  us  that  we  frequently  are 
made  to  understand  most  thoroughly  our  absolute  dependence  on  a 
power  quite  above  ourselves.  How  blessed  are  al]  whos&  hearts  and 
conduct  do  not  set  them  at  variance  with  that  power !  Why  will  not 
my  family  endeavor  to  secure  his  favor,  and  to  effect  in  the  one  only 
way  a  perfect  reconciliation  ? 


152  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1852. 

The  cars  have  been  running  regularly  from  Akron  to  Cleveland 
since  July  5,  so  that  there  is  now  steam  conveyance  from  Akron  to 
Westport.  This  is  a  great  comfort,  as  it  reduces  the  journey  to  such 
a  trifling  affair.  We  are  making  a  little  preparation  for  the  Ohio 
State  Fair  at  Cleveland,  on  15th,  16th,  17th  September  next,  and 
think  we  shall  exhibit  some  cattle  and  sheep.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Per 
kins  have  been  away  at  New  York  for  about  three  weeks.  Mr. 
Perkins  is  away  for  a  great  part  of  the  time.  We  are  quite  obliged 
to  our  friend  Mrs.  Dickson  for  remembering  us ;  are  glad  she  is  with 
you,  and  hope  you  will  do  a  little  towards  making  her  home  with  you 
happy  on  our  account,  as  we  very  much  respect  her,  and  feel  quite  an 
interest  in  her  welfare. 

Our  Oliver  has  been  speculating  for  some  mouths  past  in  hogs.  I 
think  he  will  probably  come  out  about  even,  and  maybe  get  the  inter 
est  of  his  money.  Frederick  manages  the  sheep  mostly,  and  butchers 
mutton  for  the  two  families.  Watson  operates  on  the  farm.  Salmon 
is  chief  captain  over  the  cows,  calves,  etc.,  and  he  has  them  all  to 
shine.  Jason  and  Owen  appear  to  be  getting  along  with  their  farm 
ing  middling  well.  The  prospect  now  is  that  the  potato  crop  will  be 
full  middling  good.  Annie  and  Sarah  go  to  school.  Annie  has  be 
come  a  very  correct  reader.  Sarah  goes  singing  about  as  easy  as  an 
old  shoe.  Edward  still  continues  in  California.  Father  is  carrying  on 
his  little  farming  on  his  own  hook  still,  and  seems  to  succeed  very 
well.  I  am  much  gratified  to  have  him  able  to  do  so,  and  he  seems 
to  enjoy  it  quite  as  much  as  ever  he  did.1  I  have  now  written  about 
all  I  can  well  think  of  for  this  time. 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Sept.  21,  1852. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  now  enclose  five  dollars  to  pay  you  for  the 
expense  of  your  trip  to  Cleveland  as  near  as  I  can.  I  would  have 
given  you  more  at  Cleveland  had  I  met  with  Mr.  Perkins  in  season 
after  you  concluded  to  leave.  We  will  hereafter  arrange  about  your 
time  so  as  to  make  that  satisfactory.  We  drew  three  second  pre 
miums  at  the  fair,  but  no  first  premium.  Our  bull  —  by  far  the  most 
extraordinary  animal  we  have  —  got  no  premium  at  all.  We  heard 
a  very  strong  expression  of  dissatisfaction  with  the  award  on  Devon 
bulls  from  numerous  strangers,  as  well  as  from  many  good  judges  of 
our  acquaintance,  before  we  left  the  ground.  We  received  a  first 
premium  on  a  yearling  buck,  and  he  was  the  meanest  sheep  of  four 
teen  that  we  exhibited ;  we  got  no  other  premium  on  sheep. 

1  Owen  Brown  was  now  eighty-one  years  old.  Edward  was  his  youngest 
son.  Sarah  was  John  Brown's  daughter,  at  this  time  six  years  old. 


1853.]  FAMILY   COUNSELS  AND   HOME   LIFE.  153 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Sept.  24,  1852. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  We  received  Euth's  letter  of  the  31st  August 
a  few  days  before  our  State  fair  at  Cleveland,  which  came  off  on  the 
15th,  16th,  and  17th  instant.  John  and  myself  expected  to  go  from 
there  to  Boston,  and  John  came  on  to  Cleveland  for  that  purpose ; 
but  just  then  we  learned  that  our  trial  would  not  come  on  until 
November  next.  I  may  leave  to  go  on  to  Boston  before  November, 
but  cannot  say  now.  We  got  four  premiums  on  cattle  and  sheep  at 
the  fair,  —  two  of  ten  dollars  each,  one  of  fifteen  dollars,  and  one  of 
twenty-five  dollars.  The  Perkinses  were  much  pleased  with  the 
show  of  stock  we  had  to  make,  but  felt,  as  many  others  did,  that 
great  injustice  was  done  in  not  giving  us  but  one  first  premium,  and 
that  on  our  poorest  buck  exhibited.  The  premiums  were  paid  in 
silver  cups,  goblets,  etc.,  and  are  of  little  use,  except  for  mere  show. 
All  the  friends  were  well  at  the  time  of  the  fair,  and  a  large  portion 
of  them  on  the  show-ground,  —  father  among  the  rest.  It  was  sup 
posed  to  be  the  greatest  exhibition  ever  had  in  the  Western  States,  far 
exceeding  those  of  the  State  of  New  York  ;  but  a  vast  majority  of 
those  who  were  at  much  pains  and  cost  to  exhibit  their  stock  and 
other  things  went  away  disappointed  of  any  premiums.  This  is  a 
mortifying  reflection. 

We  are  busy  taking  care  of  our  potatoes  and  apples,  and  preparing 
to  sow  our  grain.     I  have  had  no  shake  of  ague  for  some  time,  but 
am  not  strong.     The  family  are  in  usual  health.     Write  again. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

%  . 

To  his  Wife. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  Jan.  16,  1853. 

DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  say  that  we  have  at  last 
got  to  trial,  and  I  now  hope  that  a  little  more  than  another  week  will 
terminate  it.  Up  to  this  time  our  prospects  appear  favorable.  ...  I 
have  no  word  for  the  boys,  except  to  say  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  they 
are  doing  so  well,  and  that  every  day  increases  my  anxiety  that  they 
all  will  decide  to  be  wise  and  good  j  and  I  close  by  saying  that  such 
is  by  far  my  most  earnest  wish  for  you  all. 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  Boston  trial  went  badly,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  former 
chapter,  nor  did  the  religious  views  of  Brown's  children  ever 
square  perfectly  with  his  own.  As  years  went  forward  he 


154  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1853. 

became  less  anxious  on  this  point,  and  was  more  willing  to 
leave  the  matter  with  Providence ;  but  his  own  opinions 
never  changed. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Feb.  21,  1853. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  It  was  my  intention,  on  parting  with  John  at 
Conneaut,  to  have  written  you  soon;  but  as  Mr.  Perkins  (imme 
diately  on  my  return  home)  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  have  me 
continue  with  him  at  least  for  another  year,  I  have  deferred  it,  in 
hopes  from  day  to  day  of  being  able  to  say  to  you  on  what  terms  I 
am  to  remain.  His  being  absent  almost  the  whole  time  has  pre 
vented  our  making  any  definite  bargain  as  yet,  although  we  have 
talked  considerably  about  it.  Our  bargain  will  not  probably  vary 
much  from  this,  — namely,  he  to  furnish  land,  stock  of  all  kinds,  teams, 
and  tools,  pay  taxes  on  lands,  half  the  taxes  on  other  property,  and 
furnish  half  the  salt ;  I  to  furnish  all  the  work,  board  the  hands,  pay 
half  the  taxes  on  personal  property  put  in,  half  the  interest  on  capital 
on  stock,  and  half  the  insurance  on  same,  and  have  half  the  proceeds 
of  all  grain  and  other  crops  raised,  and  of  all  the  stock  of  cattle, 
sheep,  hogs,  etc.  He  seems  so  pleasant,  and  anxious  to  have  me 
continue,  that  I  cannot  tear  away  from  him.  He  is  in  quite  as  good 
spirits  since  he  came  home  as  I  expected. 

We  are  all  in  good  health ;  so  also  was  father  and  other  Hudson 
friends  a  few  days  ago.  Our  sheep,  cattle,  etc.,  have  done  very  well 
through  the  winter.  Got  a  letter  from  Ruth  a  few  days  ago.  All 
appears  well  with  them.  She  writes  that  they  have  had  quite  a 
revival  of  religion  there,  and  that  Henry  is  one  of  the  hopefully  con 
verted.  My  earnest  and  only  wish  is,  that  those  seeming  conversions 
may  prove  genuine,  as  I  doubt  not  "  there  is  joy  over  one  sinner  that 
repenteth."  Will  you  write  me  ? 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


AKRON,  OHIO,  Sept.  24,  1853. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  We  received  Henry's  letter  of  the  16th  August 
in  due  time,  and  when  it  came  I  intended  to  reply  at  once  ;  but  not 
being  very  stout,  and  having  many  things  to  look  after,  it  has  been 
put  off  until  now.  We  were  very  glad  of  that  letter,  and  of  the 
information  it  gave  of  your  health  and  prosperity,  as  well  as  your 
future  calculations.  We  have  some  nice  turkeys  and  chickens  fatten 
ing,  to  be  ready  by  the  time  you  come  on  to  Akron.  Father  and 
Jason  were  both  here  this  morning.  Father  is  quite  well.  Jason, 
Ellen,  Owen,  and  Fred  have  all  been  having  the  ague  more  or  less 


1854.]  FAMILY  COUNSELS  AND   HOME   LIFE.  155 

since  I  wrote  before.  Other  friends  are  in  usual  health,  I  believe. 
We  have  done  part  of  our  sowing,  got  our  fine  crop  of  corn  all  se 
cured  against  frosts  yesterday,  and  are  digging  potatoes  to-day.  The 
season  has  been  thus  far  one  of  great  temporal  blessing;  and  I  would 
fain  hope  that  the  Spirit  of  God  has  not  done  striving  in  our  hard 
hearts.  I  sometimes  feel  encouraged  to  hope  that  my  sons  will  give 
up  their  miserable  delusions  and  believe  in  God  and  in  his  Son  our 
Saviour.  I  think  the  family  are  more  and  more  decided  in  favor  of 
returning  to  Essex,  and  seem  all  disposed  to  be  making  little  prepa 
rations  for  it  as  we  suppose  the  time  draws  near.  Our  county  fair 
comes  off  on  the  12th  and  13th  October,  but  we  suppose  we  can 
hardly  expect  you  so  soon.  Should  be  much  pleased  to  have  you 
here  then.  .  .  . 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Jan.  25,  1854. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  remember  I  engaged  to  write  you  so  soon  as 
I  had  anything  to  tell  worth  the  paper.  I  do  not  suppose  the  balance 
will  be  great  now.  So  far  as  I  know,  the  friends  here  are  about  in 
usual  health,  and  are  passing  through  the  winter  prosperously.  My 
wife  is  not  in  as  good  health  as  when  you  were  here.  Have  not 
heard  from  Hudson  for  some  days.  The  loss  of  sheep  has  been  merely 
a  nominal  one  with  us.  We  have  skinned  two  full-blood  Devon 
heifers,  —  from  the  effects  of  poison,  as  we  suspect;  for  several  of  our 
young  cattle  were  taken  sick  about  the  same  time.  The  others  appear 
to  be  nearly  well. 

This  world  is  not  yet  freed  from  real  malice  or  envy.  It  appears 
to  be  well  settled  now  that  we  go  back  to  North  Elba  in  the  spring. 
I  have  had  a  good-natured  talk  with  Mr.  Perkins  about  going  away, 
and  both  families  are  now  preparing  to  carry  out  that  plan.  I  do 
not  yet  know  what  his  intentions  are  about  our  compensation  for  the 
last  year.1  Will  write  you  when  I  do,  as  I  want  you  to  hold  yourself 
(John,  I  mean)  in  readiness  to  come  out  at  once,  should  he  decide  to 
give  me  a  share  of  the  stock,  etc.  Should  that  be  the  case,  I  intend 
to  let  you  have  what  will  give  you  a  little  start  in  the  way  of  red 
cattle. 

I  learn,  by  your  letters  to  others  of  the  family,  that  you  have  pretty 
much  decided  to  call  your  boy  John,  and  that  in  order  to  gratify  the 
feelings  of  his  great-grandfather  and  grandfather.  I  will  only  now 
say  that  I  hope  to  be  able  sometime  to  convince  yon  that  I  appreciate 
the  sacrifices  you  may  make  to  accommodate  our  feelings.  I  noticed 

1  By  referring  to  a  previous  letter  of  Feb.  21,  1853,  it  will  be  seen  that 
Mr.  Perkins's  mind  had  changed  within  the  year.  It  has  been  intimated 
that  political  opinions  had  something  to  do  with  this  change. 


156  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1854. 

your  remark  about  the  family  settling  near  each  other;  to  this  I 
would  say,  I  would  like  to  have  my  posterity  near  enough  to  each 
other  to  be  friendly,  but  would  never  wish  them  to  be  brought  so  in 
contact  as  to  be  near  neighbors  or  to  intermarry.  I  may  possibly 
write  you  again  very  soon. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Feb.  9,  1854. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  I  write  by  direction  of  Mr.  Perkins  to  ask  you 
to  come  out  immediately  to  assist  him,  instead  of  Mr.  Newton,  in 
closing  up  my  accounts.  He  has  seen  the  above,  and  it  is  a  thing  of 
his  own  naming ;  so  I  want  you,  if  possible,  to  come  right  away. 
He  has  told  me  he  intends  to  give  me  one  share,  but  would  like  to 
have  the  stock  mostly.  We  are  on  excellent  terms,  so  far  as  I  know. 
All  well  except  my  wife,  and  I  hope  she  will  soon  be  better. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Feb.  24,  1854. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Since  writing  you  before,  I  have  agreed  to  go 
on  to  the  Ward  place  for  one  year,  as  I  found  I  could  not  dispose  of 
my  stuff  in  time  to  go  to  North  Elba  without  great  sacrifice  this 
spring.  We  expect  to  move  the  first  of  next  week,  and  do  not  wish 
you  to  come  on  until  we  get  more  settled  and  write  you  again.  As  I 
am  not  going  away  immediately,  there  will  be  no  particular  hurry 
about  the  settlement  I  wrote  about  before.  On  reckoning  up  our 
expenses  for  the  past  year,  we  find  we  have  been  quite  prosperous.  I 
have  sold  my  interest  in  the  increase  of  sheep  to  Mr.  Perkins  for 
about  $700,  in  hogs  for  $51,  in  wheat  on  the  ground  for  $176.  These 
will  pay  our  expenses  for  the  year  past,  and  the  next  year's  rent  for 
the  Ward  place,  Crinlen  place,  and  Old  Portage  place.  These  places 
I  get  for  one  year  in  exchange  for  my  interest  in  wheat  on  the 
ground ;  and  it  leaves  me  half  the  wool  of  last  season  (which  is  on 
hand  yet),  half  the  pork,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  hay,  potatoes,  and 
calves  sixteen  in  number.  If  I  could  have  sold  my  share  of  the  wool, 
I  might  have  gone  to  Essex  this  spring  quite  comfortably ;  but  I 
have  to  pay  Henry  $100  before  he  leaves,  and  I  cannot  do  that  and 
have  sufficient  to  move  with  until  I  can  sell  my  wool.  We  are  all 
middling  well.  Henry  and  Ruth  intend  to  leave  for  home  about  the 
15th  March,  and  to  go  by  your  place  if  they  can.  We  have  great 
reason  to  be  thankful  that  we  have  had  so  prosperous  a  year,  and 
have  terminated  our  connection  with  Mr.  Perkins  so  comfortably  and 


1854.]  FAMILY  COUNSELS  AND   HOME   LIFE.  157 

on  such  friendly  terms,  to  all  appearance.  Perry  Warren,  to  whom 
Henry  Warren  conveyed  his  property,  was  here  a  few  days  ago,  feel 
ing  about  for  a  compromise :  did  nothing,  and  left,  to  return  again 
soon  as  he  said.  We  think  they  are  getting  tired  of  the  five  years' 
war.  I  shall  probably  write  you  again  before  a  great  while. 
Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  April  3,  1854. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  We  received  your  letter  of  the  24th  March  two 
or  three  days  since,  and  one  from  Henry,  dated  25th  March,  about  the 
same  time.  They  had  got  on  well  so  far,  but  had  to  go  by  stage  the 
balance  of  the  way.  Father  got  home  well,  and  was  with  us  over 
night  Friday  last.  We  have  all  been  middling  well  of  late,  but  very 
busy,  having  had  the  care  of  the  whole  concern  at  Mr.  Perkins's  place 
until  Friday  night.  I  had  a  most  comfortable  time  settling  last  year's 
business,  and  dividing  with  Mr.  Perkins,  and  have  to  say  of  his  deal 
ing  with  me  that  he  has  shown  himself  to  be  every  inch  a  gentle 
man.  I  bring  to  my  new  home  five  of  the  red  cows  and  ten  calves ; 
he  to  have  $100  out  of  my  share  of  the  last  year's  wool,  to  make  us 
even  on  last  year's  business  ;  after  dividing  all  crops,  he  paying  me 
in  hand  $28.55,  balance  due  me  on  all  except  four  of  the  five  cows. 
I  am  going  now  to  work  with  a  cheap  team  of  two  yoke  oxen,  on 
which  I  am  indebted,  till  I  can  sell  my  wool,  $89  ;  $46  I  have  paid 
towards  them.  I  would  like  to  have  all  my  children  settle  within  a 
few  miles  of  each  other  and  of  me,  but  I  cannot  take  the  responsibil 
ity  of  advising  you  to  make  any  forced  move  to  change  your  location. 
Thousands  have  to  regret  that  they  did  not  let  middling  "well  alone." 
I  should  think  you  ought  to  get  for  your  place  another  $J25;  and 
I  think  you  may,  if  you  are  not  too  anxious.  That  would  buy  you 
considerable  of  a  farm  in  Essex  or  elsewhere,  and  we  may  get  the 
Homestead  Law  passed  yet.  It  has  been  a  question  with  me  whether 
you  would  not  do  better  to  hire  all  your  team  work  done  than  to  have 
your  little  place  overstocked  possibly,  after  some  trouble  about  buy 
ing  them,  paying  taxes,  insurance,  and  some  expense  for  implements 
to  use  them  with.  If  you  get  a  little  overstocked,  everything  will 
seem  to  do  poorly.  Frederick  is  very  much  better,  but  both  he  and 
Owen  have  been  having  the  ague  lately.  They  leave  the  Hill  farm 
soon.  I  do  not  at  this  moment  know  of  a  good  opening  for  you  this 
way.  One  thing  I  do  not  fear  to  advise  and  even  urge ;  and  that  is 
the  habitual  "  fear  of  the  Lord,  which  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom." 
Commending  you  all  to  his  mercy,  I  remain 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


158  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1854. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Aug.  24,  1854. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  have  just  received  Henry's  letter  of  the 
13th  instant,  and  have  much  reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  good  news 
it  brings.  We  are  all  in  middling  health,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  this 
quarter,  although  there  is  some  sickness  about  us.  Mother  Brown, 
of  Hudson,  was  complaining  some  last  week  ;  have  not  heard  from 
her  since  then.  This  part  of  the  country  is  suffering  the  most  dread 
ful  drouth  ever  experienced  during  this  nineteenth  century.  We 
have  been  much  more  highly  favored  than  most  of  our  neighbors  in 
that  we  were  enabled  to  secure  a  most  excellent  hay  crop,  whilst 
many  others  did  not  get  theirs  saved  in  time,  and  lost  it  notwith 
standing  the  dry  weather.  Our  oats  are  no  better  than  those  of  our 
neighbors,  but  we  have  a  few.  We  shall  probably  have  some  corn, 
while  others,  to  a  great  extent,  will  have  none.  Of  garden  vegetables 
we  have  more  than  twenty  poor  families  have  in  many  cases.  Of 
fruit  we  shall  have  a  comfortable  supply,  if  our  less  favored  neigh 
bors  do  not  take  it  all  from  us.  We  ought  to  be  willing  to  divide. 
Our  cattle  (of  which  we  have  thirty-three  head)  we  are  enabled  to 
keep  in  excellent  condition,  on  the  little  feed  that  grows  on  the  moist 
grounds,  and  by  feeding  the  stalks  green  that  have  failed  of  corn,  — 
and  we  have  a  good  many  of  them.  We  have  had  two  light  frosts, 
on  August  the  9th  and  18th,  but  have  had  more  extreme  hot 
weather  in  July  and  August  than  ever  known  before,  —  thermometer 
often  up  to  98°  in  the  shade,  and  was  so  yesterday ;  it  now  stands 
(eleven  o'clock  p.  M.)  at  93°. 

I  am  thinking  that  it  may  be  best  for  us  to  dispose  of  all  the  cattla 
we  want  to  sell,  and  of  all  our  winter  feed,  and  move  a  few  choice 
cattle  to  North  Elba  this  fall,  provided  we  can  there  buy  hay  and 
other  stuff  considerably  cheaper  than  we  might  sell  our  stuff  for  here, 
and  also  provided  we  can  get  a  comfortable  house  to  winter  in.  I 
want  you  to  keep  writing  me  often,  as  you  can  learn  how  hay,  all 
kinds  of  grain,  and  roots  can  be  bought  with  you,  so  that  I  may  be  the 
better  able  to  judge.  Our  last  year's  pork  proves  to  be  a  most  per 
fect  article,  but  I  think  not  best  to  ship  any  until  the  weather  gets  a 
little  cooler.  The  price  Mr.  Washburn  asks  for  his  contract  may  not 
be  much  out  of  the  way,  but  there  seems  to  be  some  difficulty  about 
a  bargain  yet.  First,  he  wants  to  hang  on  all  his  stock,  and  I  do  not 
know  at  present  as  I  want  any  of  them.  I  do  not  know  what  he  has 
on  hand  ;  he  may  perhaps  be  able  to  get  them  off  himself.  Then, 
again,  I  do  not  know  as  Mr.  Smith1  would  give  a  deed  of  half  the  lot 
before  the  whole  purchase-money  for  the  entire  lot  and  interest  are 
paid.  You  may  have  further  information  than  I  have.  Early  in 

1  Gerrit  Smith,  who  still  owned  much  land  at  North  Elba. 


1854.]  FAMILY   COUNSELS  AND   HOME  LIFE.  159 

the  season  all  kinds  of  cattle  were  high,  scarce  and  ready  cash; 
now,  as  the  prospects  are,  I  am  entirely  unable  to  make  an  estimate 
of  what  money  I  can  realize  on  them,  so  as  to  be  able  to  say  just  now 
how  much  money  I  can  raise,  provided  those  other  impediments  can 
be  got  over.  I  intend  to  turn  all  I  consistently  can  into  money,  and 
as  fast  as  I  can,  and  would  be  glad  to  secure  the  purchase  of  Wash- 
burn,  if  it  can  be  done  consistently  and  without  too  much  trouble. 
Write  me  again  soon,  and  advise  as  far  as  you  can  about  all  these 
matters.  We  could  probably  sell  all  our  produce  at  pretty  high 
prices.  How  are  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  hogs  selling  in  your 
quarter  ? 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN, 

These  family  letters,  full  of  repetitions,  of  petty  concerns, 
of  old-fashioned  forms  of  expression,  and  with  their  whim 
sical  mixture  of  important  and  unimportant  affairs,  have  a 
value,  in  exhibiting  the  true  character  of  John  Brown,  that 
more  elaborate  epistles,  elegantly  written  with  an  eye  to 
the  public,  could  not  possibly  hold.  Like  the  rude  verses 
of  Lucilius,  they  paint  the  whole  life  of  the  old  man ;  but 
they  were  written,  unlike  the  Koman  verses,  without  the 
least  thought  of  publication.  The  later  letters  of  the  series 
—  written  five  years  before  he  engaged  in  his  Virginia 
campaign,  which  Colonel  Perkins  thought  so  foolish  — 
point  to  the  final  separation  between  these  two  unequally 
yoked  partners.  They  had  worked  together,  each  in  his  own 
way,  for  more  than  ten  years  ;  and  they  parted  amicably, 
though  with  some  after-thoughts  which  hindered  them  from 
ever  uniting  in  sentiment  again.  At  this  time  the  sons  of 
Brown  were  beginning  to  look  towards  Kansas  as  a  place  for 
their  husbandry ;  "and  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter  why 
its  open  territory  attracted  them. 


160  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1784. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
KANSAS,  THE   SKIRMISH-GROUND  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

'HP  HE  State  of  Kansas,  which  gave  John  Brown  his  first 
-*-  distinction,  occupies  territory  with  which  the  names  of 
other  famous  men  are  associated,  though  with  none  is  it 
more  closely  connected  than  with  his.  The  first  of  Euro 
peans  to  visit  Kansas  was  Vasqnez  de  Coronado,  a  Spanish 
captain,  who  in  1541-42  reached  its  southern  and  western 
counties,  coming  up  from  Mexico  in  search  of  gold,  silver, 
and  fabulous  cities.  He  called  the  land  "  Quivira,"  and  de 
scribed  it  as  "  the  best  possible  soil  for  all  kinds  of  Spanish 
productions,  very  strong  and  black,  and  well  watered  by 
brooks,  springs,  and  rivers ; "  but  in  reaching  it  from  Mex 
ico  he  marched  nine  hundred  and  fifty  leagues,  and  traversed 
"mighty  plains  and  sandy  heaths,  smooth  and  wearisome, 
and  bare  of  wood."  These  plains  he  found  "  all  the  way 
as  full  of  crook-back  oxen  [buffaloes]  as  the  mountain  Serena 
in  Spain  is  full  of  sheep."  At  this  very  time  De  Soto  was 
discovering  the  river  Mississippi ;  but  neither  he  nor  Father 
Marquette,  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  later,  set  foot  in 
Kansas.  La  Salle,  in  1687,  might  have  crossed  it,  on  his  way 
from  Texas  to  Canada,  if  he  had  not  fallen  by  the  hand  of 
mutiny ;  but  the  first  Frenchman  to  explore  it  was  Dutisne, 
in  1719,  who,  in  travelling  westward  from  the  Osage  River, 
may  have  crossed  the  Pottawatomie  near  where  John  Brown 
afterward  labored  and  fought.  It  was  then  and  long  after  a 
part  of  the  French  king's  broad  colony  of  Louisiana,  and  as 
such  was  ceded  by  Napoleon  to  Jefferson  in  1802.  Nearly 
twenty  years  before  this,  in  1784,  Jefferson  had  undertaken 
to  free  the  whole  northwestern  territory  of  the  United  States 
from  the  curse  of  slavery,  by  what  has  since  been  known 
as  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  As  drawn  by  Jefferson  in  1784, 


1820.]  KANSAS  AND   THE   CIVIL  WAR.  161 

this  great  charter  of  Western  freedom  provided  that  all  new 
States  to  be  carved  out  of  the  national  domain  should  in 
their  governments  uphold  republican  forms,  "  and  after  the 
year  1800  of  the  Christian  era  there  shall  be  neither  slavery 
nor  involuntary  servitude  in  any  of  them."  This  was  de 
feated  by  a  single  vote  in  Congress,  much  to  Jefferson's 
disgust.  In  1786  he  said :  "  The  voice  of  a  single  individual 
would  have  prevented  this  abominable  crime  [the  introduc 
tion  of  slavery  into  new  territory].  Heaven  will  not  always 
be  silent ;  the  friends  to  the  rights  of  human  nature  will  in 
the  end  prevail."  They  did  prevail  in  John  Brown's  time, 
and  largely  through  his  heroism  ;  and  in  the  conflict  Kansas 
became  the  skirmish-line  of  our  Civil  War. 

After  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  which  brought  with  it  to 
the  United  States  all  the  region  then  known  as  "the  Mis 
souri  territory,"  including  Kansas,  the  latter  was  again  de 
clared  free  soil  by  the  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820 ; 1  for 
it  was  then  enacted  by  Congress  (March  6,  1820),  when 
erecting  Missouri  into  a  State, — 

"  That  in  all  that  territory  ceded  by  France  to  the  United  States, 
under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  which  lies  north  of  36°  30'  north  lati 
tude,  not  included  within  the  limits  of  the  State  contemplated  by  this 
act,  slavery  and  involuntary  servitude,  otherwise  than  in  the  punish 
ment  of  crimes,  shall  be.  and  is  hereby,  forever  prohibited." 

It  was  in  the  face  of  this  solemn  declaration  that  the 
slaveholders  of  1854-56  undertook  to  establish  slavery  by 

1  The  Missouri  Compromise  —  as  Charles  Sumner  said  in  his  great  speech 
of  May  19  and  20,  1856,  "The  Crime  against  Kansas"  —  was  the  work  of 
slaveholders,  who  insisted  that  Missouri  should  come  into  the  Union  as  a 
slave  State,  but  for  this  concession  were  willing  to  give  up  all  the  Northern 
territory  to  freedom.  Sumner  says  :  "  It  was  hailed  by  slaveholders  as  a 
victory.  Charles  Pinckney,  of  South  Carolina,  in  an  oft-quoted  letter 
written  at  eight  o'clock  on  the  night  of  its  passage,  says:  '  It  is  considered 
here  by  the  slaveholding  States  as  a  great  triumph.'  At  the  North  it  was 
accepted  as  a  defeat,  and  the  friends  of  freedom  everywhere  throughout  the 
country  bowed  their  heads  with  mortification. "  The  chief  advocates  of  this 
compromise  were  William  Pinkney,  of  Maryland,  and  Heury  Clay,  of  Ken 
tucky  ;  among  the  chief  advocates  of  excluding  slavery  from  Missouri  were 
Eufus  King,  then  of  New  York,  and  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  a  nephew  of  the 
Revolutionary  orator  James  Otis,  of  Massachusetts. 

11 


162  LIFE  AND  LETTEKS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1820. 

force  and  by  fraud  in  Kansas.  As  a  preliminary,  they  had 
carried  through  Congress,  under  the  lead  of  Senator  Douglas 
of  Illinois,  what  was  known  as  the  "  squatter  sovereignty  " 
clause  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  —  leaving  the  people  at 
each  election  to  determine  the  existence  of  slavery  for  them 
selves.  This  plausible  form  of  words  covered  a  purpose  on 
the  part  of  the  South  to  fasten  slavery  upon  the  new  States, 
which  Jefferson  had  striven  to  free  from  the  possibility  of 
such  a  misfortune ;  and  when  the  prairies  of  Kansas  were 
opened  to  settlement  in  1854,  this  purpose  became  offensively 
manifest.  Indeed,  there  could  be  no  doubt  why  Douglas  had 
introduced  his  bill,  or  what  was  the  intention  of  the  Demo 
cratic  administration  under  Franklin  Pierce  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  and  of  the  presidential  candidates,  including  Douglas, 
who  hoped  to  succeed  Pierce  in  office.  A  new  slave  State 
was  wanted,  since  California  had  excluded  slavery,  and  there 
were  one  or  two  Northern  Territories  likely  soon  to  come  in 
as  States  with  slavery  also  excluded.  By  this  time  the 
Southern  slaveholders,  abandoning  the  early  doctrine  of 
Washington,  Jefferson,  George  Mason,  Madison,  and  Mar 
shall,  and  even  the  cautious  ground  that  Clay  and  Pinckney 
held  in  1820,  were  thirsting  to  extend  the  area  of  their  de 
testable  institution.  They  had  annexed  Texas  and  made 
war  on  Mexico  for  this  purpose ;  and  they  were  seeking  to 
deprive  Spain  of  Cuba,  and  conquer  San  Domingo,  in  order 
to  re-establish  slavery  where  it  first  cursed  Spanish  America, 
and  to  carry  on  the  slave-trade  openly  once  more.  The 
prediction  made  by  Taylor  of  New  York,  in  opposing  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  had  been  singularly  verified.  Taylor 
said  to  the  slaveholders  in  1820 :  — 

11  On  an  implied  power  to  acquire  territory  by  treaty,  you  raise  an 
implied  right  to  erect  it  into  States,  and  imply  a  compromise  by  which 
slavery  is  to  be  established  and  slaves  represented  in  Congress.  Is 
this  just?  Is  it  fair?  Where  will  it  end  ?  .  .  .  Your  lust  of  acquir 
ing  is  not  yet  satiated.  You  must  have  the  Floridas.  Your  ambition 
rises.  You  covet  Cuba,  and  obtain  it ;  you  stretch  your  arms  to  the 
other  islands  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  they  become  yours.  Are  the 
millions  of  slaves  inhabiting  those  countries  to  be  incorporated  into 
the  Union  and  represented  in  Congress  ?  Are  the  freemen  of  the  old 
States  to  become  the  slaves  of  the  representations  of  foreign  slaves  ? 71 


1854.]  KANSAS   AND   THE   CIVIL   WAR.  163 

Such  was,  indeed,  the  dream  of  South  Carolina  and  Mis 
sissippi  and  Louisiana ;  such  the  purpose  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
Soiile  of  New  Orleans,  and  Mason  of  Virginia,  —  a  degenerate 
descendant  of  Washington's  friend  George  Mason.  "Mani 
fest  Destiny  "  was  the  watchword  of  these  politicians,  to 
whom  the  Northern  Democrats  —  Pierce,  Buchanan,  Cass, 
and  Douglas  —  basely  submitted.  As  the  discussion  on 
Douglas's  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  proceeded,  it  became  evi 
dent,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  that  there  was  a 
purpose  to  force  slavery  into  Kansas,  the  more  southern 
Territory  of  the  two.  There  would  have  been  no  need 
of  repealing  the  Missouri  Compromise  except  to  carry  out 
this  purpose.  It  was  also  evident  that  the  great  mass  of 
Northern  and  European  emigration  would  turn  away  from 
Kansas  if  it  became  probable  that  slavery  would  enter  there. 
"No  single  man  or  single  family  unwilling  to  enter  a  slave 
State  would  trust  themselves,  unsupported,  in  a  Territory 
which  would  probably  become  one,"  said  Edward  Hale  in 
1854,  speaking  as  the  organ  of  the  Massachusetts  Emigrant 
Aid  Company,  which  Eli  Thayer,  Dr.  Howe,  Richard  Hil- 
dreth,  and  other  antislavery  men  of  Boston  and  Worcester 
had  joined  with  Mr.  Hale,  then  a  clergyman  of  Worcester, 
to  organize,  but  which  in  its  management  soon  fell  into  the 
hands  of  men  like  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  Judge  Chapman  of 
Springfield,  and  others  who  were  not  considered  fanatical 
against  slavery.  Mr.  Hale  further  said  : 1  — 

"  Meanwhile  a  rapid  emigration  has  been  going  on  into  the  Terri 
tories,  particularly  into  Kansas,  quite  independent  of  the  Emigrant 
Aid  Companies.  During  the  close  of  the  winter  of  1853-54,  it  is 
said,  large  numbers  of  persons  from  Northwestern  States  collected  in 
the  towns  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Missouri,  awaiting  the  opening  of 
the  Territories,  that  they  might  go  in  and  stake  out  their  locations.  As 
the  spring  opened,  a  rapid  current  of  emigration  began.  At  first  the 
Northern  settlers  went  generally  into  Nebraska  ;  but  so  soon  as  it  was 
known  that  determined  and  combined  arrangements  would  be  made  to 
settle  Kansas  from  the  North,  the  natural  attractions  of  that  Territory 
began  to  exercise  their  influence,  and  the  preponderance  of  emigration 

1  See  "Kansas  and  Nebraska,"  by  Edward  E.  Hale  (Boston  :  Phillips, 
Sampson,  &  Co.,  1854),  —a  very  useful  book  at  the  time.  The  passage 
cited  is  at  pp.  233,  234. 


164  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1854. 

through  the  summer  of  1854  has  been  into  its  borders.  The  Indian 
treaties  were  ratified  only  at  the  close  of  the  session  of  the  Senate ; 
some  of  them  not  till  the  beginning  of  August.  Settlement  on  the 
Indian  lands  was  therefore,  until  that  time,  strictly  illegal.  But  per 
sons  intending  to  emigrate,  in  many  instances,  made  arrangements 
with  the  Indians,  or,  at  the  least,  staked  off  the  land  on  which  they 
wished  to  settle,  and  made  registry  of  the  priority  of  their  claim 
on  the  books  of  some  l  Squatters'  Association.'  A  large  number  of 
the  residents  of  Western  Missouri  have  in  this  manner  passed  over 
the  line,  and  made  claim  to  such  sections  as  pleased  them,  intending, 
at  some  subsequent  period,  to  make  such  improvements  as  will  give 
them  a  right  of  pre-emption,  when  the  lauds  are  offered  for  sale,  but 
for  the  present  not  residing  in  the  new  Territory." 

Some  of  these  last-named  persons  were  actually  intending 
to  settle  in  Kansas  ;  but  most  of  them  were  either  land-specu 
lators  or  slavery-propagandists,  who  meant  to  make  Kansas 
a  slave  State,  whether  they  lived  there  or  not.  The  acting 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  David  R.  Atchison,  of 
Western  Missouri,  whose  name,  along  with  that  of  Presi 
dent  Pierce,  is  signed  to  the  Kansas-Nebraska  law  (May  30, 
1854),  five  months  afterwards  made  a  speech  in  the  county 
of  Platte,  in  which  he  said  :  — 

"  The  people  of  Kansas  in  their  first  elections  will  decide  the  ques 
tion  whether  or  not  slaveholders  are  to  be  excluded.  Now,  if  a  set 
of  fanatics  and  demagogues  a  thousand  miles  off  [meaning  Messrs. 
Lawrence,  Chapman,  John  Carter  Brown,  etc.]  can  afford  to  ad 
vance  their  money  and  exert  every  nerve  to  abolitionize  Kansas  and 
exclude  the  slaveholder,  what  is  your  duty,  when  you  reside  within 
one  day's  journey  of  the  Territory,  and  when  your  peace,  quiet,  and 
property  depend  on  your  action  ?  You  can,  without  an  exertion, 
send  five  hundred  of  your  young  men  who  will  vote  in  favor  of  your 
institutions.  Should  each  county  in  the  State  of  Missouri  only  do  its 
duty,  the  question  will  be  decided  quietly  and  peaceably  at  the 
ballot-box." 

This  was  the  advice  of  Yice-President  Atchison,  —  much 
of  the  same  character  as  if  Senator  Edmunds,  of  Vermont, 
who  has  honored  the  place  that  Atchison  disgraced,  should 
advise  the  citizens  of  Northern  Vermont  to  march  over  into 
Canada  and  vote  at  the  elections  there.  A  Vermonter  has 
now  as  much  right  to  vote  in  Sherbrooke  or  Montreal  as  a 


1855.]  KANSAS  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  165 

Missourian  in  1854  had  to  vote  in  Leavenworth  or  Law 
rence  ;  and  this  was  practically  admitted  by  a  confederate 
of  Atchison,  General  Stringfellow,  of  Missouri,  who  said 

in  1855  :  — 

\ 

"  To  those  who  have  qualms  of  COB  science  as  to  violating  laws, 
State  or  national,  I  say  the  time  has  come  when  such  impositions 
must  be  disregarded,  since  your  rights  and  property  are  in  danger. 
And  I  advise  you,  one  and  all,  to  enter  every  election  district  in 
Kansas  in  defiance  of  Reeder  and  his  vile  myrmidons,  and  vote  at 
the  point  of  the  bowie-knife  and  revolver.  Neither  give  nor  take 
quarter :  our  cause  demands  it.  It  is  enough  that  the  slaveholding 
interest  wills  it,  from  which  there  is  no  appeal." 

They  acted  on  this  advice,  as  appears  by  another  speech 
of  Atchison  after  the  first  invasion  :  — 

lt  Well,  what  next?  Why,  an  election  for  members  of  the  Legis 
lature  to  organize  the  Territory  must  be  held.  What  did  I  advise 
you  to  do  then?  Why,  meet  them  on  their  own  ground,  and  beat 
them  at  their  own  game  again ;  and,  cold  and  inclement  as  the 
weather  was,  I  went  over  with  a  company  of  men.  My  object  in 
going  was  not  to  vote.  I  had  no  right  to  vote,  unless  I  had  dis 
franchised  myself  in  Missouri.  I  was  not  within  two  miles  of  a 
voting  place.  My  object  in  going  was  not  to  vote,  but  to  settle  a 
difficulty  between  two  of  our  candidates.  The  Abolitionists  of  the 
North  said,  and  published  it  abroad,  that  Atehison  was  there  with 
bowie-knife  and  revolver,  —  and,  by  God,  '£  was  true  !  I  never  did 
go  into  that  Territory,  I  never  intend  to  go  into  that  Territory, 
without  being  prepared  for  all  such  kind  of  cattle." 

The  whole  South,  and  particularly  South  Carolina,  Geor 
gia,  and  Alabama,  were  urged  to  send  men  into  Kansas,  as 
Atchison  and  Stringfellow  urged  the  Missourians  to  go  in,  — 
law  or  no  law,  —  to  secure  the  triumph  of  slavery.  String- 
fe^llow  wrote  to  the  "  Montgomery  Advertiser  "  (published 
at  the  town  in  Alabama  where  the  Southern  Confederacy 
first  established  its  seat  of  government  in  1861)  :  "  Not 
only  is  it  profitable  for  slaveholders  to  go  to  Kansas,  but 
politically  it  is  all-important.'7  A  South  Carolina  youth, 
Warren  Wilkes  by  name,  who  commanded  for  a  while  an 
armed  force  of  Carolina  and  Georgia  settlers  in  Kansas, 


166  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

wrote   to   the   "Charleston   Mercury,"  of   South  Carolina, 
in  the  spring  of  1856  :  — 

11  By  consent  of  parties,  the  present  contest  in  Kansas  is  made  the 
turning-point  in  the  destinies  of  slavery  and  abolitionism.  If  the 
South  triumphs,  abolitionism  will  be  defeated  and  shorn  of  its  power 
for  all  time.  If  she  is  defeated,  abolitionism  will  grow  more  insolent 
and  aggressive,  until  the  utter  ruin  of  the  South  is  consummated.  If 
the  South  secures  Kansas,  she  will  extend  slavery  into  all  territory 
south  of  the  fortieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  to  the  Rio  Grande ; 
and  this,  of  course,  will  secure  for  her  pent-up  institution  of  slavery 
an  ample  outlet,  and  restore  her  power  in  Congress.  If  the  North 
secures  Kansas,  the  power  of  the  South  in  Congress  will  be  gradually 
diminished,  and  the  slave  population  will  become  valueless.  All 
depends  upon  the  action  of  the  present  moment." 

To  this  reasoning  men  like  John  Brown  assented,  and 
were  ready  to  join  issue  for  the  control  of  Kansas  upon  this 
ground  alone.  But  Brown  had  another  and  quite  different 
object  in  view  ;  he  meant  to  attack  slavery  by  force,  in  the 
States  themselves,  and  to  destroy  it,  as  it  was  finally  de 
stroyed,  by  the  weapons  and  influences  of  war. 

What,  then,  was  the  slavery  which  South  Carolina  wished 
to  establish  in  Kansas  and  all  over  the  North,  and  upon 
what  grounds  was  it  advocated  ?  It  is  hard,  at  this  distance 
of  time  and  in  the  complete  change  of  circumstances  that 
the  Civil  War  has  produced,  to  show  another  person  or  make 
real  to  one's  self  the  despotism  which  a  few  slaveholders  ex 
ercised  in  1856  over  the  rest  of  mankind  in  this  country. 
Though  a  meagre  minority  in  their  own  South,  they  abso 
lutely  controlled  there  not  only  four  millions  of  slaves,  but 
six  millions  of  white  people,  nominally  free,  while  they 
directed  the  policy  and  the  opinions  of  more  than  half  the 
free  people  of  the  non-slaveholding  States.  They  dictated 
the  nomination  and  secured  the  election  of  Pierce  and  after 
ward  of  Buchanan  as  President,  —  the  most  humble  ser 
vants  of  the  slave-power  who  ever  held  that  office  ;  they  had 
not  only  refused  to  terminate  the  slave-trade  (as  by  treaty 
we  were  bound  to  assist  in  doing),  but  they  had  induced  the 
importation  of  a  few  cargoes  of  slaves  into  Carolina  and 
Georgia ;  they  had  not  only  broken  down  the  Missouri 


1857.]  KANSAS  AND   THE   CIVIL   WAR.  167 

Compromise  of  1820  (imposed  by  themselves  on  the  un 
willing  North),  but  had  done  their  best  to  extend  slavery 
over  the  new  Territories  of  the  nation,  and  to  legalize  its 
existence  in  all  the  free  States.  Through  the  mouth  of 
Chief-Justice  Taney,  who  simply  uttered  the  decrees  of  the 
slave-holding  oligarchy,  they  were  soon  to  make  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  nation  declare  virtually,  if  not  in  set  terms, 
that  four  million  Americans,  of  African  descent,  had  prac 
tically  "no  rights  which  a  white  man  was  bound  to  re 
spect  ;  "  and  they  were  exerting  themselves  in  advance  in 
every  way  to  give  effect  to  that  foregone  conclusion.  The 
Dred  Scott  decision  was  not  made  by  Taney  until  1857, 
when  it  led  at  once  to  the  execution  of  John  Brown's  long- 
cherished  purpose  of  striking  a  blow  at  slavery  in  its  own 
Virginian  stronghold.  That  decision  flashed  into  the  minds 
of  Northern  men  the  conviction  which  Brown  held  and  John 
Quincy  Adams  had  long  before  formulated  and  expressed,  — 
that  "  the  preservation,  propagation,  and  perpetuation  of 
slavery  was  the  vital  and  animating  spirit  of  the  National 
Government."  It  was  this  conviction  that  led  to  the  elec 
tion  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1860,  as  it  had  led  John  Brown 
and  his  small  band  of  followers  to  assert  freedom  by  force  in 
Kansas. 

At  the  time  when  the  young  South  Carolinian  wrote  the 
words  above-cited,  his  State  was  an  oligarchy  founded  upon 
negro  slavery,  and  its  State  Constitution  provided  that  a 
citizen  should  not  "  be  eligible  to  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  unless  legally  seized  and  possessed  in  his  own 
right  of  a  settled  freehold  estate  of  five  hundred  acres  of 
land  and  ten  negroes.'7  A  few  years  earlier,  Chancellor 
Harper,  of  South  Carolina,  in  an  address  before  a  Society 
for  the  Advancement  of  Learning,  at  Charleston,  made 
these  statements,  which  were  cited  by  J.  B.  De  Bow,  a  Lou- 
jsiana  writer,  in  1852  :  — 

"  The  institution  of  slavery  is  a  principal  cause  of  civilization.  It 
is  as  much  the  order  of  nature  that  men  should  enslave  each  other  as 
that  other  animals  should  prey  upon  each  other.  The  African  slave- 
trade  has  given  the  boon  of  existence  to  millions  and  millions  in  our 
country  who  would  otherwise  never  have  enjoyed  it.  It  is  true  that 
the  slave  is  driven  to  his  labor  by  stripes.  Such  punishment  would 


168  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1852. 

be  degrading  to  a  free  man,  who  had  the  thoughts  and  aspirations  of 
a  freeman.  In  general,  it  is  not  degrading  to  a  slave,  nor  is  it  felt  to 
be  so.  Odium  has  been  cast  upoii  our  legislation,  on  account  of  its 
forbidding  the  elements  of  education  to  be  communicated  to  slaves. 
But,  in  truth,  what  injury  is  done  them  by  this  ?  He  who  works 
during  the  day  with  his  hands  does  not  read  in  intervals  of  leisure  for 
his  amusement  or  the  improvement  of  his  mind.  A  knowledge  of 
reading,  writing,  and  the  elements  of  arithmetic  is  convenient  and 
important  to  the  free  laborer,  but  of  what  use  would  they  be  to  the 
slave  f  Would  you  do  a  benefit  to  the  horse  or  the  ox  by  giving  him  a 
cultivated  understanding  or  fine  feelings  ?  The  law  has  not  provided 
for  making  the  marriages  of  slaves  indissoluble,  nor  could  it  do  so 
il  may  perhaps  be  said  that  the  chastity  of  wives  is  not  protected  by 
law.  It  is  true  that  the  passions  of  the  men  of  the  superior  caste 
tempt  and  find  gratification  in  the  easy  chastity  of  the  female  slave. 
But  she  is  not  a  less  useful  member  of  society  than  before.  She  has 
done  no  great  injury  to  herself  or  any  other  human  being ;  her  off 
spring  is  not  a  burden,  but  an  acquisition  to  her  owner  ;  his  support,  is 
provided  for,  and  he  is  brought  up  to  usefulness.  If  the  fruit  of  in 
tercourse  with  a  free  man,  his  condition  is  perhaps  raised  somewhat 
above  that  of  his  mother.  I  am  asked,  How  can  that  institution  be 
tolerable,  by  which  a  large  class  of  society  is  cut  off  from  improve 
ment  and  knowledge,  to  whom  blows  are  not  degrading,  theft  no 
more  than  a  fault,  falsehood  and  the  want  of  chastity  almost  venial ; 
and  in  which  a  husband  or  parent  looks  with  comparative  indifference 
on  that  which  to  a  freeman  would  be  the  dishonor  of  wife  or  child  ? 
Sut  u'hy  not,  if  it  produce  the  greatest  aggregate  of  good  ?  Sin  and 
ignorance  are  only  evil  because  they  lead  to  misery." 


Except  for  these  utterances  of  shame  and  guilt,  the  name 
of  Chancellor  Harper  is  now  forgotten.  But  the  name  of 
JEFFERSON  remains  in  honor,  and  rises  higher  with  each 
succeeding  year  which,  by  the  lapse  of  time,  converts  him 
from  a  statesman  into  a  prophet.  A  hundred  years  ago 
(May  10,  1785),  the  printers  in  Paris  finished  Jefferson's 
"  Notes  on  Virginia,"  which  he  at  once  sent  to  his  most  inti 
mate  friends  and  disciples  in  America,  Madison  and  Monroe, 
who  afterwards  succeeded  him  in  the  Presidency.  In  trans 
mitting  the  little  book,  he  wrote  to  Madison  :  "  I  wish  to 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  the  young  men  at  the  college,  as 
well  on  account  of  the  political  as  physical  parts  ;  but  there 
are  sentiments  on  some  subjects  which  might  be  displeasing 


1782.]  KANSAS   AND  THE   CIVIL  WAR.  169 

to  the  country,  perhaps  to  the  Assembly,  or  to  some  who  lead 
it.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  exposed  to  their  censure,  nor  do  I 
know  how  far  their  influence,  if  exerted,  might  effect  a  mis 
application  of  law  to  such  a  publication,  were  it  made.  If  you 
think  it  will  give  no  offence,  I  will  send  a  copy  to  each  of 
the  students  of  William  and  Mary  College,  and  some  others 
to  my  friends  and  to  your  disposal."  *  Being  informed  that 
he  might  send  them  to  his  Virginia  friends  without  risk 
of  censure,  Jefferson  did  so.  The  eighteenth  chapter,  or 
"  Query,"  contains  these  often-quoted  words,  written  at 
Monticello  in  1782  :  — 

"  There  must  doubtless  be  an  unhappy  influence  on  the  manners 
of  our  people  produced  by  the  existence  of  slavery  among  us.  The 
whole  commerce  between  master  and  slave  is  a  perpetual  exercise  of 
the  most  boisterous  passions,  the  most  unremitting  despotism,  on  the 
one  part,  and  degrading  submissions  on  the  other.  Our  children  see 
this,  and  learn  to  imitate  it;  for  man  is  an  imitative  animal.  If  a 
parent  could  find  no  motive,  either  in  his  philanthropy  or  his  self-love, 
for  restraining  the  intemperance  of  passion  towards  his  slave,  it  should 
always  be  a  sufficient  one  that  his  child  is  present.  But  generally  it 
is  not  sufficient.  The  parent  storms;  the  child  looks  on,  catches  the 
lineaments  of  wrath,  puts  on  the  same  airs  in  the  circle  of  smaller 
slaves,  gives  a  loose  rein  to  his  worst  passions,  and  thus  nursed, 
educated,  and  daily  exercised  in  tyranny,  cannot  but  be  stamped  by 
it  with  odious  peculiarities.  The  man  must  be  a  prodigy  who  can 
retain  his  manners  and  morals  nndepraved  by  such  circumstances. 
And  with  what  execration  should  that  statesman  be  loaded  who,  per- . 
mitting  one  half  the  citizens  to  trample  on  the  rights  of  the  other, 
transforms  those  into  despots  and  these  into  enemies,  destroys  the 
morals  of  the  one  part  and  the  amor  patrice  of  the  other?  For  if  a 

1  It  appears  hy  a  letter  from  Monroe  to  Jefferson  (New  York,  Jan.  19, 
1786),  that  it  was  what  he  had  said  of  the  Indians  of  Virginia,  rather  than 
his  attack  upon  negro  slavery,  which  Jefferson  feared  might  not  be  well  re 
ceived  in  his  native  State,  — he  loved  to  call  it  his  "country."  Monroe 
thanks  Jefferson  for  the  book,  "which  I  have  read  with  pleasure  and  im 
provement,"  and  then  says  :  "  I  should  suppose  the  observations  you  have 
made  on  the  subjects  you  allude  to  would  have  a  very  favorable  effect,  since 
no  considerations  would  induce  them  but  a  love  for  the  rights  of  Indians  and 
for  your  country"  It  would  seem  that  the  passage  concerning  slavery  gave 
no  offence,  but  the  eloquent  speech  of  Logan  did  ;  and  in  1797,  while  Jef 
ferson  was  Vice-President,  he  felt  compelled  to  give  chapter  and  verse  for 
the  incidents  of  that  world-famous  affair  of  Logan  and  Cresap. 


170  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1782. 

slave  can  have  a  country  in  this  world,  it  must  be  any  other  in  pref 
erence  to  that  in  which  he  is  born  to  live  aud  labor  for  another  j  in 
which  he  must  lock  up  the  faculties  of  his  nature,  contribute,  as  far 
as  depends  on  his  individual  endeavors,  to  the  evanishment  of  the 
human  race,  or  entail  his  own  miserable  condition  on  the  endless 
generations  proceeding  from  him.1  With  the  morals  of  the  people 
their  industry  is  also  destroyed ;  for  in  a  warm  climate  no  man  will 
labor  for  himself  who  can  make  another  labor  for  him.  This  is  so 
true,  that  of  the  proprietors  of  slaves  a  very  small  proportion  indeed 
are  ever  seen  to  labor.  And  can  the  liberties  of  a  nation  be  deemed 
secure  when  we  have  removed  their  only  firm  basis,  —  a  conviction 
in  the  minds  of  the  people  that  these  liberties  are  the  gift  of  God, 
that  they  are  not  to  be  violated  without  his  wrath  ?  Indeed,  I  trem 
ble  for  my  country  [Virginia]  when  I  reflect  that  God  is  just ;  that 
His  justice  cannot  sleep  forever ;  that  considering  numbers,  nature, 
and  natural  means  only,  a  revolution  of  the  wheel  of  fortune  is  among 
possible  events ;  that  it  may  become  probable  by  supernatural  inter 
ference.  The  Almighty  has  no  attribute  that  can  take  sides  with  us 
in  such  a  contest." 

After  this  generous  outburst  of  indignation  against  what 
he  saw  everywhere  about  him  in  Virginia,  Jefferson  added, 
with  that  wise  optimism  which  was  so  strong  a  feature  in 
his  character  :  "  I  think  a  change  already  perceptible  since 
the  origin  of  the  present  Eevolution.  The  spirit  of  the  mas 
ter  is  abating ;  that  of  the  slave  is  rising  from  the  dust,  his 
condition  is  mollifying ;  the  way,  I  hope,  preparing  under 
the  auspices  of  Heaven  for  a  total  emancipation ;  and  that 
this  is  disposed,  in  the  order  of  events,  to  be  with  the  consent 
of  the  masters  rather  than  by  their  extirpation"  This  pre 
diction  was  fulfilled  within  half  a  century  from  Jefferson's 
death,  though  not  in  the  way  he  had  conceived,  and  not  with 
out  that  manifestation  of  God's  awakened  justice,  at  the 
thought  of  which  the  true  Virginian  trembled  for  Virginia. 
Kansas,  a  part  of  the  vast  region  which  Jefferson  had  wrested 
from  Spain  and  France  and  devoted  to  liberty,  was  to  be  the 
first  theatre  of  God's  judgments  ;  and  John  Brown,  Jeffer- 

1  Sole  estate  his  sire  bequeathed 
(Hapless  sire  to  hapless  son), 
Was  the  wailing  song  he  breathed, 
And  his  chain  when  life  was  done. 

EMERSON,  Voluntaries. 


1854.]  KANSAS  AND  THE  CIVIL  WAR.  171 

son's  most  radical  disciple,  who  went  even  beyond  his  master 
in  devotion  to  freedom,  was  that  servant  of  the  Lord  who 
most  clearly  comprehended  and  fulfilled  the  divine  purpose, 
whether  in  Kansas  or  Virginia.  Jhis  the  heart  of  the  people 
instinctively  recognized  from  the  first,  and  to  this  even  his 
enemies  have  borne  witness.  One  of  the  most  garrulous  of 
these  enemies  (though  formerly  professing  to  be  Brown's 
friend),  Charles  Eobinson  of  Kansas,  wrote  thus  to  a  true 
friend  of  Brown,  James  Hanway,  in  February,  1878,  con 
cerning  one  of  the  Kansas  hero's  most  debated  deeds :  "  I 
never  had  much  doubt  that  Captain  Brown  was  the  author 
of  the  blow  at  Pottawatomie,  for  the  reason  that  he  was 
the  only  man  who  comprehended  the  situation  and  saw  the 
absolute  necessity  of  some  such  Mow,  and  had  the  nerve  to 
strike  it" 

The  condition  of  affairs  in  Kansas  when  John  Brown 
appeared  there,  in  October,  1855,  had  become  such  that  no 
milder  measures  than  he  adopted  would  meet  the  exigency. 
The  advice  given  by  Atchisoii  and  the  leaders  of  the  slave 
oligarchy  all  over  the  South  had  been  followed,  and  had 
borne  fruit  accordingly.  The  first  of  many  Territorial  gov 
ernors  of  Kansas,  a  Pennsylvania  Democrat,  Andrew  H. 
Reeder  by  name,  reached  Leavenworth  in  October,  1854, 
and  established  his  office  temporarily  there.  He  ordered  an 
election  for  delegate  to  Congress,  Nov.  29,  1854,  at  which 
hundreds  of  Missourians  voted,  casting,  with  other  pro- 
slavery  men,  2,258  votes  for  Whitfield.  the  proslavery  can 
didate,  out  of  2,905  votes  thrown.  On  the  28th  of  February, 
1855,  a  census  of  the  voters  was  completed  by  Governor 
Reeder,  and  the  number  declared  to  be  2,905,  the  whole  num 
ber  of  inhabitants  in  eighteen  election  districts  being  then 
8,501.  The  most  important  election,  that  for  members  of 
the  Territorial  Legislature,  was  appointed  for  March  30, 
1855,  at  which  time  the  genuine  population  could  not  have 
exceeded  ten  thousand,  nor  could  there  have  been  more  than 
three  thousand  legal  voters  in  Kansas.  Yet  the  vote  actu 
ally  counted  was  6,307,  of  which  no  less  than  5,427  were  for 
the  proslavery  candidates.  Not  less  than  four  thousand  of 
these  were  fraudulent  votes.  A  writer,  whose  home  was  in 
Lawrence  at  the  time,  says  that  for  some  days  before 


172  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

the  election  crowds  of  men  began  to  assemble  at  certain 
rendezvous  on  the  border  counties  of  Missouri,  —  "  rough, 
brutal-looking  men,  of  most  nondescript  appearance,"  but  all 
wearing  the  proslavery  badge,  —  a  white  or  blue  ribbon. ' 
Many  Missourians  who  did  not  or  could  not  join  these  voting 
excursions  gave  money  or  provisions  or  lent  their  wagons  to 
help  on  the  expedition.  At  St.  Joseph,  near  the  Missouri 
border,  Stringfellow  made  the  speech  already  quoted,  in 
which  he  also  said,  according  to  the  "  Leavenworth  Herald/' 
a  proslavery  newspaper :  "  I  tell  you  to  mark  every  scoun 
drel  among  you  that  is  the  least  tainted  with  free-soilism  or 
abolitionism,  and  exterminate  him.  Neither  give  nor  take 

quarter  from  the  d d  rascals.     I  propose  to  mark  them 

in  this  house  and  on  the  present  occasion,  so  you  may  crush 
them  out."  This  phrase,  "  Neither  give  nor  take  quarter," 
became  the  watchword  of  the  Border  Kuffians,  as  these  in 
vaders  were  fitly  called.  Provisions  were  sent  before  these 
parties  ;  and  those  intended  for  use  at  Lawrence  were  stored 
in  the  house  of  one  Lykins,  for  whose  kinsman  a  county  had 
vbeen  named.  The  polls  were  also  opened  at  his  house.  Some 
of  these  Lawrence  voters  came  in  from  Missouri  the  even 
ing  before  election,  pitched  tents  near  Lawrence,  and  held  a 
meeting  that  night,  in  which  Colonel  Young,  of  Boone  County, 
Mo.,  declared  "  that  more  voters  were  here  than  would  be 
needed  to  carry  the  election,"  but  that  there  was  a  scarcity 
at  Tecumseh,  Bloomington,  Hickory  Point,  and  other  places 
eight,  ten,  and  twelve  miles  distant.  Volunteers  came  for 
ward  for  those  elections,  and  the  next  morning  left  Lawrence 
to  vote  there.  The  village  of  Lawrence,  then  containing  a 
few  hundred  persons,  was  entered  March  30,  1855,  by  about 
a  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Young 
and  of  a  distinguished  Missourian,  Claiborne  F.  Jackson. 
They  came  in  about  a  hundred  wagons  and  on  horseback, 
with  music  and  banners ;.  armed  with  guns,  pistols,  rifles, 
and  bowie-knives.  They  brought  also  two  cannon  loaded 
with  musket  balls,  but  had  no  occasion  to  use  them,  for 
the  Lawrence  people  submitted  quietly  to  this  outrage. 
Colonel  Young  did  not  send  off  any  of  his  armed  volunteers 
to  other  points  until  he  was  satisfied,  as  he  said,  that  "  the 
citizens  of  Lawrence  were  not  going  to  offer  any  resistance 


1855.]  KANSAS  AND   THE   CIVIL   WAR.  173 

to  their  voting."  Mrs.  Charles  Bobinson,  who  published  a 
volume  about  Kansas  in  1856,  says,  what  is  confirmed  by 
the  testimony  taken  by  the  Congressional  Committee  of 
1856 : l  - 

"  When  this  band  of  men  were  coming  to  Lawrence,  they  met  Mr. 
N.  B.  Blanton,  formerly  of  Missouri,  who  had  been  appointed  one  of 
the  judges  of  election  by  Governor  Reeder.  Upon  his  saying  that  he 
should  feel  bound,  in  executing  the  duties  of  his  office,  to  demand  the 
oath  as  to  residence  in  the  Territory,  they  attempted,  by  bribes  first, 
and  then  with  threats  of  hanging,  to  induce  him  to  receive  their  votes 
without  the  oath.  Mr.  Blanton  not  appearing  on  the  election  day, 
a  new  judge,  by  name  Robert  A.  Cummins,  who  claimed  that  a  man 
had  a  right  to  vote  if  he  had  been  in  the  Territory  but  an  hour,  was 
appointed  in  his  place.  The  Missourians  came  to  the  polls  from  the 
second  ravine  west  of  the  town,  where  they  were  encamped  in  tents, 
in  parties  of  one  hundred  at  a  time.  Before  the  voting  commenced, 
however,  they  said  that  '  if  the  judges  appointed  by  the  governor  did 
not  allow  them  to  vote,  they  would  appoint  judges  who  would.' 
They  did  so  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Abbott,  one  of  the  judges,  who  had 
become  indignant,  and  resigned.  The  immediate  occasion  was  Colo 
nel  Young's  refusing  to  take  the  oath  that  he  was  a  resident  of  Kan 
sas.  When  asked  by  Mr.  Abbott  l  if  he  intended  to  make  Kansas 
his  future  home,'  he  replied  that  '  it  was  none  of  his  business  j '  that 
'  if  he  was  a  resident  there,  he  should  ask  no  more.'  Colonel  Young 
then  mounted  on  the  window-sill,  telling  the  crowd  l  he  had  voted, 
and  they  could  do  the  same.'  He  told  the  judges  l  it  was  no  use 
swearing  them,  as  they  would  all  swear  as  he  had  done.'  The  other 
judges  deciding  to  receive  such  votes,  Mr.  Abbott  resigned." 

At  other  voting-places  the  judges  of  election  were  treated 
with  great  indignity,  and  particularly  at  Bloomington,  where 
an  "  old  soldier,"  John  A.  Wakefield,  was  one~  of  the  chief 
citizens.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the  judges  to  resign,  the  mob 
broke  in  the  windows  of  the  polling-place,  and,  presenting 
pistols  and  guns,  threatened  to  shoot  them.  A  voice  from 
the  outside  cried,  "  Do  not  shoot  them  ;  there  are  proslavery 
men- in  the  house  ! "  The  two  Free-State  judges  still  refusing 
to  allow  Missourians  to  vote,  one  Jones  led  on  a  party  with 
bowie-knives  drawn  and  pistols  cocked,  telling  the  judges 

1  Of  this  committee  John  Sherman,  now  Senator  from  Ohio,  was  a 
member. 


174  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1855. 

"  he  would  give  them  five  minutes  to  resign  or  die."  The 
five  minutes  passed  by.  Jones  said  he  "  would  give  another 
minute,  but  no  more."  The  proslavery  judge  snatched  up 
the  ballot-boxes,  and,  crying  out  "  Hurrah  for  Missouri ! " 
ran  into  the  crowd.  The  other  judges,  persuaded  by  their 
friends,  who  thought  them  in  imminent  peril,  passed  out, 
one  of  them  putting  the  poll-books  in  his  pocket.  The  Mis 
souri  mob  pursued  him,  took  the  books  away,  and  then 
turned  upon  Wakefield,  shouting,  "  Take  him,  dead  or 
alive  ! "  What  followed  may  be  given  in  Wakefield's  own 
words  :  — 

"  I  ran  into  the  house  and  told  Mr.  Ramsay  to  give  me  his  double- 
barrelled  shot-gun.  The  mob  rode  up,  and  I  should  think  a  dozen  or 
more  presented  their  pistols  at  me.  I  drew  up  the  gun  at  Jones,  the 
leader.  We  stood  that  way  perhaps  for  a  minute.  A  man  profess 
ing  to  be  my  friend  undertook  to  take  the  gun  from  me,  saying,  l  If 
you  shoot,  we  will  all  be  killed  :  we  can't  fight  this  army.'  My  reply 
was,  to  stand  off,  or  I  would  shoot  him  —  which  he  did.  Then  one 
of  my  friends  spoke  in  a  very  calm  manner  and  said,  '  Judge,  you 
had  better  surrender ;  we  cannot  fight  this  army  without  arms.'  I 
then  said  I  must  know  the  conditions ;  and  remarked  to  the  mob, 
1  Gentlemen,  what  do  you  want  with  me  ? '  Some  one  said,  l  We 
want  you  to  go  back  to  the  polls  and  state  whether  it  was  not  you 
that  persuaded  the  judges  to  take  away  the  poll-books.'  I  said  I 
could  easily  say  no,  for  I  could  not  get  in  hearing  of  the  judges  ;  but 
if  I  could  have,  I  should  have  done  it.  I  said  I  would  go  back,  but 
go  alone  ;  I  went  back,  and  got  upon  a  wagon  and  made  them  a 
short  speech.  I  told  them  I  was  an  old  soldier,  and  had  fought 
through  two  wars  for  the  rights  of  my  country,  and  I  thought  I  had 
a  privilege  there  that  day.  I  said  they  were  in  the  wrong,  —  that 
we  were  not  the  Abolitionists  they  represented  us  to  be,  but  were 
Free-State  men;  that  they  were  abusing  us  unjustly,  and  that  their 
acts  were  contrary  to  organic  law  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  A  man  cried  out,  while  I  was  speaking,  several  times, 
*  Shoot  him  !  he  's  too  saucy.'  When  I  got  through  and  got  down 
from  the  wagon,  a  man  came  up  and  told  me  he  wanted  to  tie  a  white 
ribbon  in  my  button-hole,  or  '  the  boys  would  kill  me.'  I  first  re 
fused  ;  but  he  insisted,  and  I  let  him  do  it ;  then  I  turned  round  and 
cut  it  out  with  my  knife.  I  then  made  an  attempt  to  leave,  when 
they  cried  out,  '  Stay  with  us  and  vote ;  we  don't  want  you  to  leave.' 
I  thanked  them,  but  told  them  they  could  have  it  to  themselves 
then,  I  should  leave  them;  and  I  went." 


1855.]  KANSAS  AND  THE   CIVIL  WAR.  175 

There  was  something  of  Falstaff  about  this  old  Judge 
Wakefield,  whose  house  was  afterward  burned  in  some  of 
the  raids  of  1856,  and  of  whom  many  anecdotes  are  told. 
But  neither  he  nor  the  other  brave  men  who  took  part  in 
this  election  could  do  much  against  an  invasion  from  Mis 
souri  in  such  overwhelming  numbers.  An  English  traveller, 
Mr.  Thomas  H.  Gladstone,  distantly  related  to  the  English 
premier,  who  visited  Kansas  in  1856,  and  has  written  a  book 
about  it,1  relates,  on  the  authority  of  others,  some  incidents 
of  this  fraudulent,  or  "  bogus/'  election  thus :  — 

"  A  Presbyterian  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Frederic  Starr,  who  was  an 
eye-witness  of  the  fraud  and  intimidation  practised  at  Leavenworth. 
City,  and  has  published  a  statement  of  this  and  preceding  events, 
describes  a  scene  by  no  means  rare  on  the  occasion  of  this  election. 
'  Some  four  days  later,'  he  writes,  '  I  was  on  my  horse  returning  from 
Platte  City  to  Weston,  when  four  wagons  came  along,  and  on  the 
bottoms  sat  six  men.  A  pole  about  five  feet  high  stuck  bolt  upright 
at  the  front  of  the  wagon  j  on  its  top  stuck  an  inverted  empty  whiskey- 
bottle  ,  across  the  stick  at  right  angles  was  tied  a  bowie-knife ;  a 
black  cambric  flag,  with  a  death's-head-and-bones  daubed  on  it  in 
white  paint,  and  a  long  streamer  of  beautiful  glossy  Missouri  hemp, 
floated  from  the  pole ;  there  was  a  revolver  lashed  across  the  pole, 
and  a  powder-horn  hanging  loosely  by  it.  They  bore  the  piratical 
symbols  of  Missouri  ruffians  returning  from  Kansas.'  " 

A  Missouri  newspaper  friendly  to  the  Border  Ruffians 
said,  soon  after  this  affair  :  — 

"  From  five  to  seven  thousand  men  started  from  Missouri  to  attend 
the  election ;  some  to  remove,  but  the  most  to  return  to  their  fami 
lies,  with  an  intention,  if  they  liked  the  Territory,  to  make  it  their 
permanent  abode  at  the  earliest  moment  practicable.  But  they  in 
tended  to  vote.  The  Missourians  were,  many  of  them,  Douglas 
County  men.  There  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  voters  from  this 
county,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  from  Howard,  one  hundred 
from  Cooper.  Indeed,  every  county  furnished  its  quota;  and  when 
they  set  out  it  looked  like  an  army.  They  were  armed ;  and  as  there 
were  no  houses  in  the  Territory,  they  carried  tents.  Their  mission 

1  The  Englishman  in  Kansas  ;  or,  Squatter  Life  and  Border  Warfare. 
By  T.  H.  Gladstone,  Esq.,  author  of  the  "Letters  from  Kansas"  in  the 
London  Times.  New  York  :  Miller  &  Co.,  1857.  The  book  has  328 
pages,  and  contains  a  clear  statement  of  the  Kansas  question. 


MI-K,  AND   LETTJCKH  OK  .JOHN   uitov. 


i    j,«.H..ililc    OIK;,         l,o   vole,  iiii<|   |,o  ill  i  vc.    down  ;-l;il.<    ,  foi    )ulun- 

llollK-..  All.l-l     l.llf    i'l«   '  -ll'.U,     i-.'.ml-    llfl.l-l-M     Inill'll'  '«J    of     UK-     VOI.I-J    |       I    ),|     ;l 

(..ini/ull"'     I...   Mi.    I.''  <  '!•  i    tOfl    Certain    if  il,  W;K-,    In      |nu  JIOM-    l.oi.ilify 
||,c    rli.-hon         II'    Mid    H'-'1    il    v\  .1  •,  .mil   lli;il.  Id'-   m.ij'.i  ily  inn    I.    «-;my 
tin-    i|;iy.        liill,   il,   i:-.   liol,   l.o   I.'-  ili-uii-il    |Ji;il,    lln;     liliccii    Innnlli-il,   <ij,j,i< 
In  itiliinj   Ili'tl    UK    i/ni  <  >  iin,     inn/Ill     nUi-iii/il    In    /;/«//     ///r    ti/mnl)  :<!,<,• 

i,,  conduct  ii'i'i  "//""/'/  /"'"  iii-niiun.  andunjuttt      ><«»<•  »»  //,.,, 

I,.,  I      bUnCk       "I    I»'»J>          I  I"  'I   '""     "    «/"'/,    //    "    lilinul  nil,  ,„!>!,,  I  in 
I  i,im  fill-   <>,,,    I  !,<•    infill-.    "I    ,(    :.<>,,  ,,,./,,    fH-n/ilr,    In    limit/    /am." 


Tin-  I,,  "i  .l.i  I  ii  M-  «  -I  in  -i-ii  in  Mi'1  in;uiii«T  ;i.l»«v<-  <  l«  •:-.«•  n  I,  «-il 
,i  ill,  m  ...  mile  "i  I  wo  of  Um  MiHHouri   l>onli;r,  at 

i  plod  .-.  .ii<-(  i  i.i  H-  8hawne«  Mlwion,  but  ipent  the  time  when 

l.lii-y  WQl'ti  mil,  in  :,'•  ..,!«.  n  ;il,  I,  In-  ,\li  '.nil  l,'.\vn  ol  \\'i-:.l,|)orL 
'I  'In  -y  nn  .«  :il,'-'l  MKjHl.  of  tllti  fn\V  FrfclJ-Htuto  Jlicin  IxTli  wlio 

wuro  doclurud  hy  Cjov«rnor  Rooder  (ilected;  \ml  ilx  BlOft 
dittitiguiihed  member  of  the  (Journal,  or  upper  houw-,  M;u-i  ,in 
F.  Con  way  (a  M:tryl;m<l  hiwyer,  who  afterward  repn  .,<  ni,«-.l 
i  I.  .1  .  in  Congreil),  r^Ni^iMid  IIJH  Heat  on  Hn-  vrnmi'l  i.li.«.i. 

UK:  vvliolc,  elect,  inn  w;r.  ill'-".il.  Governor  lic<-<|i-r  C;M-|  y  no 
lili'-<l  liol.li  h'.n  Ifl  .  Mutt  he  could  not  reOOgniie  tln-ir  l«-;-;i.lil,y 

"i  approve  their  iagiilation)  i»ut  lie  was  removed  hy  MM- 

ci'vicni,  I'M-  .nil-Hi,  1'ierce,  who  dared  not  n-.-.i  ,1,  UK-  <li<- 

l.il'-M    of   the    Slaveholder*  |    and    MID    "ho^UH"    Le^iiilalurt; 

prooeeded|  m  An-n  .1,  and  Beptenber,  isr*/*,  1,0  the  HIOMI,  <-x- 

ii'inc,  .ni'l   iiil.-iiiiouH  aetioii  in  Hitpport  of  nlavery.     A    rei 
olutiou  offered  by  J,  H.  Htringiellow  was  adopted  in  i  ! 
words  :  — 


//•    <  ',,!!„<  I/  <n,n  HI 

nn,/  Ilii-ii-ni,  Tli.il   il   i...  ll,«-    .Inly  ,,f  (he    protJa  vi-i  y  piirl.y,   l.lir   Union 
loving    in.  -ii    of  KllllHUM   '1'i-rrilory,  to    Know    l.ul.    one    JMMiHt,   Slitvci  y  ; 
iiinl  H,  .1   iiny  j.iirly  m.il.nr-,  <„   .,  1  1.  i,,|,l  m,-    i,,  nialu-,  Jiny  olli<  i   i     .nnl 

i".  ni.  i  in-  i,.  id  MM  an  ally  of  /iboliUonl  m  .m.i 


Tin-    ;ia,nn-    Sl.i  iiiL'f.-llow    (:tn    ;i,|)|irn|  ,ri;i  I..-I  y    n;.  m.-d  ),    in    a, 

letter  1.0  MIC.  u  Montgomery  A(iv.-iii,,.-r,"  \vroi,c:  a  \Vc  ii.-i.ve 

now   l;i\v;i    nmi-i-    cllirii-nl,    |.(,    pi  ,,|  .,  ,-|     .1.,  \  •,.  prnjii-rfy   l,li;m  ;i,ny 
:   bate    111     Mi<-     Union.        'I'lirii.-     l;iu   ,    I,  ,<  -,-     pi  .1     l.il.m     ,-H'.-c|, 

(Stpl    i    L855),  and  have  already  lilenoed  Abolitionists  ;  for 

in  apil.i-  ol  l.li'-n    II.-I.-I...I.HI-  DOMting,  thet€  Know  Miry  will  In- 


i.",,  I  KANSAS    AND    TIIM    CIVIL    \\.\\i.  177 

enforced   |,o  I,  he  very  Idler  ;in<l   \vil.li  I,  In-  nl.im  i::l.  riKor.11       Lei, 
ii       .re,  Him,   \vli:ii  l,he:;e  l:i.\v:;   \\en-,   which    John    I'.rovvn   ua:; 

even  Him  Journeying  towards  Kansai,  through  Ulinm.,  ami 

\l  i  IBOUrl|  I"  con  linn  I  ;m<l  nvei  throw.       Mr.  (  1  l:i.il::l.i»m-  ;;a\  ;;  <.l 
I,  In:;   M  i:;:;miri  horn    Li-)M:;l;il,iirr  : 


ill  haMte  l«>  five  a  code  of  hlVVM  !.«»  Km  .1  ,  lln-y  Man  ferred 
into  ;t  volume  of  more  than  a  thoimand  p..-.  the  --t.  .il<  i  (tail  ..I  ||I( 
laU'H  <.f  their  own  Stale,  :mh;-,l  il  ill  ing  llio  Wordfl  '  Twritory  of  Kan 

nan'  I'm-  'Siaic  of  MihHonri.'  In  protection  of  slavory  they  «naci<«l 
far  more  ri^oroiiM  IttWH  than  olituiu  in  Minnouri,  <»r  tliau  worn  over 
hefore  coiireivcd  of,  —  malting  it  a  felony  to  utter  a  word  a^uiiiHt  tlio 
in  i  ii  Hi  I'.n,  01  even  to  havo  in  POHHCHHIOII  a  boolc  or  paper  wlm-h 

dt  IIH  •,•<    the    ir-lil.    to    (told    .MlavcM    ill    KllllSilH.       It  will   he  ;,een  thill    for 

every  <fopy  of  a  Fnut-Stato  pap<'i'  which  a  pernon  tuiffht  innocenily 
jMiicha:  e,  lln-  law  Would  jllNtify  that  pei'Holl'H  comlt  mnalion  to  penal 
:••!  \ilnde  lor  I.WO  Ol*  fivd  yt'lU'W,  dragging  il  heavy  hall  ami  chain  al 
hi,s  ankle,  and  Inn  -I  out  for  lahoroiilhepiihlicio.nl  ..i  !<>i  the  ser 
vice  of  individual*  at  the  fixed  price  of  lili  \,  <  .  ni  /„  /  ,/n-in.  So  <-<.m 

prehen:ii\  e  did  lli«  -  h  •;•!.  -laloi:.  make  (hen  .  la\«-  code,  that  h\  ihe 
aiilhorily  they  lhii.'<^ave  I  JieniM  I  v  <  •:•.  I  hey  contain  a  V(M'y  hhort  time 
have  made  every  l''iee  Slate  man  a  chained  OODViOtj  Htandill^  hide,  by 
hide,  if  they  HO  pleawd,  with  their  nlaveH,  and  giving  yciiirn  of  forced 
lahor  for  ihe  hehool  of  (heir  pi'ohlavcry  frllow-cit  i/eiiM.  'I'lld  L(!^JH- 
lalille  proceeded  al:-o  to  elect  oIlicei'H  for  tilt*  Territory.  Kveil  tllO 
<  BOUtlve  •'Hid  judiciary  \\<ir  made  to  hold  ollic.e  f'l'olll  itH(df;  and  11 
hoard  of  commiMNioiier.M  choHen  hy  ihe  Le^'iNlat  lire,  iiiHttnid  of  tho  in- 
h.il.na.nl.H  them  el  •  ,  ,  \n  M  empoucrrd  to  appoint  tho  uhurHtH,  jiinin  • 

«.f  I  lie   peace,    con;.|alde;<,   and   all   olher  oIlicel'H    ill   tllO  VlU'ioiUi   c.-iinli. 

into  \\hich  Ihe  Territory  was  divided.  KvtM'y  ineUll)(U'  of  hiicceedin^ 
legi  lalnie.,  evtiy  jndj-e  of  eledioii,  t>V(M'y  VotOV,  lllU8t  HWea  I  l«>  lii 
lailhl'idneMM  on  the  le;-l  <|in-  ..lioiri  of  slavery.  I'lvery  olli<-er  in  the 
Terriloiy,  judicial,  execulive,  or  lev  i:-lal  i  \  e,  every  allorney  admitted 
to  practice  in  the  coml;,,  every  Jill  \mall  V\  e  i  '  •  h  1  1  1  •  •  (  -vidence  ..II  the. 
M'-lil  Of  la  '•  'holders,  IIIIIHt,  atle,st  IliH  HOlindlH'MM  III  Ihe  ilileieHt  of 
Ii  'iy,  and  hi:-  readme',  I,,  iodOTM  '''*  inoHt  repugnant  IIUMlHIirOS. 
l''oi  lmlii<i  ecniily  Ih.  i»<  N.IH  i  ,,|  Ihe  assembly  Hillnnitted  linn 
eiiacliiienl:!  l«.  the.  elm  -fjn  lice1  for  con  Ii  i  ma  I  loll.  Tllirt  judicial 

1  "Ilild  he  IK.  I.  the  (  :)il.  I  .III  I  |,  ,  ,  :,|,|  llml.,  Ill  lili  illl|ieiiclillienl  .,!' 
\\  .H  i.  1  1  I  l.i  I  in-  ,  "  I  lii  hilneil  and  dolne;.;  I  n  .il(  d  I  I,  1  1  I  .1  ic-.l  ire,  \\  In.  u  .ni'  d 
"ii  Inn,  like  ;i  Lniii  li;u  :;|.inl  i1  "  The  K;ur,;i;  diynil.ii',  ..I  tin-:  nione  nnd 
(million  v,;i  .  lie  ..I  whom  .luhn  lirown  oiic.e  ,-iiiid,  "In-  luid  //  />,//«f  i/<//if  to 
l)u  hung." 

u 


178  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1855. 

confirmation  was  gratefully  given.  All  they  had  done  was  declared 
legal ;  and  the  sheriffs  and  other  local  officers  appointed  by  the  Leg 
islature  were  equally  ready  with  their  aid  in  the  execution  of  these 
unjust  laws." 

To  show  that  our  English  visitor,  in  his  blunt  indignation 
at  the  iniquity  he  found  flagrant  in  Kansas,  has  exaggerated 
nothing,  let  me  cite  the  very  words  of  this  slave-code :  — 

CHAPTER  CLI.     Slaves.    An  Act  to  punish  Offences  against  Slave 

Property. 

SEC.  3.  If  any  free  person  shall,  l>y  speaking,  writing,  or  print 
ing,  advise,  persuade,  or  induce  any  slaves  to  rehel,  conspire  against, 
or  murder  any  citizen  of  this  Territory,  or  shall  hriug  into,  print,  write, 
puhlish,  or  circulate,  or  cause  to  he  brought  into,  printed,  written, 
published,  or  circulated,  or  shall  knoicingly  aid  or  assist  in  the  bring 
ing  into,  printing,  writing,  publishing,  or  circulating,  in  this  Terri 
tory  any  book,  pamphlet,  paper,  magazine,  or  circular,  for  the  purpose 
of  exciting  insurrection,  rebellion,  revolt,  or  conspiracy  on  the  part  of 
the  slaves,  free  negroes,  or  mulattoes,  against  the  citizens  of  the  Terri 
tory  or  any  part  of  them,  such  person  shall  be  guilty  of  felony,  and 
suffer  death. 

SEC.  4.  If  any  person  shall  entice,  decoy,  or  carry  away  out  of  this 
Territory  any  slave  belonging  to  another,  with  intent  to  deprive  the 
owner  thereof  of  the  services  of  such  slave,  or  with  intent  to  effect  or 
procure  the  freedom  of  such  slave,  he  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of 
grand  larceny,  and  on  conviction  thereof,  shall  suffer  death,  or  be 
imprisoned  at  hard  labor  for  not  less  than  ten  years. 

SEC.  5.  If  any  person  shall  aid  or  assist  in  enticing,  decoying, 
persuading,  or  carrying  away,  or  sending  out  of  this  Territory  any 
slave  belonging  to  another,  with  intent  to  effect  or  procure  the  free 
dom  of  such  slave,  or  with  intent  to  deprive  the  owner  thereof  of  the 
services  of  such  slave,  he  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of  grand  larceny, 
and  on  conviction  thereof  lie  shall  suffer  death,  or  be  imprisoned  at 
hard  labor  for  not  less  than  ten  years. 

SEC.  6.  If  any  person  shall  entice,  decoy,  or  carry  away  out  of 
any  State  or  other  Territory  of  the  United  States  any  slave  belonging 
to  another,  with  intent  to  procure  or  effect  the  freedom  of  such  slave, 
or  to  deprive  the  owners  thereof  of  the  services  of  such  slave,  and  shall 
bring  such  slave  into  this  Territory,  he  shall  be  adjudged  guilty  of 
grand  larceny,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  such  slave  had  been  enticed, 
decoyed,  or  carried  away  out  of  this  Territory ;  and  in  such  case  the 


1855.1 


KANSAS  AND  THE   CIVIL  WAR.  179 


larceny  may  be  charged  to  have  been  committed  in  any  county  of 
this  Territory  into  or  through  which  such  slave  shall  have  been 
brought  by  such  person;  and  on  conviction  thereof,  the  person  oft'end- 
ing  shall  suffer  death,  or  be  imprisoned  at  hard  labor  for  not  less  than 
ten  years. 

SEC.  9.  If  any  person  shall  resist  any  officer  while  attempting  to 
arrest  any  slave  that  may  have  escaped  from  the  service  of  his  master 
or  owner,  or  shall  rescue  such  slave  when  in  the  custody  of  any  officer 
or  other  person,  or  shall  entice,  persuade,  aid,  or  assist  such  slave 
from  the  custody  of  any  officer  or  other  person  who  may  have  such 
slave  in  custody,  whether  such  slave  have  escaped  from  the  service 
of  his  master  or  owner  in  this  Territory  or  in  any  other  State  or  Ter 
ritory,  the  person  so  offending  shall  be  guilty  of  felony,  and  punished 
by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for  a  term  not  less  than  two  years. 

SEC.  11.  If  any  person  print,  write,  introduce  into,  publish,  or 
circulate,  or  cause  to  be  brought  into,  printed,  written,  published,  or 
circulated,  or  shall  knowingly  aid  or  assist  in  bringing  into,  printing, 
publishing,  or  circulating  within  this  Territory  any  book,  paper, 
pamphlet,  magazine,  handbill,  or  circular  containing  any  statements, 
arguments,  opinions,  sentiment,  doctrine,  advice,  or  innuendo  calcu 
lated  to  produce  a  disorderly,  dangerous^  or  rebellious  disaffection 
among  the  slaves  of  this  Territory,  or  to  induce  such  slaves  to  escape 
from  the  service  of  their  masters,  or  resist  their  authority,  he  shall  be 
guilty  of  felony,  and  be  punished  by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for 
a  term  not  less  than  five  years. 

SEC.  12.  If  any  free  person,  by  speaking  or  by  writing,  assert  or 
maintain  that  persons  have  not  the  right  to  hold  slaves  in  this  Ter 
ritory,  or  shall  introduce  into  this  Territory,  print,  publish,  write, 
circulate,  or  cause  to  be  printed,  published,  written,  circulated,  or 
introduced  into  this  Territory,  any  book,  paper,  magazine,  pamphlet, 
or  circular  containing  any  denial  of  the  right  of  persons  to  hold  slaves 
in  this  Territory,  such  person  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  felony,  and 
punished  by  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  for  a  term  not  less  than 
two  years. 

SEC.  13.  No  person  who  is  conscientiously  opposed  to  holding 
slaves,  or  who  does  not  admit  the  right  to  hold  slaves  in  this  Ter 
ritory,  shall  sit  as  a  juror  on  the  trial  of  any  prosecution  for  any 
violation  of  any  of  the  sections  of  this  act. 

It  is  plain  at  a  glance,  that  Thomas  Jefferson,  through, 
whom  the  existence  of  Kansas  as  a  part  of  the  United  States 


180  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

was  made  possible,  and  who  wrote  the  first  charter  of  our 
national  existence,  the 'Declaration  of  Independence,  had  he 
been  living  in  Kansas  under  these  detestable  laws,  could  not 
have  held  office  nor  sat  on  a  jury  ;  nay,  he  would  have  been 
liable  to  punishment  as  a  felon,  certainly  under  section  eleven, 
and  probably  to  the  punishment  of  death  under  section  three. 
If  he  dreaded  in  1785  some  mild  "  misapplication  of  law  " 
which  would  have  prevented  the  circulation  of  his  "  Notes 
on  Virginia,"  what  would  he  have  said  in  1855  of  that  worse 
than  British  or  French  tyranny  which  punished  all  generous 
sentiments  in  favor  of  the  poor  slave  with  imprisonment 
and  with  death  ?  Yet  the  men  who  enacted  these  laws,  and 
the  baser  men  at  Washington  who  had  them  enforced  by  the 
national  courts  and  the  national  army,  were  the  professed 
followers  of  Jefferson,  and  one  of  them,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  bore  his  name.1 

Such  a  crisis  could  not  escape  the  eye  nor  fail  to  command 
the  presence  of  John  Brown.  The  disciple  of  Franklin  and 
Jefferson,  he  could  not  be  other  than  the  sworn  foeman  of 
Franklin  Pierce  and  Jefferson  Davis,  whom  God,  for  our 
sins,  had  allowed  to  be  set  in  authority  over  us  and  over 
Kansas.  He  went  far  beyond  Jefferson  and  Franklin,  those 
founders  of  American  democracy,  in  his  sternness  of  hostil 
ity  to  oppression.  Jefferson  had  said,  quoting  an  imaginary 
epitaph  on  Bradshaw  the  regicide,  "  Rebellion  to  tyrants  is 
obedience  to  God ;  "  and  the  spirit  of  that  maxim  had  sought 
expression  in  the  escutcheon  of  Virginia,  with  its  proud 
legend,  "  Sic  semper  tyrannis"  But  Brown  found  in  the 
tenets  of  Calvinism,  in  the  practice  of  his  Puritan  ancestors, 
and  in  the  oracles  of  the  Bible,  a  more  imperative  and  prac 
tical  duty  enjoined,  which  he  hastened  to  perform  at  Potta- 
watomie  and  elsewhere.  There  rang  in  his  ears  those  deep 
notes  of  "  the  ballad-singer  of  Calvinism  "  (as  Emerson  called 
Isaac  Watts)  chanting  in  Puritan  verse  the  avenging  justice 
of  the  Hebrew  Jehovah  :  — 


1  Jefferson  Davis  was  Secretary  of  "War  under  Franklin  Pierce  ;  but 
Franklin  and  Jefferson,  for  whom  they  were  named,  could  both  have  been 
shot  or  hanged  in  Kansas  under  their  administration,  if  then  living  and 
maintaining  the  doctrines  which  gave  them  renown. 


1856.]  KANSAS  AND  THE   CIVIL   WAR.  181 

"  Judges  who  rule  the  world  by  laws, 
Will  ye  despise  the  righteous  cause, 
When  tli'  injured  poor  before  you  stands  ? 
Dare  ye  condemn  the  righteous  poor, 
And  let  rich  sinners  'scape  secure, 
While  gold  and  greatness  bribe  your  hands  ? 

"Have  ye  forgot,  or  never  knew, 
That  God  will  judge  the  judges  too  ? 
High  in  the  heavens  his  justice  reigns  ; 
Yet  you  invade  the  rights  of  God, 
And  send  your  bold  decrees  abroad 
To  bind  the  conscience  in  your  chains. 

"  Break  out  their  teeth,  eternal  God  !  — 
Those  teeth  of  lions  dyed  in  blood,  — • 
And  crush  the  serpents  in  the  dust  ! 
As  empty  chaff,  when  whirlwinds  rise, 
Before  the  sweeping  tempest  flies, 
So  let  their  hopes  and  names  be  lost. 

"  Thus  shall  the  justice  of  the  Lord 
Freedom  and  peace  to  men  afford  ; 
And  all  that  hear  shall  join  and  say, 
'  Sure  there  's  a  God  that  rules  on  high, 
A  God  that  hears  his  children  cry, 
And  all  their  sufferings  will  repay.'  " 

Until  Brown  arrived  on  the  scene  in  Kansas,  few  blows 
had  been  struck  in  the  Lord's  cause.  Mr.  Gladstone,  who 
reached  Kansas  City  May  22,  1856,  at  the  very  moment 
when  Brown  heard  of  the  burning  of  Lawrence,  says  :  — 

u  Among  all  the  scenes  of  violence  I  witnessed  it  is  remarkable 
that  the  offending  parties  were  invariably  on  the  proslavery  side. 
The  Free-State  men  appeared  to  me  to  be  intimidated  and  overawed 
in  consequence,  not  merely  of  the  determination  and  defiant  boldness 
of  their  opponents,  but  still  more  through  the  sanction  given  to  these 
acts  by  the  Government." 

He  was  deeply  impressed  with  the  wild  and  fierce  aspect 
of  the  Border  Ruffians,  as  he  first  saw  them.  He  says  :  — 

"  It  was  on  the  night  of  May  22,  1856,  that  I  first  came  in  contact 
with  the  Missourian  patriots.  I  had  just  arrived  in  Kansas  City,  and 
shall  never  forget  the  appearance  of  the  lawless  mob  that  poured  into 
the  place,  inflamed  with  drink,  glutted  with  the  indulgence  of  the 


182  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856 

vilest  passions,  displaying  with  loud  boasts  the  '  plunder '  they  had 
taken  from  the  inhabitants,  and  thirsting  for  the  opportunity  of  re 
peating  the  sack  of  Lawrence  on  some  other  offending  place.  Men, 
for  the  most  part  of  large  frame,  with  red  flannel  shirts  and  immense 
boots  worn  outside  their  trousers,  their  faces  unwashed  and  unshaven, 
still  reeking  with  the  dust  and  smoke  of  Lawrence,  wearing  their 
most  savage  looks,  and  giving  utterance  to  the  most  horrible  impre 
cations  and  blasphemies ;  armed,  moreover,  to  the  teeth  with  riiies 
and  revolvers,  cutlasses,  and  bowie-knives,  —  such  were  the  men  I 
saw  around  me.  Some  displayed  a  grotesque  intermixture  in  their 
dress,  having  crossed  their  native  red  rough  shirt  with  the  satin  vest 
or  narrow  dress-coat,  pillaged  from  some  Lawrence  Yankee,  or  having 
girded  themselves  with  the  cords  and  tassels  which  the  day  before  had 
adorned  the  curtains  of  the  Free-State  Hotel.  Looking  around  at  these 
groups  of  drunken,  bellowing,  blood-thirsty  demons,  who  crowded 
around  the  bar  of  the  hotel,  shouting  for  drink,  or  vented  their  furious 
noise  on  the  levee  outside,  I  felt  that  all  my  former  experiences  of 
Border  men  and  Missourians  bore  faint  comparison  with  the  spectacle 
presented  by  this  wretched  crew,  who  appeared  only  the  more  terrify 
ing  from  the  darkness  of  the  surrounding  night.  The  hotel  in  Kan 
sas  City,  where  we  were,  was  the  next,  they  said,  that  should  fall,  — 
the  attack  was  being  planned  that  night ;  and  such,  they  declared, 
should  be  the  end  of  every  place  which  was  built  by  Free-State  men, 
or  harbored  '  those  rascally  Abolitionists.'  Happily,  this  threat  was 
not  fulfilled." 

Nor  was  the  astonished  Englishman  left  in  any  doubt 
what  all  this  meant.  He  had  visited  New  York,  Washing 
ton,  and  most  of  the  Southern  States  before  going  to  Kansas, 
and  went  there  from  Mississippi.  He  says :  "  When  in  South 
Carolina  and  other  Southern  States,  I  witnessed  extraordi 
nary  meetings,  presided  over  by  men  of  influence,  at  which 
addresses  of  almost  incredible  violence  were  delivered  on 
the  necessity  of  '  forcing  slavery  into  Kansas,'  of  '  spreading 
the  beneficent  influence  of  Southern  institutions  over  the 
new  Territories,'  of  driving  back  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet 
the  nigger-stealing  scum  poured  down  by  Northern  fanati 
cism."  He  knew  what  was  the  temper  of  Pierce,  Gushing, 
Davis,  Mason,  and  Toombs  at  Washington ;  and  he  had  not 
learned,  as  many  of  his  countrymen  did  a  few  years  later, 
to  identify  the  oligarchy  of  slavery  with  the  aristocracy  of 
Europe,  and  to  exult  in  the  anticipated  downfall  of  demo- 
cratic  freedom  in  America. 


1859.J  KANSAS  AND  THE   CIVIL   WAR.  183 

Long  before  Mr.  Gladstone's  arrival  in  Kansas,  the  real 
inhabitants  of  that  Territory  had  declared  their  purpose  to 
resist  the  "  bogus  "  laws  of  the  usurping  Legislature.  At  a 
convention  held  in  "  Big  Springs,"  Sept.  5,  1855,  General 
Lane  and  ex-Governor  Reeder  had  each  brought  forward  res 
olutions,  somewhat  inconsistent  with  each  other,  but  which 
the  convention  adopted.  Those  written  by  Reeder,  which  the 
Kansas  people  afterward  fully  confirmed  by  their  action, 
contained  these  declarations  :  "  We  owe  no  allegiance  or 
obedience  to  the  tyrannical  enactments  of  this  spurious 
Legislature ;  their  laws  have  no  binding  force  upon  the  peo 
ple  of  Kansas,  and  every  freeman  among  us  is  at  full  liberty 
(consistent  with  all  his  obligations  as  a  citizen  and  a  man) 
to  resist  them  if  he  chooses  so  to  do.  We  will  endure  and 
submit  to  these  laws  no  longer  than  the  best  interests  of 
the  Territory  require  as  the  least  of  two  evils,  and  will  .re 
sist  them  to  a  bloody  issue  so  soon  as  we  ascertain  that 
peaceable  remedies  shall  fail,  and  forcible  resistance  shall 
furnish  any  reasonable  prospect  of  success.  In  the  mean 
time  we  recommend  to  our  friends  throughout  the  Territory 
the  organization  and  discipline  of  volunteer  companies,  and 
the  procurement  and  preparation  of  arms.'7  Upon  this  plat 
form  John  Brown  (who  was  not  in  Kansas  when  it  was 
adopted,  although  four  of  his  sons  were)  consistently  acted 
from  1855  to  1859,  when  he  finally  left  the  Territory  with 
a  party  of  rescued  slaves  whom  he  carried  to  Canada  early  in 
1859,  in  utter  defiance  of  the  Kansas  laws  and  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  of  Senator  Mason.  What  his  course  had  been  in 
the  mean  time  will  be  seen  in  the  following  chapters.  The 
contest  in  Kansas  went  forward,  with  many  changes  and  re 
verses,  in  those  four  years  ;  and  towards  the  close  of  1859, 
just  before  Brown's  death,  the  other  great  martyr  of  eman 
cipation,  Abraham  Lincoln,  came  for  a  few  days  to  look 
upon  the  scene  of  conflict.  Mr.  Wilder,  the  Kansas  his 
torian,  speaking  at  Wathena,  in  Doniphan  County,  July  4, 
1884,  said  :  - 

11  The  greatest  man  who  ever  set  foot  in  this  township  arrived  here 
on  the  first  day  of  December,  1859,  —  a  warm  and  beautiful  day.  The 
late  Judge  Delahay  and  I  met  him  at  the  depot  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo., 


184  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

that  day,  and  rode  up  town  with  him  j  took  him  to  a  barber's  shop  on 
Francis  Street,' just  east  of  the  Planter's  House,  where  there  is  now  a 
planiiig-mill  j  and  I  went  up  to  Woolworth's  news-stand,  in  the  next 
block,  and  bought  him  the  latest  papers.  Then  the  three  went  down 
to  the  ferry  lauding,  near  the  old  Robidoux  building,  and  sat  down  in 
the  dirt,  on  the  bank,  waiting  for  Captain  Blackiston's  boat.  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  talk,  sitting  on  that  bank,  was  of  Douglas  and  Colonel  Thomas 
L.  Harris,  the  famous  Illinois  Congressman.  Mr.  Lincoln  always 
spoke  kindly,  almost  tenderly,  of  his  political  opponents.  On  some 
occasion  I  asked  him  about  John  Calhoun,  the  first  surveyor-general 
of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  the  president  of  the  Lecompton  Constitu 
tional  Convention,  and  probably  the  ablest  Democratic  manager  we 
have  ever  had  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  of  Calhoun  in  terms 
of  the  highest  esteem,  and  with  affection.  Mr.  Calhoun  had  given 
him  a  surveying  job  when  he  was  poor,  needy,  unknown ;  and  the 
great  and  good  man  had  never  forgotten  it.  Calhoun  did  his  best  — 
and  that  was  much  —  to  plant  slavery  in  Kansas,  but  he  was  not  the 
monster  that  our  papers  and  speeches  pictured  him.  By  the  way, 
Mr.  Lincoln  made  Mark  Delahay  Surveyor-General,  and  when  Dela- 
hay  resigned,  gave  the  place  to  me  without  my  asking  for  it.  Mr. 
Lincoln  made  a  speech  that  evening  at  the  Great  Western  Hotel,  in  the 
dining-room,  —  a  very, great  speech,  —  to  an  audience  called  together 
by  a  man  who  went  through  the  town  sounding  a  gong.  The  next 
day,  December  2d,  the  day  on  which  John  Brown  was  hanged,  he 
spoke  at  Troy ;  and  I  think  Colonel  Ege  replied  to  him,  and  fully 
vanquished  the  future  President.  He  also  spoke  in  Asahel  Low's 
hotel  in  Doniphan ;  and  that  completes  the  great  man's  connection 
with  this  county." 

The  audiences  in  Kansas,  even  on  the  threshold  of  civil 
war,  could  not  recognize  the  full  greatness  of  the  plain,  awk 
ward  Illinois  lawyer  who  was  to  lead  his  people  like  a  true 
shepherd  through  dark  and  bloody  ways.  The  qualities  of 
John  Brown  were  more  obvious,  and  they  attracted  more 
attention  in  Kansas  ;  yet  it  was  only  here  and  there  that  his 
real  rank  was  seen  and  appreciated,  and  by  a  singular  in 
gratitude  it  is  in  Kansas  that  his  most  malicious  enemies 
are  now  found.  Their  malice  cannot  harm  his  renown  ;  he 
is  as  much  above  their  reach  now  as  he  was  above  their 
comprehension  while  he  fought  in  their  cause,  and  traversed 
their  prairies  to  make  them  glorious.  "In  a  great  age," 
says  Cousin,  speaking  of  Pascal,  "everything  is  great." 


1859.]  KANSAS  AND  THE   CIVIL  WAR.  185 

John  Brown,  like  Abraham  Lincoln,  came  to  prominence  in 
an  age  by  no  means  grand  or  noble  ;  but  such  was  his  own 
heroic  character  that  he  conferred  importance  on  events  in 
themselves  trivial.  His  petty  conflicts  in  Kansas  and  the 
details  of  his  two  days'  campaign  in  Virginia  will  be  remem 
bered  when  a  hundred  battles  of  our  Civil  War  are  forgot 
ten.  He  was  one  of  ten  thousand,  and,  as  Thoreau  said, 
could  not  be  tried  by  a  jury  of  his  peers,  because  his  peers 
did  not  exist ;  yet  so  much  was  he  in  accord  with  what  is 
best  in  the  American  character,  that  he  will  stand  in  history 
for  one  type  of  our  people,  as  Franklin  and  Lincoln  do,  — 
only  with  a  difference.  He  embodied  the  distinctive  quali 
ties  of  the  Puritan,  but  with  a  strong  tincture  of  the  more 
humane  sentiments  of  later  times.  No  man  could  be  more 
sincere  in  his  faith  toward  God,  more  earnest  in  love  for  man ; 
his  belief  in  foreordination  was  absolute,  his  courage  not 
less.  The  emotion  of  fear  seemed  quite  unknown  to  him, 
except  in  the  form  of  diffidence,  —  if  that  were  not  rather  a 
sort  of  pride.  He  was  diffident  of  his  power  in  speech  or 
writing ;  yet  who,  of  all  his  countrymen,  has  uttered  more 
effective,  imperishable  words  ?  Part  of  the  service  he  ren 
dered  to  his  country  was  by  this  heroic  impersonation  of 
traits  that  all  mankind  recognize  as  noble.  The  cause  of 
the  poor  slave  had  need  of  all  the  charm  that  romantic 
courage  could  give  it ;  his  defenders  were  treated  with  the 
contempt  which  attached  to  himself.  They  were  looked 
upon  with  aversion  by  patriots  ;  they  were  odious  to  trade, 
distasteful  to  fashion  and  learning,  impious  in  the  sight  of 
the  Church.  At  the  stroke  of  Brown's  sword  all  this  was 
changed  :  the  cause  that  had  been  despised  suddenly  became 
hated,  feared,  and  respected  ;  and  out  of  this  new  fear  and 
hatred  our  national  safety  was  born. 

It  was  on  the  soil  of  Kansas  that  this  transformation  be 
gan,  though  it  was  not  completed  until  Brown's  desperate 
onset  and  valiant  death  in  Virginia.  In  Kansas  he  had  with 
him  the  hopes  and  the  support  of  millions,  to  whom  he  was 
then  the  defender  of  white  men's  rights  ;  in  Virginia  lie 
stood  almost  alone,  —  the  omen  arid  harbinger  of  that  na 
tional  calamity  which  was  to  avenge  the  black  man's  wrongs. 
But  in  his  devout  mind  the  two  causes  united,  as  they  were 


186  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

soon  seen  to  unite  in  the  event  of  the  Civil  War,  to 
which  the  course  and  the  result  of  the  Kansas  skirmish 
were  as  beacons  lighting  the  way,  and  warning  against  use 
less  concession.  0  navis  !  fortiter  occupa  portum,  was  the 
lesson  of  Kansas. 

NOTE.  —  On  page  162,  the  statement  that  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Act  left 
the  people  free  "at  each  election  to  determine  the  existence  of  slavery  for 
themselves  "  is  too  strong,  and  interprets  this  juggling  bill  of  Douglas  too 
favorably.  All  that  it  did  was  to  declare  that  the  Territory,  ' '  at  the  time 
of  its  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  State,  shall  be  received  with  or  without 
slavery,  as  its  Constitution  may  provide."  But  it  also  declared  the  right 
of  the  people  "  to  form  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions  in  their 
own  way,  subject  only  to  tlie  Constitution  of  the  United  States."  The  mis 
chief  in  this  clause  lay  in  the  fact  that  by  the  Dred  Scott  decision  the  Fed 
eral  Constitution  was  interpreted  to  hold  slavery  forever  in  a  Territory,  — 
as  Abraham  Lincoln  forcibly  showed  in  his  speech  at  Springfield,  111.,  June 
17,  1858,  saying,  "The  second  point  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision  is  that, 
'subject  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,'  neither  Congress  nor  a 
Territorial  Legislature  can  exclude  slavery  from  any  United  States  Terri 
tory"  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  T.  D  wight  Thacher,  of  Topeka,  for  calling 
iny  attention  to  this. 


JOHN     BROWN. 

[1855.] 


1855.1  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  187 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS. 

^"PHE  long  contest  against  Southern  slavery  ended  at  last 
•*•  in  a  revolution,  of  which  Kansas  saw  the  first  outbreak. 
Then  followed  a  bloody  civil  war,  after  which  the  South  was 
reorganized,  —  or,  as  it  was  called,  "reconstructed/7  —  with 
the  corner-stone  of  its  old  social  structure,  negro  slavery, 
left  out,  and  emancipation,  "  the  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected,"  at  last  adopted  in  its  place.  In  this  contest, 
continuing  for  almost  a  century,  but  active  and  violent  for 
about  fifty  years,  there  were  four  distinct  parties  or  groups 
of  men,  varying  in  number  as  the  struggle  proceeded,  but 
now  nearly  all  merged  in  one  great  antislavery  party,  just 
as  the  persecution  of  the  Christians  ended  in  the  conver 
sion  of  the  whole  Roman  world  to  Christianity.  These  par 
ties  were  —  (1)  the  Abolitionists,  beginning  with  Franklin, 
Jefferson,  and  George  Mason,  and  ending  with  Garrison, 
Lincoln,  and  Phillips ;  (2)  the  proslavery  men ;  (3)  the 
great  body  of  neutrals  ;  and  (4)  the  Brown  family,  by  which  >  ' 
I  mean  John  Brown  of  Osawatomie,  his  father  Owen  Brown, 
and  his  children.  This  one  household  constituted  itself  an 
outpost  of  emancipation  when  the  early  Abolitionists  had 
been  defeated  and  Jefferson  had  grown  silent ;  it  was  an 
active  force  long  before  Garrison  began  his  agitation  (about 
1830),  and  it  continued  in  the  service  until  the  freedom  of 
the  slaves  was  assured.  There  was  no  discharge  in  that 
war  for  the  Brown  family.  As  one  generation  passed  away, 
another  took  its  place ;  and  when  the  struggle  became  one 
of -arms,  the  sons  replaced  each  other  in  the  fight,  as  the 
children  of  the  old  clansman  in  Scott's  romance  came  for 
ward  to  die  one  by  one  for  their  chieftain.  "  Another  for 
Freedom  !  "  was  as  potent  a  call  with  them  as  "  Another  for 


188  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1854. 

Hector  !  "  with  the  sons  of  the  defeated  clan.  The  Browns 
too  were  defeated,  but  only  for  a  time,  and  in  such  a  way 
that  their  renown  was  increased  thereby.  From  a  local 
leader  John  Brown  became  a  world-famous  martyr. 

"  Are  you  Captain  Brown  of  Kansas  ?  "  asked  the  Vir 
ginian  at  Harper's  Ferry  of  the  old  hero,  as  he  recovered 
from  the  stabs  and  blows  of  Lee's  soldiers. 

"  I  am  sometimes  called  so." 

"  Are  you  Osawatomie  Brown  ?  " 

"  /  tried  to  do  my  duty  there." 

So  long  as  these  manly  answers  and  the  manly  acts  that 
preceded  them  remain  on  the  record ;  so  long  as  the  public 
murder  of  John  Brown  for  the  crime  of  emancipation  is  a 
part  of  the  history  of  that  republic  which  within  five  years 
completed  emancipation  at  the  cost  of  half  a  million  lives,  — 
so  long  will  the  deeds  and  sufferings  of  the  Brown  family 
in  Kansas  be  as  important  a  chapter  in  the  history  of  that 
State  as  any  that  can  be  written. 

Let  us  then  resume  the  homely  series  of  family  letters  in 
which  the  father  and  his  children  told  each  other  the  story 
of  their  pilgrimage  to  Kansas  in  1854-55,  and  what  befell 
them  there ;  beginning  with  the  account  given  in  November, 
1883,  by  the  present  head  of  the  family,  John  Brown,  Jr., 
of  the  circumstances  attending  and  preceding  this  removal 
from  Ohio  and  the  Adirondac  forest  to  Osawatomie  in  Kan 
sas.  The  town  of  this  name  is  ten  miles  from  the  vari 
ous  settlements  of  the  Brown  family  on  the  branches  of  the 
Pottawatomie  Creek  (properly  a  river)  ;  but  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Brown,  the  Rev.  S.  L.  Adair,  established  himself  at 
Osawatomie  in  1854,  and  his  log-cabin  served  as  a  rendez 
vous  for  the  family  so  long  as  they  remained  in  Kansas. 
John  Brown,  Jr.,  says  :  — 

u  During  the  years  1853  and  1854  most  of  the  leading  Northern 
newspapers  were  not  only  full  of  glowing  accounts  of  the  extraordi 
nary  fertility,  healthfulness,  and  heauty  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas, 
then  newly  opened  for  settlement,  but  of  urgent  appeals  to  all  lovers 
of  freedom  who  desired  homes  in  a  new  region  to  go  there  as  settlers, 
and  by  their  votes  save  Kansas  from  the  curse  of  slavery.  Influenced 
by  these  considerations,  in  the  month  of  October,  1854,  five  of  the 
sons  of  John  Brown,  —  John,  Jr.,  Jason,  Owen,  Frederick,  and  Sal- 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  189 

mon,  —  then  residents  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  made  their  arrangements 
to  emigrate  to  Kansas.  Their  combined  property  consisted  chiefly 
of  eleven  head  of  cattle,  mostly  young,  and  three  horses.  Ten  of 
this  number  were  valuable  on  account  of  the  breed.  Thinking  these 
especially  desirable  in  a  new  country,  Owen,  Frederick,  and  Salmon 
*/>ok  them  by  way  of  the  lakes  to  Chicago,  thence  to  Meridosia,  111., 
where  they  were  wintered ;  and  in  the  following  spring  drove  them 
into  Kansas  to  a  place  selected  by  these  brothers  for  settlement,  about 
eight  miles  west  of  the  town  of  Osawatomie.  My  brother  Jason  and 
his  family,  and  I  with  my  family  followed  at  the  opening  of  naviga 
tion  in  the  spring  of  1855,  going  by  way  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers  to  St.  Louis.  There  we  purchased  two  small  tents,  a  plough, 
and  some  smaller  farming-tools,  and  a  hand-mill  for  grinding  corn. 
At  this  period  there  were  no  railroads  west  of  St.  Louis ;  our  journey 
must  be  continued  by  boat  on  the  Missouri  at  a  time  of  extremely 
low  water,  or  by  stage  at  great  expense.  We  chose  the  river  route, 
taking  passage  on  the  steamer  '  New  Lucy,'  which  too  late  we  found 
crowded  with  passengers,  mostly  men  from  the  South  bound  for  Kan 
sas.  That  they  were  from  the  South  was  plainly  indicated  by  their 
language  and  dress;  while  their  drinking,  profanity,  and  display  of  re 
volvers  and  bowie-knives  —  openly  worn  as  an  essential  part  of  their 
make-up  —  clearly  showed  the  class  to  which  they  belonged,  and 
that  their  mission  was  to  aid  in  establishing  slavery  in  Kansas. 

"  A  box  of  fruit-trees  and  grape-vines  which  my  brother  Jason  had 
brought  from  Ohio,  our  plough,  and  the  few  agricultural  implements 
we  had  on  the  deck  of  that  steamer  looked  lonesome ;  for  these  were 
all  we  could  see  which  were  adapted  to  the  occupations  of  peace. 
Then  for  the  first  time  arose  in  our  minds  the  query :  Must  the  fertile 
prairies  of  Kansas,  through  a  struggle  at  arms,  be  first  secured  to  free 
dom  before  free  men  can  sow  and  reap  ?  If  so,  how  poorly  we  were 
prepared  for  such  work  will  be  seen  when  I  say  that,  for  arms,  five  of 
us  brothers  had  only  two  small  squirrel  rifles  and  one  revolver.  But 
before  we  reached  our  destination  other  matters  claimed  our  attention. 
Cholera,  which  then  prevailed  to  some  extent  at  St.  Louis,  broke  out 
among  our  passengers,  a  number  of  whom  died.  Among  these 
brother  Jason's  son  Austin,  aged  four  years,  the  elder  of  his  two  chil 
dren,  fell  a  victim  to  this  scourge ;  and  while  our  boat  lay  by  for 
repair  of  a  broken  rudder  at  Waverley,  Mo.,  we  buried  him  at  night 
near  that  panic-stricken  town,  our  lonely  way  illumined -only  by  the 
lightning  of  a  furious  thunderstorm.  True  to  his  spirit  of  hatred  of 
Northern  people,  our  captain,  without  warning  to  us  on  shore,  cast 
off  his  lines  and  left  us  to  make  our  way  by  stage  to  Kansas  City, 
to  which  place  we  had  already  paid  our  fare  by  boat.  Before  we 
reached  there,  however,  we  became  very  hungry,  and  endeavored  to 


190  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1855. 

buy  food  at  various  farm-houses  on  the  way  j  but  the  occupants, 
judging  from  our  speech  that  we  were  not  from  the  South,  always 
denied  us,  saying,  '  We  have  nothing  for  you.'  The  only  exception 
to  this  answer  was  at  the  stage-house  at  Independence,  Mo. 

"Arrived  in  Kansas,  her  lovely  prairies  and  wooded  streams  seemed 
to  us  indeed  like  a  haven  of  rest.  Here  in  prospect  we  saw  our  cat 
tle  increased  to  hundreds  and  possibly  to  thousands,  'fields  of  corn, 
orchards,  and  vineyards.  At  once  we  set  about  the  work  through 
which  only  our  visions  of  prosperity  could  be  realized.  Our  tents 
would  suffice  for  shelter  until  we  could  plough  our  land,  plant  corn 
and  other  crops,  fruit-trees,  and  vines,  cut  and  secure  as  hay  enough 
of  the  waving  grass  to  supply  our  stock  the  coining  winter.  These 
cheering  prospects  beguiled  our  labors  through  late  spring  until  mid 
summer,  by  which  time  nearly  all  of  our  number  were  prostrated  by 
fever  and  ague  that  would  not  stay  cured  j  the  grass  cut  for  hay 
moulderejj  in  the  wet  for  want  of  the  care  we  could  not  bestow,  and 
our  crop  of  corn  wasted  by  cattle  we  could  not  restrain.  If  these 
minor  ills  and  misfortunes  were  all,  they  could  be  easily  borne ;  but 
now  began  to  gather  the  dark  clouds  of  war.  An  election  for  a  first 
Territorial  Legislature  had  been  held  on  the  30th  of  March  of  this 
year.  On  that  day  the  residents  of  Missouri  along  the  borders  came 
into  Kansas  by  thousands,  and  took  forcible  possession  of  the  polls. 
In  the  words  of  Horace  Greeley,  *  There  was  no  disguise,  no  pre 
tence  of  legality,  no  regard  for  decency.  On  the  evening  before  and 
the  morning  of  the  day  of  election,  nearly  a  thousand  Missourians 
arrived  at  Lawrence  in  wagons  and  on  horseback,  well  armed  with 
rifles,  pistols,  and  bowie-kriives,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon  loaded 
with  musket  balls.  Although  but  831  legal  electors  in  the  Territory 
voted,  there  were  no  less  than  6,320  votes  polled.  They  elected  all 
the  members  of  the  Legislature,  with  a  single  exception  in  either 
house,  —  the  two  Free-Soilers  being  chosen  from  a  remote  district 
which  the  Missourians  overlooked  or  did  not  care  to  reach.' 

"  Early  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  this  year  the  actual  settlers 
at  their  convention  repudiated  this  fraudulently  chosen  Legislature, 
and  refused  to  obey  its  enactments.  Upon  this,  the  border  papers  of 
Missouri  in  flaming  appeals  urged  the  ruffian  horde  that  had  pre 
viously  invaded  Kansas  to  arm,  and  otherwise  prepare  to  march 
again  into  the  Territory  when  called  upon,  as  they  soon  would  be, 
to  '  aid  in  enforcing  the  laws.'  War  of  some  magnitude,  at  least, 
now  appeared  to  us  brothers  to  be  inevitable ;  and  I  wrote  to  our 
father,  whose  home  was  in  North  Elba,  N.  Y.,  asking  him  to  procure 
and  send  to  us,  if  he  could,  arms  and  ammunition,  so  that  we  could 
be  better  prepared  to  defend  ourselves  and  our  neighbors.  He  soon 
obtained  them  j  but  instead  of  sending,  he  came  on  with  them  him- 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  191 

self,  accompanied  by  my  brother-in-law  Henry  Thompson,  and  my 
brother  Oliver.  In  Iowa  he  bought  a  horse  and  covered  wagon  ; 
concealing  the  arms  in  this  and  conspicuously  displaying  his  survey 
ing  implements,  he  crossed  into  Missouri  near  Waverley,  and  at  that 
place  disinterred  the  body  of  his  grandson,  and  brought  all  safely 
through  to  our  settlement,  arriving  there  about  the  6th  of  October.7' 

In  August,  1854,  when  John  Brown,  Jr.,  had  first  men 
tioned  to  his  father  his  purpose  of  emigrating  to  Kansas,  it 
was  not  the  intention  of  the  father  to  accompany  them, 
although  he  was  willing  and  rather  desirous  his  children 
should  go.  In  a  letter  written  from  Akron  (Aug.  21,  1854), 
he  said  to  John  :  "  If  you  or  any  of  my  family  are  disposed  to 
goto  Kansas  or  Nebraska,  with  a  view  to  help  defeat  Satan 
and  his  legions  in  that  direction,  I  have  not  a  word  to  say  ; 
but  I  feel  committed  to  operate  in  another  part  of  the  field.  If 
I  were  not  so  committed,  I  would  be  on  my  way  this  fall. 
Mr.  Adair  [who  married  Brown's  half-sister  Florilla]  is 
fixing  to  go,  and  wants  to  find  'good  men  and  true  '  to  go 
along.  I  would  be  glad  if  Jason  would  give  away  his  Kock 
and  go.  Owen  is  fixing  for  some  move  5  I  can  hardly  say 
what."  In  fact,  the  four  brothers,  —  John,  Jason,  Owen,  and 
Frederick  Brown,  —  as  above  mentioned,  set  out  for  Kansas 
in  1854,  arriving  there  in  the  early  spring  of  1855,  and  set 
tling  near  their  uncle  Mr.  Adair.  John  Brown  himself  soon 
changed  his  mind  and  prepared  to  follow  them,  first  visit 
ing  North  Elba  and  New  England ;  and  at  this  point  his  let 
ters  to  his  family  at  North  Elba  may  be  taken  up,  relating, 
in  their  simple  way,  the  domestic  history  in  these  removals, 
and  the  frugal  plans  he  formed  for  the  maintenance  and 
comfort  of  those  dependent  on  him  or  under  his  guidance. 
Here  will  be  found  little  speech  of  the  great  objects  he  had 
in  view,  but  much  concerning  cattle  and  household  affairs ; 
as  in  the  correspondence,  were  it  preserved,  of  some  Oriental 
patriarch  migrating  from  land  to  land  in  Scripture  times. 

John  Brown  to  his  Children. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Jan.  3,  1855. 

DEAR  CHILDREN, — Last  night  your  letters  to  Jason  were  re 
ceived  (dated  December  26),  and  I  had  the  reading  of  them.  I 


192  LIFE  AND  LETTEKS   OF  JOHN   BKOWN.  [1855. 

conclude  from  the  long  time  mine  to  you  from  Albany  was  on  the 
way,  that  you  did  not  reply  to  it.  On  my  return  here  from  North 
Elba  I  was  disappointed  of  about  three  hundred  dollars  for  cattle 
sold  to  brother  Frederick,  and  am  still  in  the  same  condition,  —  he 
having  gone  to  Illinois  just  before  I  left  to  go  East,  and  not  having 
returned  nor  written  me  a  word  since.  This  puts  it  out  of  my  power 
to  move  my  family  at  present,  and  will  until  I  get  my  money,  unless 
I  sell  off  my  Devon  cattle,  —  which  I  cannot,  without  great  sacrifice, 
before  spring  opens.  Your  remarks  about  hay  make  me  doubt  the 
propriety  of  taking  on  any  cattle  till  spring,  as  I  have  here  an  abun 
dance  of  feed.  I  am  now  entirely  unable  to  say  whether  we  can  get 
off  before  spring  or  not.  All  are  well  here,  so  far  as  we  know.  Owen 
and  Frederick  were  with  their  uncle  Edward  in  Meridosia,  111.  (where 
they  expect  to  winter),  on  the  23d  December;  they  were  well,  and 
much  pleased  with  the  country,  and  with  him.  You  can  write  them 
at  that  place,  care  of  Edward  Lusk,  Esq.  I  may  send  on  one  of  the 
boys  before  the  family  go,  but  am  not  now  determined.  Can  write 
no  more  now  for  want  of  time.  Write  me,  on  receipt  of  this,  any  and 
every  thing  of  use  or  interest. 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  Feb.  13,  1855. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  have  deferred  answering  your  very  accept 
able  letter  of  January  30  for  one  week,  in  the  hope  of  having  some 
news  to  write  you  about  Owen  and  Frederick  ;  but  they  are  so  negli 
gent  about  writing  that  I  have  not  a  word  to  send  now.  I  got  quite 
an  encouraging  word  about  Kansas  from  Mr.  Adair  the  other  day. 
He  had  before  given  quite  a  gloomy  picture  of  things.  He  and  fam 
ily  were  all.  well.  The  friends  here  were  all  well  a  few  days  since. 
John  and  Wealthy  have  gone  back  to  Vernon,  John  taking  with  him 
iny  old  surveyor's  instruments,  in  consideration  of  having  learned  to 
survey.  I  have  but  little  to  write  that  will  interest  you,  so  I  need 
not  be  lengthy.  I  think  we  may  be  able  to  get  off  in  March,  and  I 
mean  to  sell  some  of  our  Devon  cattle  in  order  to  effect  it,  if  I  can  do 
no  better.  I  should  send  on  Watson  within  a  few  days,  if  I  thought 
I  could  manage  to  get  along  with  the  family  and  cattle  without  his  help. 
I  may  conclude  to  do  so  still  before  we  get  away.  The  last  of  January 
and  February,  up  to  yesterday,  have  been  very  remarkable  for  unin 
terrupted  cold  weather  for  this  section.  We  were  glad  to  learn  that 
you  had  succeeded  in  getting  the  house  so  comfortable.  I  want 
Johnny  should  be  so  good  a  boy  that  "  95  will  not  turn  him  off." 
Can  you  tell  whether  the  Stout  lot  was  ever  redeemed  in  December 
or  not  by  the  owners  f 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  193 

ROCKFORD,  WINNEBAGO  COUNTY,  ILL.,  May  7,  1855. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  am  here  with  my  stock  of  cattle  to  sell,  in 
order  to  raise  funds  so  that  I  can  move  to  North  Elba,  and  think  I 
may  get  them  off  in  about  two  weeks.  Oliver  is  here  with  me.  We 
shall  get  on  so  late  that  we  can  put  in  no  crops  (which  I  regret),  so 
that  you  had  perhaps  better  plant  or  sow  what  you  can  conveniently 
on  u  95."  l  I  heard  from  John  and  Jason  and  their  families  (all 
well)  at  St.  Louis  on  the  21st  April,  expecting  to  leave  there  on  the 
evening  of  that  day  to  go  up  the  Missouri  for  Kansas.  My  family 
at  Akron  were  well  on  the  4th  inst.  As  I  may  be  detained  here  some 
days  after  you  get  this,  I  wish  you  to  write  me  at  once  what  wheat 
and  corn  are  worth  at  Westport  now,  as  near  as  you  can  learn. 
People  are  here  so  busy  sowing  their  extensive  fields  of  grain,  that  I 
cannot  get  them  even  to  see  my  cattle  now.  Direct  to  this  place,  care 
of  Shepard  Leach,  Esq. 

ROCKFORD,  WINNEBAGO  COUNTY,  ILL.,  June  4,  1855. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  write  just  to  say  that  I  have  sold  my  cattle 
without  making  much  sacrifice,  and  expect  to  be  on  my  way  home 
to-morrow.  Oliver  expects  to  remain  behind  and  go  to  Kansas. 
After  I  get  home  I  expect  to  start  with  my  family  for  North  Elba  as 
soon  as  we  can  get  ready.  We  may  possibly  get  off  this  week,  but 
I  hardly  think  we  can.  I  have  heard  nothing  further  as  yet  from 
the  boys  in  Kansas.  All  were  well  at  home  a  few  days  since. 

HUDSON,  OHIO,  June  18,  1855. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  write  to  say  that  we  are  (after  so  long  a 
time)  on  our  way  to  North  Elba,  with  our  freight  also  delivered  at 
the  Akron  depot ;  we  look  for  it  here  to-night.  If  this  reaches  you 
before  we  get  on,  I  would  like  to  have  some  one  with  a  good  team  go 
out  to  Westport  on  next  Tuesday  afternoon  or  Wednesday  forenoon, 
to  take  us  out  or  a  load  of  our  stuff.  We  have  some  little  thought 
now  of  going  with  our  freight  by  the  Welland  Canal  and  by  Ogdens- 
burgh  to  Westport,  in  which  case  we  may  not  get  around  until  after 
you  get  this.  All  are  well  here,  so  far  as  we  know. 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  Wife. 

SYRACUSE,  June  28,  1855. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  —  I  reached  here  on  the  first  day 
of  the  convention,  and  I  have  reason  to  bless  God  that  I  came  ;  for 

1  Brown's  farm  at  North  Elba. 
13 


194  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

I  have  met  with  a  most  warm  reception  from  all,  so  far  as  I  know, 
and  —  except  by  a  few  sincere,  honest  peace  friends  —  a  most  hearty 
approval  of  my  intention  of  arming  my  sons  and  other  friends  in 
Kansas.  I  received  to-day  donations  amounting  to  a  little  over  sixty 
dollars,  —  twenty  from  Gerrit  Smith,  five  from  an  old  British  officer ; l 
others  giving  smaller  sums  with  such  earnest  and  affectionate  expres 
sions  of  their  good  wishes  as  did  me  more  good  than  money  even. 
John's  two  letters  were  introduced,  and  read  with  such  effect  by  Ger 
rit  Smith  as  to  draw  tears  from  numerous  eyes  in  the  great  collection 
of  people  present.  The  convention  has  been  one  of  the  most  in 
teresting  meetings  I  ever  attended  in  my  life ;  and  I  made  a  great 
addition  to  the  number  of  warm-hearted  and  honest  friends. 


Letters  from  John  Brown's  Sons  in  Kansas  to  their  Father. 

BROWNSVILLE,  BROWN  Co.,2  K.  T., 
Friday  Morning,  June  22,  1855. 

DEAR  FATHER,  —  Day  before  yesterday  we  received  a  letter  from 
you  dated  Rockford,  111.,  24th  May,  which  for  some  unaccountable 
cause  has  been  very  long  delayed  on  the  road.  We  are  exceed 
ingly  glad  to  hear  from  you,  and  that  you  still  intend  coming  on. 
Our  health  is  now  excellent,  and  our  crops,  cattle,  and  horses  look 
finely.  We  have  now  about  twelve  acres  of  sod  corn  in  the  ground, 
more  than  a  quarter  acre  of  white  beans,  two  and  a  half  bushels  seed 
potatoes  planted  and  once  hoed,  besides  a  good  garden  containing  corn, 
potatoes,  beets,  cabbages,  turnips,  a  few  onions,  some  peas,  cucum 
bers,  melons,  squashes,  etc.  Jason's  fruit-trees,  grape-vines,  etc., 
that  survived  the  long  period  of  transportation,  look  very  well :  prob 
ably  more  than  half  he  started  with  are  living,  with  the  exception  of 
peaches ;  of  these  he  has  only  one  or  two  trees.  As  we  arrived  so 
late  in  the  season,  we  have  but  little  expectation  of  harvesting  much 

1  This  was  Charles  Stewart,  a  retired  captain  of  the  British  army,  who 
had  served  under  Wellington  in  India  or  Spain,  afterwards  emigrated  to 
America,  and  who  became  one  of  the  zealous  associates  of  Gerrit  Smith  in 
the  antislavery  crusade  of  1835-50.     Ha  was  visiting  at  Mr.  Smith's  house 
in  1855  ;  and  I  found  him  there  again  in  February,   1858,  when  I  met 
Brown  in  Mrs.  Smith's  parlor,  to  hear  the  disclosure  of  his  \firginia  plans. 
The  money  given  to  Brown  at  Syracuse,  in  June,  1855,  was  in  part  ex 
pended  by  him  at  Springfield,  in  July,  for  arms.     He  then  saw  his  old 
friend  Thomas  Thomas,  the  Maryland  freedman,  and  urged  him  to  join  in 
the  Kansas  expedition  ;  but  Thomas,  who  had  made  his  arrangements  to 
live  in  California,  declined,  and  never, met  Brown  again. 

2  This  is  now  Cutler,  in  Franklin  County. 


1855.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  195 

com,  and  but  few  potatoes.  The  rainy  season  usually  commences 
here  early  in  April  or  before,  and  continues  from  six  to  eight  weeks, 
during  which  a  great  amount  of  rain  falls.  This  year  we  had  no  rain 
of  any  consequence  before  the  12th  or  15th  of  May ;  since  then  have 
had  two  heavy  rains  accompanied  with  some  wind  and  most  tremen 
dous  thunder  and  lightning ;  have  also  had  a  number  of  gentle  rains, 
continuing  from  one  to  twenty-four  hours  ;  but  probably  not  more 
than  half  the  usual  fall  of  rain  has  yet  come.  As  the  season  last 
year  was  irregular  in  this  respect,  probably  this  will  be  to  some 
extent.  We  intend  to  keep  our  garden,  beans,  and  some  potatoes 
watered  if  we  can,  so  as  to  have  something  if  our  corn  should  be  a 
failure.  As  it  is,  the  prospect  is  middling  fair,  and  the  ground  is 
ploughed  ready  for  early  planting  next  year.  Old  settlers  here  say  that 
people  should  calculate  on  having  the  spring's  sowing  and  planting 
all  done  by  the  middle  of  April  ;  in  that  case  their  crops  are  more 
abundant.  The  prairies  are  covered  with  grass,  which  begins  to 
wave  in  the  wind  most  beautifully ;  shall  be  able  to  cut  any  quan 
tity  of  this,  and  it  is  of  far  better  quality  than  I  had  any  idea. 

In  answer  to  your  questions  :  Good  oxen  are  from  $50  to  $80  per 
yoke,  —  have  been  higher;  common  cows,  from  $15  to  $25, — prob 
ably  will  riot  be  higher ;  heifers  in  proportion.  Limited  demand  as 
yet  for  fine  stock.  Very  best  horses  from  $100  to  $150  each  ;  aver 
age  fair  to  good,  $75  to  $80.  No  great  demand  now  for  cattle  or 
horses.  A  good  strong  buggy  would  sell  well,  — probably  a  Lum- 
beree  best.  Mr.  Adair  has  had  several  chances  to  sell  his.  Very  few 
Lumberee  buggies  among  the  settlers.  White  beans,  $5  per  bushel ; 
corn  meal,  $1.75  per  bushel  of  fifty  pounds,  tending  downward ; 
flour,  $7  per  hundred  pounds  ;  dried  apples,  12i  cents  per  pound ; 
bacon,  12  to  14  cents  here;  fresh  beef,  5  to  6  cents  per  pound. 
Enclosed  is  a  slip  cut  from  a  late  number  of  the  u  Kansas  Tribune7' 
giving  the  markets  there,  which  differ  somewhat  from  prices  in  this 
section.  It  is  the  paper  published  at  Lawrence  by  the  Speers. 

I  have  no  doubt  it  would  be  much  cheaper  and  healthier  for  you 
to  come  in  the  way  you  propose,  with  a  "  covered  lumber  buggy  and 
one  horse  or  mule,"  especially  from  St  Louis  here.  The  navigation 
of  the  Missouri  River,  except  by  the  light-draught  boats  recently  built 
for  the  Kansas  River,  is  a  horrid  business  in  a  low  stage  of  water, 
which  is  a  considerable  portion  of  the  year.  You  will  be  able  to  see 
much  more  of  the  country  on  your  way,  and  if  you  carry  some  pro 
visions  along  it  is  altogether  the  cheaper  mode  of  travelling ;  besides, 
such  a  conveyance  is  just  what  you  want  here  to  carry  on  the  busi 
ness  of  surveying.  You  can  have  a  good  road  here  whithersoever 
you  may  wish  to  go.  Flour,  white  beans,  and  dried  fruit  will  doubt 
less  continue  for  some  time  to  come  to  be  high.  It  is  believed  that 


196  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1855. 

a  much  larger  emigration  will  arrive  here  this  fall  than  before. 
Should  you  buy  anything  to  send  by  water,  you  can  send  it  either  to 
Lawrence,  thirty-five  miles  north  of  us,  or  to  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  care 
of  Walker  &  Chick,  sixty  miles  northeast  of  us. 

A  surveyor  would  soon  find  that  great  numbers  are  holding  more 
land,  and  especially  timber,  than  can  be  covered  by  160  acres,  or 
even  320,  and  that  great  numbers  are  holding  claims  for  their 
friends ;  so  that  I  have  no  doubt  people  will  find  a  sufficient  amount 
of  timber  yet  for  a  long  time.  Owing  to  the  rapid  settlement  of  the 
country  by  squatters,  it  does  not  open  a  good  field  for  speculators. 

The  land  on  which  we  are  located  was  ceded  by  the  Pottawatomie 
Indians  to  the  Government.  The  Ottawa  lands  are  soon  to  be  sold, 
each  person  of  the  tribe  reserving  and  choosing  two  hundred  acres ; 
the  remainder  open  to  pre-emption  after  their  choice  is  made.  The 
Peoria  lands  have  been  bargained  for  by  the  Government,  and  are  to 
be  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  without  reservation.  But  Missourians 
have  illegally  gone  on  to  these  Peoria  lands,  intending  to  combine 
and  prevent  their  going  higher  than  $1.25  per  acre,  and  then  claim, 
if  they  go  higher,  a  large  amount  of  improvements,  — thus  cheating 
the  Indians.  The  Ottawas  intend  to  divide  into  families,  and  cul 
tivate  the  soil  and  the  habits  of  civilized  life,  as  many  of  them  are 
now  doing.  They  are  a  fine  people.  The  Peorias  are  well  advanced, 
and  might  do  the  same  but  for  a  bad  bargain  with  our  Government. 

[Here  is  drawn  a  plan  of  the  Brown  settlement  or  claim.] 

There  is  a  town  site  recently  laid  out  on  the  space  marked  "village 
plat ;  "  as  there  are  two  or  three  in  sight,  it  is  uncertain  which  will 
be  taken.  The  semicircle  is  even  ground,  sloping  every  way,  and 
affording  a  view  in  every  way  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  in  every 
direction,  except  one  small  point  in  the  direction  of  Osawatomie  ;  the 
view  from  this  ground  is  beautiful  beyond  measure.  The  timbered 
lands  on  Middle  Creek  are  covered  with  claims ;  the  claimants,  many 
of  them  from  Ohio,  Illinois,  and  the  East,  are  mostly  Free-State 
folks.  There  are  probably  twenty  families  within  five  or  six  miles 
of  us. 

Day  before  yesterday  Owen  and  I  ran  the  Peoria  line  east  to  see 
if  there  might  not  be  found  a  patch  of  timber  on  some  of  the  numer 
ous  small  streams  which  put  into  the  Osage,  and  which  would  be 
south  of  the  Peoria  line.  We  found  on  a  clear  little  stream  sufficient 
timber  for  a  log-house,  and  wood  enough  to  last  say  twenty  families  for 
two  or  three  years,  perhaps  more,  and  until  one  could  buy  and  raise 
more.  Here  a  good  claim  could  be  made  by  some  one.  The  prairie 
land  which  would  be  included  is  of  the  very  best  I  have  ever  seen  ; 
plenty  of  excellent  stone  on  and  adjoining  it.  Claims  will  soon  be 
made  here  that  will  have  no  more  than  two  or  three  acres  of  timber ; 


1855.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  197 

and  after  these  are  exhausted  prairie  claims  will  be  taken,  the  claim 
ants  depending  on  buying  their  timber.  Already  this  is  the  case,  and 
many  are  selling  off  twenty,  thirty,  and  forty  acres  from  their  timber 
claims  to  those  who  have  none. 

The  above,  though,  without  signature,  is  in  the  handwrit 
ing  of  John  Brown,  Jr. ;  and  the  plan  of  "  Brown's  Sta 
tion  "  is  drawn  in  his  neat  surveyor's  manner.  In  the  same 
envelope  evidently  went  the  two  following  letters  from  Jason 
Brown  (familiarly  called  "  Jay  "  by  his  family)  and  Salmon, 
the  eldest  son  of  the  second  marriage. 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  June  23,  1855. 

DEAR  FATHER,  MOTHER,  BROTHERS,  AND  SISTERS,  —  We  re 
ceived  a  few  days  since  a  letter  from  mother,  since  then  one  from 
father,  which  we  were  all  very  glad  to  get.  I  should  have  written  you 
before,  but  since  we  laid  little  Austin  in  the  grave  I  have  not  felt  as 
if  I  could  write.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  say  much  now.  We  fully 
believe  that  Austin  is  happy  with  his  Maker  in  another  existence ; 
and  if  there  is  to  be  a  separation  of  friends  after  death,  we  pray  God 
to  keep  us  in  the  way  of  truth,  and  that  we  may  so  run  our  short 
course  as  to  be  able  to  enjoy  his  company  again.  Ellen  feels  so 
lonely  and  discontented  here  without  Austin,  that  we  shall  go  back 
to  Akron  next  fall  if  she  does  not  enjoy  herself  better.  I  am  well 
pleased  with  the  country,  and  can  be  as  well  content  here  as  any 
where  else  if  it  proves  to  be  healthy.  It  is  a  very  rich  and  beautiful 
country.  I  should  think  it  would  be  altogether  best  for  father  to 
come  by  land  from  St.  Louis.  Salmon  has  a  very  good  claim  (as 
well  as  the  rest  of  us),  and  seems  to  be  very  much  pleased  with  it. 
We  are  all  living  together  in  tents  and  in  the  wagon,  and  have  no 
houses  yet.  I  used  all  the  money  I  had  for  freight  and  passage  be 
fore  I  got  here,  and  had  to  borrow  of  John.  We  have  no  stoves  j  I 
wish  now  that  we  had  brought  ours  along.  We  would  all  like  to 
hear  from  you  often.  All  well. 

Your  affectionate  son  and  brother, 

J.  L.  BROWN. 

P.  S.  If  you  should  come  by  Akron  on  your  way  here,  and  could 
buy  and  box  up  a  middle-sized  stove  and  furniture,  with  about  four 
lengths  of  pipe,  and  send  or  bring  it  to  me  at  Kansas  City,  I  will 
contrive  some  way  to  pay  you  for  it.  I  think  they  can  be  got  there 
and  shipped  here  cheaper  than  they  can  be  bought  here.  I  would 
like  to  have  you  inquire*  if  you  will. 


198  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1855 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  June  22,  1855. 

DEAR  FATHER,  — We  received  your  letter  from  Eockford,  111.,  this 
week,  and  are  very  glad  that  you  are  going  to  get  through  there  soon, 
and  that  you  are  going  to  be  here  before  fall.  In  answer  to  your 
questions  about  what  you  will  need  for  your  company,  1  would  say 
that  I  have  one  acre  of  corn  that  looks  very  well,  and  some  beans  and 
squashes  and  turnips.  You  will  want  to  get  some  pork  and  meal, 
and  beans  enough  to  last  till  the  crop  comes  in,  and  then  I  think 
we  will  have  enough  grain  to  last  through  the  winter.  I  will  have  a 
house  up  by  the  time  that  you  will  get  here.  My  boots  are  very  near 
worn  out,  and  I  shall  need  some  summer  pants  and  a  hat-  I  bought 
an  axe,  and  that  you  will  not  have  to  get.  There  are  slaves  owned 
within  three  miles  of  us. 

Your  affectionate  son, 

SALMON  BROWN. 

From  Oliver  Brown  to  his  Mother  at  North  Elba. 

ROCKFORD,  WlNNEBAGO  COUNTY,  ILL.,  Aug.   8  [1855]. 

DEAR  MOTHER,  —  I  just  received  yours  of  the  31st,  and  also  of 
the  1st,  and  was  very  much  pleased  to  hear  that  you  were  all  well. 
I  also  received  letters  from  father  and  Ruth  at  the  same  time,  which 
I  was  very  glad  to  get ;  but  I  much  more  expected  to  see  father  than 
to  hear  from  him.  My  health  is  very  good  at  present,  but  has  been 
very  poor  for  a  week  or  ten  days  back.  I  am  working  now  for  a  man 
named  Goodrich,  getting  $1.50  per  day,  which  I  have  to  earn,  every 
cent  of  it.  I  never  worked  so  hard  before.  I  am  quite  sorry  to  hear 
that  you  are  likely  to  have  rather  tough  times  of  it  for  a  year  to  come. 
Was  I  certain  that  father  would  not  be  distressed  for  money  when  he 
gets  here,  I  would  send  you  enough  to  buy  another  cow;  but  I  think 
we  must  try  and  see  what  we  can  do  for  you  when  we  get  to  Kansas. 
Have  written  to  Salmon  twice,  but  have  received  no  answer  as  yet. 
My  shirts  hold  out  very  well  so  far,  but  I  think  the  ones  you  were 
going  to  send  by  father  will  come  in  play  in  course  of  the  season. 
I  very  much  hope  to  see  Alexis  Hinkley  with  him.  Should  much 
like  to  have  Watson  with  us,  but  do  not  see  that  it  is  possible.  I 
hope  to  see  you  all  in  Kansas  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two.  It  has 
been  very  dry  here,  but  crops  look  very  well.  I  received  that  receipt 
for  cholera  medicine,  and  went  at  once  and  got  the  whole  dose  mixed 
up.  I  do  not  think  of  more  at  present,  so  please  all  write  me  soon ; 
and  Wat.  you  must  spur  up  about  writing,  and  Anna  too. 
From  your  affectionate  son, 

OLIVER  BROWN. 


1855.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  199 


From  John  Brown  to  his  Family  at  North  Elba. 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  Aug.  23,  1855. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  see  that  Henry 
has  given  you  so  full  a  history  of  our  matters  that  I  have  but  little  to 
say  now,  but  to  add  that  we  start  from  here  this  morning,  all  well. 
We  have  a  nice  young  horse,  for  which  we  paid  here  $120,  but  have 
so  much  load  that  we  shall  have  to  walk  a  good  deal  —  enough  prob 
ably  to  supply  ourselves  with  game.  We  have  provided  ourselves 
with  the  most  of  what  we  need  on  our  outward  march.  If  you  get 
this  on  Tuesday  and  answer  it  on  Wednesday,  some  of  you  directing 
on  the  outside  to  Oliver,  at  Rock  Island,  111.,  we  should  probably  get 
your  answer  there.  Oliver's  name  is  not  so  common  as  either  Henry's 
or  mine.  We  shall  write  you  often,  and  hope  you  will  do  so  by  us. 
You  may  direct  one  to  Oliver  at  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  as  we  may  go 
there,  and  shall  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  you.  Write  us  soon  at 
Osawatomie.  Kansas,  and  may  God  Almighty  bless  you  all ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SCOTT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Sept.  4  [1855],  in  Morning. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  am  writing  in  our  tent 
about  twenty  miles  west  of  the  Mississippi,  to  let  you  know  that  we 
are  all  in  good  health  and  how  we  get  along.  We  had  some  delay 
at  Chicago  on  account  of  our  freight  not  getting  on  as  we  expected  j 
while  there  we  bought  a  stout  young  horse  that  proves  to  be  a  very 
good  one,  but  he  has  been  unable  to  travel  fast  for  several  days  from 
having  taken  the  distemper.  We  think  he  appears  quite  as  well  as 
he  has,  this  morning ;  and  we  hope  he  will  not  fail  us.  Our  load  is 
heavy,  so  that  we  have  to  walk  most  of  the  time  ;  indeed,  all  the 
time  the  last  day.  The  roads  are  mostly  very  good,  and  we  can 
ma.ke  some  progress  if  our  horse  does  not  fail  us.  We  fare  very  well 
on  crackers,  herring,  boiled  eggs,  prairie  chicken,  tea,  and  sometimes  a 
little  milk.  Have  three  chickens  now  cooking  for  our  breakfast.  We 
shoot  enough  of  them  on  the  wing  as  we  go  along  to  supply  us  with 
fresh  meat.  Oliver  succeeds  in  bringing  them  down  quite  as  well  as 
any  of  us.  Our  expenses  before  we  got  away  from  Chicago  had  been 
very  heavy;  since  then  very  light,  so  that  we  hope  our  money  will 
not  entirely  fail  us ;  but  we  shall  not  have  any  of  account  left  when 
we  get  through. 

We  expect  to  go  direct  through  Missouri,  and  if  we  are  not  obliged 
to  stop  on  account  of  our  horse,  shall  soon  be  there.  We  mean  to 
write  you  often  when  we  can.  We  got  to  Rock  Island  too  soon  for 


200  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

any  letter  from  you,  but  shall  not  be  too  early  at  Kansas  City,  where 
we  hope  to  hear  from  you.  The  country  through  which  we  have 
travelled  from  Chicago  has  been  mostly  very  good ;  the  worst  fault 
is  want  of  living  streams  of  water.  With  all  the  comforts  we  have 
along  our  journey,  I  think,  could  I  hope  in  any  other  way  to  an 
swer  the  end  of  my  being,  I  would  be  quite  content  to  be  at  North 
Elba. 

I  have  directed  the  sale  of  the  cattle  in  Connecticut,  and  to  have 
the  rest  sent  in  a  New  York  draft  payable  to  Watson's  order,  which 
I  hope  will  make  you  all  quite  comfortable.  Watson  should  get 
something  more  at  Elizabethtown  than  the  mere  face  of  the  draft. 
He  will  need  to  write  his  name  across  the  back  of  the  draft  when  he 
sells  it :  about  two  inches  from  the  top  end  would  be  the  proper  place. 
I  want  you  to  make  the  most  of  the  money  you  get,  as  I  expect  to  be 
very  poor  about  money  from  any  other  source.  Commend  you  all  to 
the  mercy  and  infinite  grace  of  God.  I  bid  you  all  good-by  for  this 
time. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN.1 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Oct.  13,  1855. 
Saturday  Eve. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  We  reached  the 
place  where  the  boys  are  located  one  week  ago,  late  at  night;  at 
least  Henry  and  Oliver  did.  I,  being  tired,  stayed  behind  in  our 
tent,  a  mile  or  two  back.  As  the  mall  goes  from  here  early  Monday 
morning,  we  could  get  nothing  here  in  time  for  that  mail.  We  found 
all  more  or  less  sick  or  feeble  but  Wealthy  and  Johnny.2  All  at 
Brownsville  appear  now  to  be  mending,  but  all  sick  or  feeble  here  at 

1  The  following  receipts  belong  in  this  portion  of  the  family  papers  :  the 
first  one  is  for  arms  purchased  with  money  contributed  by  Gerrit  Smith 
and  others  for  use  in  Kansas  ;  the  second  is  for  the  wagon  in  which  Brown 
made  the  journey  to  Kansas  :  — 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  July  24,  1855. 

Received  of  John  Brown  one  box  firearms  and  flasks,  to  be  forwarded  by  railroad 
to  Albany,  and  consigned  to  him  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  care  of  H.  B.  Spellman  of  that 
place. 

THOMAS  O'CONNELL, 

For  W.  R.  R.  Company. 

$100.  Received  of  John  Brown  one  hundred  dollars  in  full  for  a  heavy  horse  wagon, 
this  day  sold  him,  and  which  we  agree  to  ship  immediately  to  J.  B.,  Iowa  City,  Iowa, 
care  of  Dr.  Jesse  Bo  wen. 

BILLINGS  &  BRYANT. 

2  Son  of  John  Brown,  Jr. 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  201 

Mr.  Adair's.  Fever  and  agufc  and  chill-fever  seem  to  be  very  general. 
Oliver  has  had  a  turn  of  the  ague  since  he  got  here,  but  has  got  it 
broken.  Henry  has  had  no  return  since  first  breaking  it.  We  met 
with  no  difficulty  in  passing  through  Missouri,  but  from  the  sickness 
of  our  horse  and  our  heavy  load.  The  horse  has  entirely  recovered. 
We  had,  between  us  all,  sixty  cents  in  cash  when  we  arrived.  We 
found  our  folks  in  a  most  uncomfortable  situation,  with  no  houses  to 
shelter  one  of  them,  no  hay  or  corn  fodder  of  any  account  secured, 
shivering  over  their  little  fires,  all  exposed  to  the  dreadful  cutting 
winds,  morning  and  evening  and  stormy  days.  We  have  been  trying 
to  help  them  all  in  our  power,  and  hope  to  get  them  more  comfortable 
soon.  I  think  much  of  their  ill  health  is  owing  to  most  unreasonable 
exposure.  Mr.  Adair's  folks  would  be  quite  comfortable  if  they  were 
well.  One  letter  from  wife  and  Anne  to  Salmon,  of  August  10,  and 
one  from  Ruth  to  John,  of  19th  September,  is  all  I  have  seen  from 
any  of  you  since  getting  here.  Henry  found  one  from  Ruth,  which 
he  has  not  shown  me.  Need  I  write  that  I  shall  be  glad  to  hear 
from  you  ?  I  did  not  write  while  in  Missouri,  because  I  had  no  confi 
dence  in  your  getting  my  letters.  We  took  up  little  Austin  and 
brought  him  on  here,  which  appears  to  be  a  great  comfort  to  Jason 
and  Ellen.  We  were  all  out  a  good  part  of  the  last  night,  helping 
to  keep  the  prairie  fire  from  destroying  everything  ;  so  that  I  am 
almost  blind  to-day,  or  I  would  write  you  more. 


Sabbath  Eve,  October  14. 

I  notice  in  your  letter  to  Salmon  your  trouble  about  the  means  of 
having  the  house  made  more  comfortable  for  winter,  and  I  fondly 
hope  you  have  been  relieved  on  that  score  before  now,  by  funds 
from  Mr.  Hurlbut,  of  Winchester,  Conn.,  from  the  sale  of  the  cattle 
there.  Write  me  all  about  your  situation  ;  for,  if  disappointed  from 
that  source,  I  shall  make  every  effort  to  relieve  you  in  some  other 
way.  Last  Tuesday  was  an  election  clay  with  Free- State  men  in 
Kansas,  and  hearing  that  there  was  a  prospect  of  difficulty  we  all 
turned  out  most  thoroughly  armed  (except  Jason,  who  was  too  fee 
ble)  ;  but  no  enemy  appeared,  nor  have  I  heard  of  any  disturbance 
in  any  part  of  the  Territory.  Indeed,  I  believe  Missouri  is  fast  be 
coming  discouraged  about  making  Kansas  a  slave  State,  and  I  think 
the  prospect  of  its  becoming  free  is  brightening  every  day.  Try  to 
be  cheerful,  and  always  ll  hope  in  God,"  who  will  not  leave  nor  for 
sake  them  that  trust  in  him.  Try  to  comfort  and  encourage  each 
other  all  you  can.  You  are  all  very  dear  to  me,  and  I  humbly  trust 
we  may  be  kept  and  spared  to  meet  again  on  earth ;  but  if  not,  let 
us  all  endeavor  earnestly  to  secure  admission  to  that  eternal  home, 


202  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1854. 

where  will  be  no  more  bitter  separations,  "  where  the  wicked  shall 
cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  be  at  rest."  We  shall  probably 
spend  a  few  days  more  in  helping  the  boys  to  provide  some  kind  of 
shelter  for  winter,  and  mean  to  write  you  often.  May  God  in  infinite 
mercy  bless,  comfort,  and  save  you  all,  for  Christ's  sake  ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

In  addition  to  the  account  given  by  John  Brown,  Jr.,  of 
the  pilgrimage  to  Kansas,  the  following  notice  of  it,  written 
by  the  father,  and  found  among  his  papers  at  North  Elba, 
may  here  be  cited.  He  wrote  thus  :  — 

"  In  1854  the  four  eldest  sons  of  John  Brown/named  John,  Jr., 
Jason,  Owen,  and  Frederick  (all  children  by  a  first  wife),  then  living 
in  Ohio,  determined  to  remove  to  Kansas.  John,  Jr.,  sold  his  place, 
a  very  desirable  little  property,  near  Vernon,  in  Trumbull  County. 
Jason  Brown  had  a  very  valuable  collection  of  grape-vines,  and  also  of 
choice  fruit-trees,  which  he  took  up  and  shipped  in  boxes  at  a  heavy 
cost.  The  other  two  sous  held  no  landed  property,  but  both  were 
possessed  of  some  valuable  stock  (as  were  also  the  two  first-named) 
derived  from  that  of  their  father,  which  had  been  often  noticed  by 
liberal  premiums,  both  in  the  State  of  New  York  and  also  of  Ohio. 
The  two  first-named,  John  and  Jason,  both  had  families.  Owen  had 
none.  Frederick  was  engaged  to  be  married-,  and  was  to  return  for 
his  wife. 

11  In  consequence  of  an  extreme  dearth  in  1854  the  crops  in  North 
ern  Ohio  were  almost  an  entire  failure ;  and  it  was  decided  by  the 
four  brothers  that  the  two  youngest  should  take  the  teams  and  entire 
stock,  cattle  and  horses,  and  move  them  to  Southwestern  Illinois;  to 
winter,  and  to  have  them  on  early  in  the  spring  of  1855.  Tins  was 
done  at  a  very  considerable  expense,  and  with  some  loss  of  stock  to 
John,  Jr.,  some  of  his  best  stock  having  been  stolen  on  the  way. 
The  wintering  of  the  animals  was  attended  with  great  expense,  and 
with  no  little  suffering  to  the  two  youngest  brothers,  — one  of  them, 
Owen,  being  to  some  extent  a  cripple  from  childhood  by  an  injury 
of  the  right  arm ;  and  Frederick,  though  a  very  stout  man,  was  sub 
ject  to  periodical  sickness  for  many  years,  attended  with  insanity. 
It  has  been  stated  that  he  was  idiotic  ;  nothing  could  be  more  false. 
He  had  subjected  himself  to  a  most  dreadful  surgical  operation  but 
a  short  time  before  starting  for  Kansas,  which  had  well-nigh  cost 
him  his  life,  and  was  but  just  through  with  his  confinement  when 
he  started  on  his  journey,  pale  and  weak.  They  were  obliged  to 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN  KANSAS.  203 

husk  corn  all  winter,  out  cf  doors,  in  order  to  obtain  fodder  for  their 
animals.  Salmon  Brown,  a  very  strong  minor  son  of  the  family, 
eighteen  years  old,  was  sent  forward  early  in  1855,  to  assist 
the  two  last-named,  and  all  three  arrived  in  Kansas  early  in  the 

spring." 

In  such  patriarchal  fashion  did  the  Browns  enter  the  land 
which  they  were  foreordained  to  defend.  These  young  men 
were  of  the  true  stuff,  worthy  sons  of  such  a  sire ;  active, 
enterprising  persons,  fond  of  labor,  inured  to  hardship,  and 
expecting,  as  their  father  had  taught  them,  to  earn  their 
living  with  the  toil  of  their  own  hands.  The  narrow  cir 
cumstances  of  the  family  made  it  necessary  that  these  young 
men  should  support  themselves  somewhere.  Love  of  free 
dom,  love  of  adventure,  and  a  desire  for  independence  in 
fortune  combined  to  tempt  them  ;  but  the  father,  besides  his 
wish  to  aid  them,  had  constantly  in  view  his  main  object, 
as  the  last  letter  shows. 


More  Family  Letters. 

BROWNSVILLE,  K.  T.,  Nov.  2,  1855. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  We  last  week  re 
ceived  Watson's  letter  of  October  3,  too  late  to  answer  till  now.  I 
felt  grateful  to  learn  that  you  were  all  then  well,  and  I  think  I  fully 
sympathize  with  you  in  all  the  hardships  and  discouragements  you 
have  to  meet ;  but  you  may  be  assured  you  are  not  alone  in  having 
trials.  I  believe  I  wrote  you  that  we  found  every  one  here  more  or  less 
unwell  but  Wealthy  and  Johnny,  without  any  sort  of  a  place  where 
a  stout  man  even  could  protect  himself  from  the  cutting  cold  winds 
and  storms,  which  prevail  here  (the  winds,  I  mean,  in  particular)  much 
more  than  in  any  place  where  we  have  ever  lived ;  and  that  no  crops 
of  hay  or  anything  raised  had  been  taken  care  of;  with  corn  wasting 
by  cattle  and  horses,  without  fences;  and,  I  may  add,  without  any 
meat ;  and  Jason's  folks  without  sugar,  or  any  kind  of  breadstuffs  but 
corn  ground  with  great  labor  in  a  hand-mill  about  two  miles  off.  Since 
I  wrote  before,  Wealthy,  Johnny,  Ellen,  and  myself  have  escaped 
being  sick.  Some  have  had  the  ague,  but  lightly ;  but  Jason  and 
Oliver  have  had  a  hard  time  of  it,  and  are  yet  feeble.  They  appear 
some  better  just  now.  Under  existing  circumstances  we  have  made 
but  little  progress  ;  but  we  have  made  a  little.  We  have  got  a  shanty 
three  logs  high,  chinked,  and  mudded,  and  roofed  with  our  tent,  and 


204  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1855. 

a  chimney  so  far  advanced  that  we  can  keep  a  fire  in  it  for  Jason.1 
John  has  his  shanty  a  little  better  fixed  than  it  was,  but  miserable 
enough  now;  and  we  have  got  their  little  crop  of  beans  secured, 
which,  together  with  johunycake,  mush  and  milk,  pumpkins,  and 
squashes,  constitute  our  fare.  Potatoes  they  have  none  of  any  ac 
count  ;  milk,  beans,  pumpkins,  and  squashes  a  very  moderate  supply, 
just  for  the  present  use.  We  have  also  got  a  few  house- logs  cut  for 
Jason.  I  do  not  send  you  this  account  to  render  you  more  unhappy, 
but  merely  to  let  you  know  that  those  here  are  not  altogether  in 
paradise,  while  you  have  to  stay  in  that  miserable  frosty  region. 
We  had  here,  October  25,  the  hardest  freezing  I  ever  witnessed  south 
of  North  Elba  at  that  season  of  the  year. 

After  all,  God's  tender  mercies  are  not  taken  from  us,  and  blessed 
be  his  name  forever !  I  believe  things  will  a  little  brighten  here 
before  long,  and  as  the  winter  approaches,  and  that  we  may  be  able 
to  send  you  a  more  favorable  account.  There  is  no  proper  officer 
before  whom  a  deed  can  be  acknowledged  short  of  Lawrence,  and 
Jason  and  Owen  have  not  been  able  to  go  there  at  all  since  we  got 
here.  I  want  to  learn  very  much  whether  you  have  received  any 
return  from  the  cattle  of  Mr.  Hurlbut,  in  Connecticut,  so  that  I  may 
at  once  write  him  if  you  have  riot.  I  trust  you  will  not  neglect  this, 
as  it  takes  so  long  to  get  letters  through,  and  it  will  greatly  lessen  my 
anxiety  about  your  being  made  in  some  measure  comfortable  for  the 
winter.  We  hear  that  the  fall  has  been  very  sickly  in  Ohio  and  other 
States.  I  can  discover  no  reason  why  this  country  should  continue 
sickly,  but  it  has  proven  exceedingly  so  this  fall.  I  feel  more  and 
more  confident  that  slavery  will  soon  die  out  here,  —  and  to  God  be 
the  praise !  Commending  you  all  to  his  infinite  grace,  I  remain 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  Family. 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Nov.  23,  1855. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  Ruth's  letter  to  Henry, 
saying  she  was  about  moving,  and  dated  23d  October  (I  think), 
was  received  by  last  week's  .mail.  We  were  all  glad  to  learn  again 
of  your  welfare ;  and  as  to  your  all  staying  in  one  house,  I  can  see 
no  possible  objection,  if  you  can  only  be  well  agreed,  and  try  to 

1  His  home  was  a  freezing  cabin, 
Too  bare  for  the  hungry  rat ; 
Its  roof  was  thatched  with  ragged  grass, 
And  bald  enough  of  that. 

HOLMES,  The  Pilgrim's  Vision. 


1855.]  THE   BROWN   FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  205 

make  each  other  as  comfortable  as  may  be.  Nothing  new  of  account 
has  occurred  amongst  us  since  I  wrote.  Henry,  Jason,  and  Oliver 
are  unable  to  do  much  yet,  but  appear  to  have  but  little  ague  now. 
The  others  are  all  getting  middling  well.  We  have  got  both  families 
so  sheltered  that  they  need  not  suffer  hereafter ;  have  got  part  of  the 
hay  (which  had  lain  in  cocks)  secured;  made  some  progress  in  prep 
aration  to  build  a  house  for  John  and  Owen  ;  and  Salmon  has  caught 
a  prairie  wolf  in  the  steel  trap.  We  continue  to  have  a  good  deal  of 
stormy  weather,  —  rains  with  severe  winds,  and  forming  into  ice  as 
they  fall,  together  with  cold  nights  that  freeze  the  ground  consider 
ably.  "  Still  God  has  not  forsaken  us,"  and  we  get  "  day  by  day 
our  daily  bread,"  and  I  wish  we  all  had  a  great  deal  more  gratitude 
to  mingle  with  our  undeserved  blessings.  Much  suffering  would  be 
avoided  by  people  settling  in  Kansas,  were  they  aware  that  they 
would  need  plenty  of  warm  clothing  and  light  warm  houses  as  much 
as  in  New  Hampshire  or  Vermont;  for  such  is  the  fact. 

Since  Watson  wrote,  I  have  felt  a  great  deal  troubled  about  your 
prospects  of  a  cold  house  to  winter  in,  and  since  I  wrote  last  I  have 
thought  of  a  cheap  ready  way  to  help  it  much,  at  any  rate.  Take 
any  common  straight-edged  boards,  and  run  them  from  the  ground 
up  to  the  eaves,  barn  fashion,  riot  driving  the  nails  in  so  far  but  that 
they  may  easily  be  drawn,  covering  all  but  doors  and  windows  as 
close  as  may  be  in  that  way,  and  breaking  joints  if  need  be.  This 
can  be  done  by  any  one,  and  in  any  weather  not  very  severe,  and  the 
boards  may  afterwards  be  mostly  saved  for  other  uses.  I  think  much, 
too,  of  your  widowed  state,  and  I  sometimes  allow  myself  to  dream  a 
little  of  again  some  time  enjoying  the  comforts  of  home ;  but  I  do 
not  dare  to  dream  much.  May  God  abundantly  reward  all  your 
sacrifices  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  a  thousandfold  more  than 
compensate  yonr  lack  of  worldly  connections  !  We  have  received  two 
newspapers  you  sent  us,  which  were  indeed  a  great  treat,  shut  away 
as  we  are  from  the  means  of  getting  the  news  of  the  day.  Should 
you  continue  to  direct  them  to  some  of  the  boys,  after  reading,  we 
should  prize  them  much. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

These  letters  disclose  the  hardships  of  the  first  year  of 
pioneer  life  in  Kansas,  suffered  from  the  elements  and  nat 
ural  causes  alone.'  Yet  the  troubles  of  this  family  were  but 
just  begun  when  the  inclemency  of  the  season  had  been  in 
some  measure  guarded  against.  The  Browns  had  "located," 
as  already  mentioned,  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  Osawatoinie ; 


206  LIFE   AND   LETTERS    OF  JOHN   BROWN.          [1855. 

their  kinsman  Mr.  Adair  living  between  them  and  the 
village.  James  Hanway,  another  pioneer,  living  on  the 
Pottawatomie,  near  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing,  in  Franklin 
County,  a  few  miles  southeast  of  Brownsville  (which  is 
now  in  the  township  of  Cutler),  thus  speaks  of  the  loca 
tion  :  "  On  North  Middle  Creek,  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  Day, 
eight  miles  southeast  of  Ottawa,  John  Brown  caused  to  be 
erected  a  cabin  for  the  purpose  of  pre-empting  a  claim  for 
his  brother-in-law  Mr.  Day,  the  father  of  the  present  occu 
pant  of  the  farm  ;  but  I  never  learned  that  Brown  lived  on 
it,  for  after  the  month  of  May,  1856,  he  was  never  station 
ary,  but  all  the  time  on  the  war-path,  until  he  left  Kansas 
for  a  season.  After  the  Pottawatomie  tragedy  occurred, 
the  John  Brown,  Jr.,  cabin,  with  a  valuable  library,  was 
burned  down  by  the  ruffians.  This  cabin  was  located  a 
short  distance  south  of  the  Day  cabin.  The  other  sons  of 
John  Brown  had  claims  about  one  and  a  half  miles  south, 
now  known  as  '  Brown's  Run.' "  The  family  were  therefore 
within  a  circuit  of  two  miles  of  each  other,  and  at  some  dis 
tance  from  any  other  settlers.  Their  post-office  was  Osawa- 
tomie ;  for  there  was  then  no  town  at  Ottawa,  which  is  now 
a  thriving  village,  with  a  third  part  of  the  whole  county 
population.  The  township  of  Pottawatomie,  in  which  the 
Shermans  and  Doyles  lived,  was  about  as  far  south  from 
the  Browns  as  Osawatomie  was  on  the  east. 

Scarcely  had  the  Brown  family  got  over  the  first  hard- 
ships  of  the  sickly  season  and  the  frosty  autumn,  when  they 
were  called  upon  to  arm  and  muster  for  the  defence  of  their 
threatened  neighbors  at  Lawrence.  The  murdering  of  Free- 
State  men  had  begun  (Oct.  25,  1855)  with  the  shooting  of 
Samuel  Collins  at  Doniphan  by  Pat  Laughlin,  a  noisy  pro- 
slavery  Irishman,  who  was  aided  in  his  attack  by  three  or 
four  armed  associates.  No  attempt  was  made  to  punish 
Laughlin.  Four  weeks  later,  November  21,  Charles  Dow 
was  murdered  by  Franklin  Coleman,  a  proslavery  bully, 
near  Hickory  Point.  The  next  night,  Jacob  Branson,  a  wit 
ness  against  Coleman,  was  arrested  by  the  proslavery  sheriff 
Jones,  for  taking  part  in  a  Free-State  meeting,  contrary  to 
the  "  bogus  laws  ; "  but  before  Jones  and  his  posse  could 
carry  their  prisoner  to  the  proslavery  capital,  Lecompton, 


1855.J  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  207 

they  were  waylaid  by  an  equal  force  of  Free-State  men,  who 
rescued  Branson,  near  Blanton's  Bridge,  on  the  very  night 
of  his  arrest.  J.  E.  Kennedy,  now  of  Colorado,  has  given  a 
graphic  account  of  the  rescue  scene,  which  I  will  quote  in 
his  own  words,  for  the  sake  of  showing  what  men  and  what 
events  might  be  heard  of  at  any  time  in  Kansas.1  The  date 
is  Nov.  22,  1855 ;  the  men  acting  on  the  Free-State  side 
were  Major  James  B.  Abbott,  Captain  Philip  Hutchinson, 
Philip  Hupp,  and  his  sou  Miner  Hupp,  Colonel  Samuel  N. 
Wood  (an  Ohio  man,  six  months  resident  in  Kansas),  Elmore 
Allen,  Edmund  Curless,  Lafayette  Curless,  William  Hughes, 
Paul  Jones,  J.  R.  Kennedy,  Collins  Holloway,  Isaac  Shap- 

pet,  John  Smith,  and Smith.     The  party  were  waiting 

at  Abbott's  house  at  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  when  the 
chronicle  begins.  Kennedy  says  :  — 

"  While  I  was  standing  by  the  door,  still  on  the  watch,  I  heard 
Philip  Hupp  (and  no  braver  man  ever  lived)  say,  '  Well,  boys,  I 
tell  you  what's  the  matter;  they  have  taken  Branson  and  crossed  the 
Wakarusa  at  Cornelius's  Crossing,  and  have  him  at  old  Crane's  hotel. 
All  we  have  to  do,  and  what  we  ought  to  do,  is  to  march  right  down 
there,  and  if  Branson  is  in  the  house,  tell  him  to  come  out,  — that  he 
is  a  free  man,  and  will  be  protected.'  Just  at  this  time  I  walked  out 
a  little  from  the  door,  and  looking  south  saw  fifteen  or  twenty  mounted 
men  riding  slowly  along  the  road  toward  the  house.  Stepping  quickly 
back  to  the  door,  I  caught  Major  Abbott's  eye,  and  beckoned  him  to 
come  out,  which  he  did.  I  showed  him  the  men,  and  exclaiming, 
1  That 's  the  party  ! '  he  rushed  into  the  house,  telling  the  boys  they 

1  Mr.  Wilder,  the  Kansas  historian,  with  the  national  turn  for  humor, 
says  :  "We  had  a  Kansas  war  here  once,  —  civil,  internecine,  fratricidal. 
Some  fellow  in  long  hair  and  buckskin  breeches,  armed  and  mounted  like 
Jesse  James,  Avould  ride  up  to  you  and  kill  you  because  you  could  read  and 
write,  and  were  a  Yankee.  He  controlled  the  elections  in  that  way  for 
several  years.  Those  who  fought  you  at  the  polls  also  counted  the  votes 
after  the  election.  There  was  a  proslavery  bully  here  • —  name  happily  for 
gotten  —  who  made  it  a  business  to  fight  on  election  day,  to  knock  down 
and  drag  out,  and  to  keep  timid  men  from  the  polls.  But  at  one  election 
the  bully  woke  up  the  wrong  passenger,  —  namely,  John  Lawler,  of  Elwood. 
When  John  came  home  that  night,  after  taking  a  square  Free-State  drink, 
he  said  he  had  found  the  way  to  carry  a  Free-State  election  :  '  Break  a 
Democratic  leg  early  in  the  morning.'  And  that  was  just  what  John  had 
done." 


208  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1855. 

were  coming,  and  to  go  out  quick.  Mrs.  Abbott  handed  the  boys 
their  guns,  and  they  did  go  out  with  a  rush,  Abbott  going  first,  fol 
lowed  by  Philip  Hupp  ;  then  came  Captain  Hutchiuson,  PaulJones, 
and  others.  We  turned  to  the  left  around  the  corner  of  the  house 
into  the  road  a  few  rods  in  front  of  the  horsemen.  Phil  Hupp  was 
the  first  man  who  crossed  the  road.  He  said  afterwards  he  was 
watching  the  man  on  the  gray  horse,  Sheriff  Jones  j  and  he  did 
watch  him,  sure  enough.  Next  to  Hupp  was  Paul  Jones,  and  both 
were  armed  with  squirrel  rifles.  Next  came  Captain  Hutchinsou, 

armed  with  two  large  stones  ;  next  were  Holloway  and  myself, I 

thinking  Captain  Hutchinson  was  a  good  man  to  stay  with,  as  he 
had  been  three  years  in  the  Mexican  War.  The  rest  of  the  boys 
ranged  along  the  side  of  the  road  near  the  house.  This  was  about  the 
order  we  occupied  when  the  party  approached  close  to  those  in  the 
road,  and  very  close  'to  those  by  the  side  of  the  road.  Mr.  Hupp 
being  in  front,  and  seeing  the  boys  scattered  along  from  where  he  was 
to  the  side  of  the  house,  called  out,  '  Boys,  what  the  hell  are  you 
doing  there  ?  Here  is  the  place  for  you.'  They  then  all  crowded 
rapidly  up  in  front  of  the  other  party,  when  one  of  these  said, 
1  What 's  up  ?  '  Major  Abbott  replied,  ;  That  is  what  we  want  to 
know,'  —  which  remark  was  followed  by  a  shot  on  our  side.  (The 
Major  had  a  self-cocking  revolver,  and  he  had,  in  his  excitement, 
pulled  it  a  little  too  hard,  causing  it  to  go  off.)  Then  the  question 
was  asked  him  again  by  the  other  side,  i  What 's  up  ?  '  Thinking  of 
what  Mr.  Hupp  had  said  in  the  house,  I  said  to  Major  Abbott,  l  Ask 
them  if  Branson  is  there.'  He  did  so,  and  the  answer  was,  '  Yes,  I 
am  here,  and  a  prisoner.'  Three  or  four  of  our  men  spoke  at  once, 
—  Major  Abbottj  Colonel  Wood,  and  others  whom  I  do  not  remem 
ber,  —  saying,  '  Come  out  of  that,'  or  l  Come  over  to  your  friends,' 
or  perhaps  both  were  said.  Branson  replied,  '  They  say  they  will 
shoot  me  if  I  do.'  Colonel  Sam  Wood  answered  quickly,  '  Let 
them  shoot  and  be  damned  ;  we  can  shoot  too.'  Branson  then  said, 
'  I  will  come  if  they  do  shoot,'  starting  his  mule.  (The  man  who 
was  leading  it  let  the  halter  slip  through  his  hands  very  quietly.) 
The  rest  of  the  proslavery  party  raised  their  shot-guns  and  cocked 
them.  Our  little  crowd  raised  their  guns,  and  were  ready  in  as 
good  time  as  the  others.  Sam  Wood  and  two  or  three  of  our 
men  helped  Branson.  Wood  asked  Branson,  t  Is  this  your  mule  ?  ' 
1  No,'  was  the  reply,  whereupon  Wood  kicked  the  mule  and  said, 
1  Go  back  to  your  masters,  damn  you.'  In  the  mean  time  Branson 
had  disappeared,  and  was  seen  no  more  by  these  brave  '  shot-gun ' 
men. 

il  About  this  time  some  one  of  them  said,  l  Why,  Sam  Wood,  you 
are  very  brave  to-night ;  you  must  want  to  fight.'     Colonel  Wood 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN  KANSAS.  209 

replied  that  he  l  was  always  ready  for  a  fight.'  Just  at  this  moment 
Sheriff  Jones  interposed,  saying,  l  There  is  no  use  to  shed  blood  in 
this  affair;  but  it  will  be  settled  soon  in  a  way  that  will  not  be  very 
pleasant  to  Abolitionists/  and  started  to  ride  through  those  standing 
in  the  road.  He  did  not  then  know  old  Philip  Hupp,  but  soon  made 
his  acquaintance  ;  and  I  do  not  think  he  will  be  stopped  by  death  any 
quicker  than  Phil  Hupp  stopped  him  that  night.  Just  as  soon  as 
he  started,  old  Philip  set  the  trigger  and  cocked  his  old  squirrel  rifle 
quicker  than  he  or  any  other  man  ever  did  it  before,  and  said  to  Sheriff 
Jones,  *  Halt !  or  I  will  blow  your  damned  brains  out  in  a  moment.' 
He  stopped,  and  stayed  right  there,  saying  gently  to  Mr.  Hupp, 
1  Don't  shoot.'  There  was  then  a  general  talk  among  all  hands,  and 
we  were  told  about  the  *  Kansas  militia,  three  thousand  strong,  that  in 
three  days'  time  would  wipe  that  damned  Abolition  town  Lawrence 
out,  and  corral  all  the  Abolitionists  and  make  pets  of  them.'  How 
ever,  Colonel  Sam  Wood  and  others  out-talked  them  so  bad  that  they 
were  glad  to  get  away  on  any  terms.  Miner  Hupp,  who  wanted  to 
square  accounts  with  his  two  men,1  was  prevented  from  doing  so.  It 
was  not  his  fault,  for  he  had  a  *  bead  '  on  them  several  times ;  but  his 
father  was  watching  him  all  the  time  after  he  got  Sheriff  Jones  in 
shape." 

As  the  affair,  thus  described,  was  the  first  instance  of 
combined  and  forcible  resistance  to  the  usurping  authorities 
created  by  the  fraudulent  elections  of  March  30,  1855,  it 
was  naturally  looked  upon  as  very  serious  by  both  parties. 
Sheriff  Jones  (the  notorious  ruffian  who  afterward  led  the 
successful  attack  on  Lawrence  in  May,  1856)  was  full  of 
wrath  and  cursing.  He  rode  on  with  his  posse  that  night  to 
a  little  village  near  Lawrence,  then  called  Franklin,  where 
they  decided  to  appeal  both  to  Wilson  Shannon  (the  drunken 
governor  of  Kansas,  who  had  superseded  Governor  Reeder), 
and  to  Colonel  Boone,  of  Westport,  Mo.  (Jones's  father-in- 
law  and  a  descendant  of  Daniel  Boone),  for  aid  in  punishing 
the  rebellious  Yankees.  Jones  wrote  a  despatch  to  West- 
port,  which  he  sent  by  a  mounted  messenger,  saying,  as  the 

1  This  alludes  to  a  previous  saying  of  young  Hupp,  that  he  "wanted  to 
square  accounts  with  two  of  the  posse  that  had  threatened  and  abused  him 
a  day  or  two  before,  and  was  afraid  the  ball  would  be  over  before  he  got 
there."  The  above  account  is  part  of  a  letter  written  by  Kennedy  from 
Colorado  Springs,  where  he  was  living  in  1879,  and  may  not  be  minutely 
accurate  ;'  but  it  is  the  best  I  have  seen. 

14 


210  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  B,ROWN.          [1855 

man  rode  off,  "That  man  is  taking  my  despatch  to  Mis 
souri,  and,  by  God  !  I  will  have  revenge  before  I  see  Missouri 
again."  Being  reminded  that  he  had  not  notified  his  offi 
cial  superior  Governor  Shannon,  he  next  sent  a  message  to 
him  at  the  Shawnee  Mission  by  one  Hargous,  who  was  an 
accessory  to  the  murder  of  Dow  two  days  before.  Mean 
time  the  Free-State  men  were  not  idle.  They  held  a  public 
meeting,  November  27,  at  Lawrence,  at  which  Branson  the 
rescued  prisoner  spoke,  telling  the  story  of  his  friend's 
murder  and  his  own  arrest.  Dow,  he  said,  was  a  mild  and 
peaceable  young  man,  esteemed  by  those  who  knew  him,  —  an 
immigrant  from  Ohio,  who  was  boarding  at  Branson's  house. 
Coleman  had  repeatedly  threatened  to  kill  him,  and  on  the 
morning  of  the  21st,  when  Dow  went  on  some  errand  to  the 
blacksmith's  shop,  Branson  advised  him  to  take  his  gun, 
but  Dow  did  not.  On  his  return  to  Branson's,  and  when  a 
few  steps  from  the  shop,  hearing  the  click  of  a  gun,  he  turned 
round,  and  received  in  his  breast  the  charge  of  a  double- 
barrelled  shot-gun  loaded  with  slugs.  This  happened  about 
one  o'clock ;  and  the  body  was  left  lying  by  the  side  of  the 
road  where  he  fell  until  sundown,  when  some  of  the  acces 
sories  sent  word  to  Branson  "  that  a  dead  body  was  lying  by 
the  roadside."  He  had  begun  to  fear  some  ill  had  befallen 
his  friend,  and  at  once  recognizing  the  body,  conveyed  it  to 
his  house.  Coleman  then  took  refuge  with  Governor  Shan 
non  at  the  Shawnee  Mission,  and  was  nominally  arrested  by 
Jones,  who  was  serving  as  sheriff  of  Douglas  County  in  Kan 
sas,  while  living  at  Westport,  and  acting  postmaster  there. 
Branson  had  taken  no  part  in  the  affair;  but  the  next  morn 
ing  a  proslavery  justice  at  Lawrence,  named  Cameron,  issued 
a  "  peace-warrant "  against  Branson  on  the  complaint  of  a 
proslavery  neighbor  at  Hickory  Point,  where  the  murder 
occurred.  That  evening,  after  Branson  had  gone  to  bed  with 
his  family,  Sheriff  Jones,  with  a  party  of  mounted  men,  rode 
up  to  his  lone  cabin  upon  the  prairies,  a  half-mile  from 
neighbors,  knocked  at  the  door,  and  to  the  question  "  Who 
is  there  ?  "  replied,  "  A  friend."  "  Come  in  then ;  "  and 
the  little  cabin  was  at  once  full  of  rough,  savage,  armed 
men.  Jones  went  to  the  bedside,  and,  presenting  his 
pistol  to  Branson's  breast,  said,  "You  are  my  prisoner." 


1855.J  THE   BROWN   FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  211 

Branson  asked,  "  By  what  authority  ?  "  Oaths,  and  the 
threat  "  I  will  blow  you  through,"  were  the  only  an 
swer  ;  the  ruffians,  with  guns  cocked,  gathered  round,  and 
took  him  prisoner,  —  an  innocent,  defenceless  man,  kid 
napped  from  his  home  and  family  by  a  gang  of  twenty- 
live  half-drunken  men,  showing  no  papers  of  arrest,  and 
answering  with  oaths  and  threats  of  death  any  question  of 
their  authority. 

Such  was  the  story  told  by  Branson  and  the  other  speak 
ers  at  the  Lawrence  meeting.  Branson,  a  plain  elderly 
farmer,  "  of  quiet  and  modest  deportment,"  says  Mrs.  Bobin- 
son,1  then  went  on  to  say,  "  with  tears  at  times  stealing  down 
his  weather-beaten  cheeks,"  that  he  .had  been  requested  by 
some  friends  to  leave  Lawrence,  to  seek  some  other  place  of 
safety,  so  that  no  excuse  could  be  given  to  the  enemv  for  an 
attack  upon  Lawrence.  He  said  he  would  go,  —  Lawrence 
should  not  be  involved  in  difficulty  on  his  account ;  if  it  was 
the  decision  of  the  majority,  he  would  go  to  his  home,  and 
die  there,  and  be  buried  by  the  side  of  his  friend.  This 
statement  was  met  by  cries  of  "  No  !  no  !  "  The  principal 
speakers  after  Branson  were  Grosvenor  P.  Lowry,  a  young 
lawyer  from  Pennsylvania,  who  proposed  a  committee  of 
ten  for  the  common  defence  ;  Colonel  Wood,  who  had  taken 
part  in  the  rescue  ;  and  Martin  F.  Conway  (born  in  Maryland 
in  1828),  who  had  emigrated  to  Kansas  in  October,  1854, 
and  had  resigned  his  seat  in  the  fraudulent  Territorial 
Council  of  1855.2 

What  Mr.  Conway  said  had  much  weight,  as  coming  from 
the  best  lawyer  in  Kansas.  He  advised  them  to  move  cau 
tiously,  but  boldly,  having  a  care  to  take  every  step  properly. 
They  had  ignored  and  repudiated  the  Legislature  at  the 
Shawnee  Mission:  they  would  never  give  their  allegiance 

1  Kansas  :  Its  Exterior  and  Interior  Life,  pp.  105-110. 

2  Mr.  Conway  was  among  the  ablest  of  the  men  who  made  Kansas  a  free 
State,  and  was  a  steady  friend  of  John  Brown.     He  had  been  bred  a  Demo 
crat,  and  was  a  protege  of  Henry  May,  a  Democratic  Congressman  from 
Baltimore,  but  was  hostile  to  slavery,  and  a  radical  in  his  construction  of 
the  Constitution  and  laws.      He  was  chosen  Chief-Justice  of  Kansas  under 
the  Topeka  Constitution,  and  was  the  first  Congressman  from  the  State. 
He  died  at  Washington  in  1883. 


212  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1855. 

to  such  a  monstrous  iniquity.  To  the  United  States  author 
ities,  to  the  organic  act,  to  the  courts  created  under  it,  and 
to  the  judges  and  marshals  appointed  by  the  President,  they 
would  yield  obedience.  These  might  oppress  them,  but  they 
would  submit,  and  seek  redress  for  grievances  at  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  which  would  give  them  a  fair  hear 
ing.1  He  did  not  dissuade  them  from  defending  their  rights 
and  insisting  on  all  the  safeguards  of  the  law.  Fortunately, 
however,  the  friends  of  Kansas  in  New  England  and  New 
York  had  not  suffered  their  emigrants  to  rely  wholly  upon 
what  proved  to  be  a  broken  reed,  —  the  protection  of  the 
courts.  Notwithstanding  the  protest  of  Mr.  Amos  Law 
rence  and  others  before  the  Congressional  Investigating 
Committee  of  May  and  June,  1856,  that  "  the  Emigrant  Aid 
Company  had  never  invested  a  dollar  in  cannon  or  rifles,  in 
powder  or  lead,  or  in  any  of  the  implements  of  war,"  the 
truth  is,  that  the  officers  and  agents  of  this  company  (and 
Mr.  Lawrence  among  the  foremost)  raised  money  and  pur 
chased  arms,  which  were  sent  to  Kansas  in  May,  1855,  in 
August,  1855,  and  at  other  times.  The  chief  agent  of  this* 
company  in  Kansas  was  Charles  Robinson,  who  despatched 
G.  W.  Deitzler  to  Massachusetts  in  April,  1855,  to  obtaii? 
weapons,  and  again  sent  Major  Abbott  (already  mentioned 
as  the  leader  in  the  rescue  of  Branson)  in  July  for  the  same 
purpose.  Robinson  gave  Abbott  a  letter  to  Eli  Thayer, 
the  originator  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  in  which  he 
told  Mr.  Thayer  that  "  the  rifles  in  Lawrence  [the  so-called 
'Beecher  Bibles']  have  had  a  very  good  effect,  and  I 
think  the  same  kind  of  instruments  in  other  places  would 
do  more  to  save  Kansas  than  almost  anything  else."  This 
was  John  Brown's  opinion  also,  as  was  shown  by  his  start 
ing  for  Kansas  at  that  time  with  a  supply  of  weapons.  Mr. 
Branscomb,  a  Boston  agent  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Com 
pany,  indorsed  Robinson's  suggestion,  and  "cheerfully  rec 
ommended  Mr.  J.  B.  Abbott  to  the  public,"  under  date  of 

1  Judge  Conway  then  supposed  —  what  the  events  of  the  next  year  sadly 
disproved  by  Taney's  atrocious  Dred  Scott  decision  —  that  the  court  of  Mar 
shall  and  Stoiy  would  decree  justice,  and  not  hasten  to  make  itself  the  mere 
tool  of  the  slave-power,  as  Pierce  and  Buchanan  were.  In  fact,  the  United 
States  Court  in  Kansas  anticipated  Taney  in  this  submission. 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN  KANSAS.  213 

August  10,  1855.  Mr.  Lawrence,  vice-president  of  the  com 
pany,  on  the  next  day  (August  11)  wrote  to  Major  Abbott 
at  Hartford,  Conn,  (where  Sharpe's  rifles  were  then  made), 
as  follows :  — 

"  Request  Mr.  Palmer  to  have  one  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles  packed 
in  casks,  like  hardware,  and  to  retain  them  subject  to  my  order ;  also 
to  send  the  bill  to  me  by  mail.  I  will  pay  it  either  with  my  note, 
according  to  the  terms  agreed  on  between  him  and  Dr.  Webb,1  or  in 
cash,  less  interest  at  seven  per  cent  per  annum. " 

August  20. 

This  instalment  of  carbines  is  far  from  being  enough,  and  I  hope 
the  measures  you  are  taking  will  be  followed  up  until  every  organized 
company  of  trusty  men  in  the  Territory  shall  be  supplied.  Dr. 
Cabot 2  will  give  me  the  names  of  any  gentlemen  here  who  subscribe 
money,  and  the  amount,  of  which  I  shall  keep  a  memorandum,  and 
promise  them  that  it  shall  be  repaid,  either  in  cash  or  rifles,  whenever 
it  is  settled  that  Kansas  shall  not  be  a  province  of  Missouri.  There 
fore  keep  them  in  capital  order,  and,  above  all,  take  good  care  that 
they  do  not  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Missourians  after  you  once  get 
them  into  use.  You  must  dispose  of  these  where  they  will  do  the 
most  good;  and  for  this  purpose  you  should  advise  with  Dr.  Robin 
son  and  Mr.  Pomeroy.3 

August  24. 

The  rifles  ought  to  be  on  the  way.  Have  you  forwarded  them  ? 
How  much  money  have  you  received  f  The  Topeka  people  will 
require  half  of  these. 

1  Secretary  of  the  Emigrant.  Aid  Company,  and  a  devoted  friend  of  free 
Kansas. 

2  Samuel  Cabot,  Jr.,  M.D.,  a  noted  surgeon  in  Boston,  and  one  of  the 
most  active  in  raising  money  for  rifles  and  other  material  aid  to  the  Kansas 
farmers  in  1855-57.     He  has  preserved  a  list   of  the  subscribers  to  the 
arms  fund,  which  the  historian  of  Kansas  should  print  in  his  volume. 

3  In  view  of  these  manly  letters  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  his  statements  to  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society  (May  8,  1884)  in  praise  of  the  peaceful 
character  of  Charles  Robinson  are  very  grotesque.      Mr.  Lawrence  then 
said  :  "  Charles  Robinson  never  bore  arms,  nor  omitted  to  do  whatever  he 
considered  to  be  his  duty.     He  sternly  held  the  people  to  their  loyalty  to  the 
Government,  against  the  arguments  and  the  example  of  the  '  higher  law ' 
men,  who  were  always  armed"    One  of  these  "higher  law  "  men  was  Major 
Abbott,  who  rescued  Branson  contrary  to  law,  and  who  was  armed  by  Mr. 
Lawrence  himself,  at  the  urgent  request  of  Robinson  !     Sad  is  the  effect 
of  time  on  the  human  memory. 


214  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

Iii  presenting  these  letters  of  Kobinson  and  Lawrence  to 
the  Kansas  Historical  Society  in  1882,  Major  Abbott  said, 
among  other  things :  "  I  went  to  the  Emigrant  Aid  folks  in 
Boston,  and  to  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  who  immediately  gave 
the  money  for  the  purchase  of  one  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles. 
His  action  and  these  letters  show  what  a  friend  of  Kansas 
he  was  at  that  early  period,  and  how  quick  he  was  to  com 
prehend  the  character  of  the  struggle  into  which  we  had 
been  precipitated.  When  I  reached  home,  the  latter  part 
of  September,  1  found  the  rifles,  which  I  had  sent  ahead  of 
me,  at  Lawrence,  and  ready  for  use.  The  howitzer  came 
later,  but  was  in  time  to  be  brought  to  the  defence  of  Law 
rence  at  the  invasion  in  December,  1855,  the  pretence  for 
which  was  the  rescue  of  Branson,  —  which  rescue,  as  it 
happened,  I  had  a  hand  in."  To  meet  this  invasion  Kobin- 
son  was  made  a  major-general,  and  in  that  capacity  commis 
sioned  John  Brown  as  captain.1 

The  story  of  the  arms  earlier  sent  out  by  the  "Emigrant 
Aid  folks  "  may  here  be  given  as  told  by  General  Deitzler 
and  the  Rev.  Edward  E.  Hale  in  1879.  General  Deitzler 
said :  — 

u  Some  six  weeks  after  my  arrival  in  the  Territory,  and  only  a  few 
days  after  the  Territorial  election  of  March  30,  1855,  at  which  time 

1  The  position  of  Robinson  towards  Major  Abbott  and  the  rescuers  of 
Branson  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  they  reported  at  Robinson's 
house,  ten  miles  from  Blan ton's  Bridge,  before  sunrise,  November  23,  the 
day  after  the  affair.  Mrs.  Robinson  thus  tells  the  story  in  her  book  :  "  The 
slight  form  of  the  leader  stood  a  little  nearer  the  door  ;  and  when  his  pecu 
liarly  dry  manner  of  speech  fell  upon  the  ear  in  his  brief  inquiry,  *  Is  Dr. 
R.  in  ?'  his  identity  was  also  known.  The  Doctor  opened  the  door  and 
invited  them  in.  The  fact  of  the  rescue  was  stated,  and  Mr.  Branson,  be 
ing  in  the  ranks,  was  ordered  to  'step  forward  and  tell  his  story,'  which 
he  did  with  much  feeling,  and  with  the  appearance  of  a  person  who  is 
heart-broken.  1  shall  never  forget  the  appearance  of  the  men  in  simple 
citizen's  dress,  some  armed  and  some  unarmed,  standing  in  unbroken  line, 
just  visible  in  the  breaking  light  of  a  November  morning.  This  little  band 
of  less  than  twenty  men  had,  through  the  cold  and  upon  the  frozen  ground, 
walked  ten  miles  since  nine  o'clock  of  the  previous  evening.  Mr.  Branson  — 
a  large  man,  of  fine  proportions  —  stood  a  little  forward  of  the  line,  with  his 
head  slightly  bent,  which  an  old  straw  hat  hardly  protected  from  the  cold, 
looking  as  though,  in  his  hurry  of  departure  from  home  in  charge  of  the 
ruffianly  men,  he  took  whatever  came  first." 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN  KANSAS.  215 

Kansas  was  invaded  by  an  armed  force  from  the  Southern  States  and 
the  actual  Free- State  settlers  were  driven  from  the  polls,  Governor 
Charles  Kobiuson  requested  me  to  visit  Boston  with  a  view  to  secur 
ing  arms  for  our  people,  to  which  I  assented.  Preparations  were 
quickly  and  quietly  made,  and  no  one  knew  of  the  object  of  my  mis 
sion  except  Governor  Robinson  and  Joel  Grover.  At  Worcester  I 
presented  my  letter  from  Governor  Robinson  to  Mr.  Eli  Thayer,  just 
as  he  was  leaving  his  Oread  Home  for  the  morning  Boston  train. 
Within  an  hour  after  our  arrival  in  Boston,  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Society  held  a  meeting,  and  delivered  to  me 
an  order  for  one  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles,  and  I  started  for  home  on 
Monday  morning.  The  boxes  were  marked  *  Books.'  I  took  the 
precaution  to  have  the  (cap)  cones  removed  from  the  guns,  and  car 
ried  them  in  my  carpet-sack,  which  would  have  been  missing  in  the 
event  of  the  capture  of  the  guns  by  the  enemy.  On  the  Missouri 
River  I  met  John  and  Joseph  L.  Speer  for  the  first  time.  They  did 
not  know  me,  but  may  remember  the  exciting  incidents  at  Boone- 
ville  and  other  points  along  the  river.  I  arrived  at  Lawrence 
with  the  'Beecher  Bibles'  several  days  before  the  special  election 
in  April,  called  by  Governor  Reeder.  But  no  guns  were  needed 
upon  that  occasion,  as  the  ruffians  ignored  said  election;  and  when 
the  persons  elected  upon  that  day  presented  their  credentials  at 
Pawnee,  they  were  kicked  out  without  ceremony.  ...  It  was 
perhaps  the  first  shipment  of  arms  for  our  side ;  and  it.  incited  a 
healthy  feeling  among  the  unarmed  Free-State  settlers,  which 
permeated  and  energized  them  until  even  the  Quakers  were  ready 
to  fight."1 

Mr.  Hale  gave  his  recollections  as  follows :  — 

"  In  the  spring  of  1855  my  friend  Mr.  Deitzler  came  on  in  haste  to 
New  England,  to  say  that  fighting  was  certain,  and  that  you  must 
have  more  weapons.  The  breech -loading  rifle  was  then  a  new  and 
costly  arm.  It  was  then  that  we  gave  to  the  Sharpe's  Rifle  Com 
pany  the  first  of  a  series  of  orders  which  became  historical.  In  the 
next  year  Henry  Ward  Beecher  won  the  nickname  which  he  has 
never  lost,  '  Sharpe's  Rifle  Beecher ; '  and  I  fancy  there  is  no  nickname 
of  which  he  is  more  proud.  With  your  permission  I  will  read  the 
answer  of  the  company  to  that  order,  and  then  I  will  ask  our  friend 
Mr.  Adams  to  accept  that  letter  as  an  historical  document  for  his 
Society."  2 

1  Kansas  Memorial,  1879,  pp.  184,  185. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  147. 


216  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

SHARPE'S  RIFLE  MANUFACTURING  Co., 
HARTFORD,  May  7,  1855. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Annexed  find  invoice  of  one  hundred  carbines,  am 
munition,  etc.,  delivered  Mr.  Deitzler  this  morning.  For  balance  of 
account,  I  have  ordered  on  Messrs.  Lee,  Higgiuson,  &  Co.,  at  thirty 
days  from  this  date,  for  $2,155.65,  as  directed  by  you.  We  shall  be 
pleased  to  receive  further  orders  from  you,  and  will  put  up  arms  at 
our  lowest  cash  prices  to  the  trade,  with  interest  added  for  time.  The 
sample  carbine  for  your  use  shall  go  forward  immediately.  Our 
negotiations  with  you  I  trust  will  be  entirely  confidential,  as  the  trade 
in  Boston  and  elsewhere  might  take  offence  if  they  understood  that 
we  had  made  you  better  terms  than  we  grant  to  others. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  C.  PALMER,  Pres. 
THOS.  H.  WEBB,  ESQ. 

Dr.  Webb  was  then,  and  continued  to  be,  the  secretary  of 
the  Emigrant  Aid  Company ;  and  when  Mr.  Hale  said  "  we," 
he  meant  the  managers  of  that  company,  whose  best  title  to 
the  gratitude  of  Kansas  and  the  nation  is  this  very  gift  of 
arms  to  the  emigrants,  without  which  the  invasion  of  Law 
rence  in  December,  1855,  could  not  have  been  met.  This 
invasion  was  made  under  a  proclamation  issued  by  Governor 
Shannon,  November  29,  calling  out  the  "Kansas  militia." 
He  meant  thereby  the  Missouri  men,  as  appears  by  an  early 
message  sent  from  Woodson,  the  governor's  secretary,  to  a 
proslavery  commander  at  Leaven  worth,  named  Eastin,  who 
had  been  appointed  by  the  usurping  Legislature  to  be  gen 
eral  of  the  Territorial  militia. 

(Private.) 

DEAR  GENERAL,  —  The  Governor  has  called  out  the  militia,  and 
you  will  hereby  organize  your  division,  and  proceed  forthwith  to 
Lecompton.  As  the  Governor  has  no  power,  you  may  call  out  the 
Platte  Rifle  Company.  They  are  always  ready  to  help  us.  What 
ever  you  do,  do  not  implicate  the  Governor. 

DANIEL  WOODSON. 

On  the  same  day  (November  27)  a  despatch  was  sent  from 
Westport  to  the  capital  of  Missouri  in  these  words  :  — 


1855.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  217 

HON.  E.  C.  McCLAREM,  Jefferson  City,  —  Governor  Shannon  has 
ordered  out  the  militia  against  Lawrence.  They  are  now  in  open 
rebellion  against  the  laws.  Jones  is  in  danger. 

From  another  border  town  in  Missouri,  this  despatch  was 
sent :  — 

WESTON,  Mo.,  November  30. 

The  greatest  excitement  continues  to  exist  in  Kansas.  The  offi 
cers  have  been  resisted  by  the  mobocrats,  and  the  interposition  of  the 
militia  has  been  called  for.  A  secret  letter  from  Secretary  Woodson 
to  General  Eastin  has  been  written,  in  which  the  writer  requests 
General  Eastin  to  call  for  the  Rifle  Company  at  Platte  City,  Mo., 
so  as  not  to  compromise  Governor  Shannon.  Four  hundred  men 
from  Jackson  County  are  now  en  route  for  Douglas  County,  K.  T. 
St.  Joseph  and  Weston  are  requested  to  furnish  each  'the  same  num 
ber.  The  people  of  Kansas  are  to  be  subjugated  at  all  hazards. 

The  invasion  took  place,  and  resulted  in  threats  on  the 
Missouri  side,  fortifications  and  drilling  on  the  Lawrence 
side ;  and  finally  this  little  "  Wakarusa  war  "  was  ended  by 
a  treaty  with  Shannon,  who  conceded  all  that  the  Free-State 
men  had  asked.  Brown  and  his  family  rallied  to  the  de 
fence  of  their  neighbors  and  their  cause,  and  were  said  to 
be  the  best-armed  men  that  came  forward  for  service.  They 
were  mustered  in  as  Kansas  militia ;  John  Brown  was  made 
captain,  and  his  son  John  lieutenant,  in  the  Osawatomie 
company.  His  own  report  of  this  affair  is  as  follows  :  — 

BROWN'S  FIRST  CAMPAIGN  :    THE  WAKARUSA  WAR. 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Dec.  16,  1855. 
Sabbath  Evening. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  improve  the  first 
mail  since  my  return  from  the  camp  of  volunteers,  who  lately  turned 
out  for  the  defence  of  the  town  of  Lawrence  in  this  Territory;  and  not 
withstanding  I  suppose  you  have  learned  the  result  before  this  (pos 
sibly)  ,  will  give  a  brief  account  of  the  invasion  in  my  own  way. 

About  three  or  four  weeks  ago  news  came  that  a  Free-State  man 
by  the  name  of  Dow  had  been  murdered  by  a  proslavery  man  by 
the  name  of  Coleman,  who  had  gone  and  given  himself  up  for  trial  to 
the  proslavery  Governor  Shannon.  This  was  soon  followed  by  fur 
ther  news  that  a  Free- State  man  who  was  the  only  reliable  witness 


218  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

against  the  murderer  had  been  seized  by  a  Missourian  (appointed 
sheriff  by  the  bogus  Legislature  of  Kansas)  upon  false  pretexts,  ex 
amined,  and  held  to  bail  under  such  heavy  bonds,  to  answer  to  those 
false  charges,  as  he  could  not  give;  that  while  on  his  way  to  trial, 
in  charge  of  the  bogus  sheriff,  he  was  rescued  by  some  men  belong 
ing  to  a  company  near  Lawrence;  and  that  in  consequence  of  the 
rescue  Governor  Shannon  had  ordered  out  all  the  proslavery  force  he 
could  muster  in  the  Territory,  and  called  on  Missouri  for  further  help  ; 
that  about  two  thousand  had  collected,  demanding  a  surrender  of  the 
rescued  witness  and  of  the  rescuers,  the  destruction  of  several  build 
ings  and  printing-presses,  and  a  giving  up  of  the  Sharpe's  rifles  by 
the  Free-State  men,  —  threatening  to  destroy  the  town  with  cannon, 
with  which  they  were  provided,  etc. ;  that  about  an  equal  number  of 
Free-State  men  had  turned  out  to  resist  them,  and  that  a  battle  was 
hourly  expected  or  supposed  to  have  been  already  fought. 

These  reports  appeared  to  be  well  authenticated,  but  we  could  get 
no  further  account  of  matters ;  and  I  left  this  for  the  place  where  the 
boys  are  settled,  at  evening,  intending  to  go  to  Lawrence  to  learn 
the  facts  the  next  day.  John  was,  however,  started  on  horseback ; 
but  before  he  had  gone  many  rods,  word  came  that  our  help  was  im 
mediately  wanted.  On  getting  this  last  news,  it  was  at  once  agreed 
to  break  up  at  John's  camp,  and  take  Wealthy  and- Johnny  to  Jason's 
camp  (some  two  miles  off),  and  that  all  the  men  but  Henry,  Jason, 
and  Oliver  should  at  once  set  on"  for  Lawrence  under  arms ;  those 
three  being  wholly  unfit  for  duty.  We  then  set  about  providing  a  little 
corn-bread  and  meat,  blankets,  and  cooking  utensils,  running  bullets 
and  loading  all  our  guns,  pistols,  etc.  ,The  five  set  off  in  the  after 
noon,  and  after  a  short  rest  in  the  night  (which  was  quite  dark),  con 
tinued  our  march  until  after  daylight  next  morning,  when  we  got  our 
breakfast,  started  again,  and  reached  Lawrence  in  the  forenoon,  all  of 
us  more  or  less  larned  by  our  tramp.  On  reaching  the  place  we  found 
that  negotiations  had  commenced  between  Governor  Shannon  (having 
a  force  of  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  hundred  men)  and  the  principal 
leaders  of  the  Free-State  men,  they  having  a  force  of  some  five  hun 
dred  men  at  that  time.  These  were  busy,  night  and  day,  fortifying 
the  town  with  embankments  and  circular  earthworks,  up  to  the  time 
of  the  treaty  with  the  Governor,  as  an  attack  was  constantly  looked 
for,  notwithstanding  the  negotiations  then  pending.  This  state  of 
things  continued  from  Friday  until  Sunday  evening.1  On  the  even 
ing  we  left  Osawatomie  a  company  of  the  invaders,  of  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five,  attacked  some  three  or  four  Free-State  men,  mostly  un 
armed,  killing  a  Mr.  Barber  from  Ohio,  wholly  unarmed.  His  body 
was  afterward  brought  in  and  lay  for  some  days  in  the  room  after- 
1  December  7-9. 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  219 

ward  occupied  by  a  part  of  the  company  to  which  we  belong  (it  being 
organized  after  we  reached  Lawrence).  The  building  was  a  large 
unfinished  stone  hotel,  in  which  a  great  part  of  the  volunteers  were 
quartered,  who  witnessed  the  scene  of  bringing  in  the  wife  and  other 
friends  of  the  murdered  man.  I  will  only  say  of  this  scene  that  it  was 
heart-rending,  and  calculated  to  exasperate  the  men  exceedingly,  and 
one  of  the  sure  results  of  civil  war. 

After  frequently  calling  on  the  leaders  of  the  Free- State  men  to 
come  and  have  an  interview  with  him,  by  Governor  Shannon,  and 
after  as  often  getting  for  an  answer  that  if  he  had  any  business  to 
transact  with  any  one  in  Lawrence,  to  come  and  attend  to  it,  he 
signified  his  wish  to  come  into  the  town,1  and  an  escort  was  sent  to 
the  invaders'  camp  to  conduct  him  in.  When  there,  the  leading  Free- 
State  men,  finding  out  his  weakness,  frailty,  and  consciousness  of  the 
awkward  circumstances  into  which  he  had  really  got  himself,  took 
advantage  of  his  cowardice  and  folly,  and  by  means  of  that  and  the 
free  use  of  whiskey  and  some  trickery  succeeded  in  getting  a  written 
arrangement  with  him  much  to  their  own  liking.  He  stipulated  with 
them  to  order  the  proslavery  men  of  Kansas  home,  and  to  proclaim 
to  the  Missouri  invaders  that  they  must  quit  the  Territory  without 
delay,  and  also  to  give  up  General  Pomeroy  (a  prisoner  in  their 
camp),  —  which  was  all  done;  he  also  recognizing  the  volunteers  as 
the  militia  of  Kansas,  and  empowering  their  officers  to  call  them  out 
whenever  in  their  discretion  the  safety  of  Lawrence  or  other  portions 
of  the  Territory  might  require  it  to  be  done.  He  (Governor  Shan 
non)  gave  up  all  pretension  of  further  attempt  to  enforce  the  enact 
ments  of  the  bogus  Legislature,  and  retired,  subject  to  the  derision 
and  scoffs  of  the  Free-State  men  (into  whose  hands  he  had  committed 
the  welfare  and  protection  of  Kansas),  and  to  the  pity  of  some  and 
the  curses  of  others  of  the  invading  force. 

So  ended  this  last  Kansas  invasion, — the  MTssourians  returning 
with  flying  colors,  after  incurring  heavy  expenses,  suffering  great  ex 
posure,  hardships,  and  privations,  not  having  fought  any  battles, 
burned  or  destroyed  any  infant  towns  or  Abolition  presses ;  leaving 
the  Free-State  men  organized  and  armed,  and  in  full  possession  of 
the  Territory;  not  having  fulfilled  any  of  all  their  dreadful  threaten- 
ings,  except  to  murder  one  unarmed  man,  and  to  commit  some  rob 
beries  and  waste  of  property  upon  defenceless  families,  unfortunately 
within  their  power.  We  learn  by  their  papers  that  they  boast  of  a 
great  victory  over  the  Abolitionists ;  and  well  they  may.2  Free-State 

1  December  7,  8. 

3  Brown  seems  to  have  been  divided  in  mind  concerning  thfs  treaty  with 
Shannon,  at  first  denouncing  it  strongly,  as  well  as  the  manner  of  making 


220  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

men  have  only  hereafter  to  retain  the  footing  they  have  gained, 
and  Kansas  is  free.  Yesterday  the  people  passed  upon  the  Free- 
State  constitution.  The  result,  though  not  yet  known,  no  one 
doubts. 

One  little  circumstance,  connected  with  our  own  number,  showing 
a  little  of  the  true  character  of  those  invaders  :  On  our  way,  about 
three  miles  from  Lawrence,  we  had  to  pass  a  bridge  (with  our  arms 
and  ammunition)  of  which  the  invaders  held  possession  ;  but  as  the 
five  of  us  had  each  a  gun,  with  two  large  revolvers  in  a  belt  exposed 
to  view,  with  a  third  in  his  pocket,  and  as  we  moved  directly  on  to 
the  bridge  without  making  any  halt,  they  for  some  reason  suffered 
us  to  pass  without  interruption,  notwithstanding  there  were  some 
fifteen  to  twenty-five  (as  variously  reported)  stationed  in  a  log-house 
at  one  end  of  the  bridge.  We  could  not  count  them.  A  boy  on  our 
approach  ran  and  gave  them  notice.  Five  others  of  our  company, 
well  armed,  who  followed  us  some  miles  behind,  met  with  equally 
civil  treatment  the  same  day.  After  we  left  to  go  to  Lawrence, 
until  we  returned  when  disbanded,  I  did  not  see  the  least  sign  of 
cowardice  or  want  of  self-possession  exhibited  by  any  volunteer  of 
the  eleven  companies  who  constituted  the  Free-State  force;  and  I 
never  expect  again  to  see  an  equal  number  of  such  well-behaved, 

it,  and  afterward  seeing  the  respite  it  gave  the  Kansas  farmers  to  make 
good  their  position.  Mr.  E.  A.  Coleman  writes  me:  "When  Lawrence 
was  besieged,  we  sent  runners  to  all  parts  of  the  Territory,  calling  on  every 
settler.  We  met  at  Lawrence.  Robinson  was  commander-in-chief ;  1  was 
on  his  staff,  appointed  of  course  by  order  of  the  commander.  We  had  gath 
ered  to  the  number  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty,  all  told.  The  ruffians 
were  gathered  at  Franklin,  four  miles  east,  with  four  or  five  hundred  men. 
We  were  not  well  armed,  all  of  us,  —  at  the  same  time  being  somewhat 
afraid  of  getting  into  trouble  with  the  General  Government.  Robinson  sent 
to  Shannon,  at  Lecompton,  to  come  down  and  see  if  something  could  not 
be  done  to  prevent  bloodshed.  He  came  ;  we  all  knew  his  weakness.  We 
had  plenty  of  brandy,  parleyed  with  him  until  he  was  drunk,  and  then  he 
agreed  to  get  the  ruffians  to  go  home,  —  which  he  did  by  telling  them  we 
had  agreed  to  obey  all  the  laws,  which  was  a  lie.  As  soon  as  Brown  heard 
what  had  been  done,  he  came  with  his  sons  into  our  council-room,  the 
maddest  man  I  ever  saw.  He  told  Robinson  that  what  he  had  done  was 
all  a  farce  ;  that  in  less  than  six  months  the  Missourians  would  find  out 
the  deception,  and  things  would  be  worse  than  they  were  that  day  (and 
so  it  was)  ;  that  he  came  up  to^help  them  fight,  but  if  that  was  the  way 
Robinson  meant  to  do,  not  to  send  for  him  again."  Mr.  Foster,  of  Osa- 
watomie,  meeting  Brown  on  his  return  from  Lawrence,  asked  him  about 
Robinson  and  Lane.  "They  are  both  men  without  principle,"  said  Brown  ; 
"  but  when  worst  comes  to  worst,  Lane  will  fight,  — and  there  is  no  fight  in 
Robinson." 


1855.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  221 

cool,  determined  men,  —  fully,  as  I  believe,  sustaining  the  high  char 
acter  of  the  ^Revolutionary  fathers.  But  enough  of  this,  as  we  intend 
to  send  you  a  paper  giving  a  more  full  account  of  the  affair.  We 
have  cause  for  gratitude  in  that  we  all  returned  safe  and  well,  with 
the  exception  of  hard  colds,  and  found  those  left  behind  rather 
improving. 

We  have  received  fifty  dollars  from  father,  and  learn  from  him 
that  he  has  sent  you  the  same  amount,  —  for  which  we  ought  to  be 
grateful,  as  we  are  much  relieved,  both  as  respects  ourselves  and  you. 
The  mails  have  been  kept  back  during  the  invasion,  but  we  hope  to 
hear  from  you  again  soon.  Mr.  Adair's  folks  are  well,  or  nearly  so. 
Weather  mostly  pleasant,  but  sometimes  quite  severe.  No  snow  of 
account  as  yet.  Can  think  of  but  little  more  to-night. 


Monday  Morning,  December  17. 

The  ground  for  the  first  time  is  barely  whitened  with  snow,  and  it  is 
quite  cold ;  but  we  have  before  had  a  good  deal  of  cold  weather,  with 
heavy  rains.  Henry  and  Oliver  and,  I  may  [say] ,  Jason  were  disap 
pointed  in  not  being  able  to  go  to  war.  The  disposition  at  both  our 
camps  to  turn  out  was  uniform.  I  believe  I  have  before  acknowl 
edged  the  receipt  of  a  letter  from  you  and  Watson.  Have  just  taken 
one  from  the  office  for  Henry  that  I  think  to  be  from  Ruth.  Do 
write  often,  and  let  me  know  all  about  how  you  get  along  through 
the  winter.  May  God  abundantly  bless  you  all,  and  make  you 
faithful. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN.1 

1  Soon  after  this  "Wakarusa  war,"  and  perhaps  in  consequence  of  his 
service  therein,  Brown  became  the  owner  of  one  small  share  in  the  Emigrant 
Aid  Company,  as  appears  by  this  certificate  :  — 

No.  638.  BOSTON,  Jan.  15,  1856. 

This  is  to  certify  that  John  Brown,  Lawrence,  K.  T.,  is  proprietor  of  one  share,  of 
the  par  value  of  twenty  dollars  each,  in  the  capital  stock  of  the  New  England  Emigrant 
Aid  Company,  transferable  on  the  books  of  said  Company,  on  the  surrender  of  this 
certificate.  . 

JOHN  M.  S.  WILLIAMS,  Vice-President. 
THOMAS  H.  WEBB,  Secretary. 

This  paper  is  indorsed,  in  John  Brown's  handwriting,  "Emigrant  Aid 
Co.,  Certificate,"  and  was  found  among  his  papers  after  his  death.  He 
derived  no  profit  from  it,  as  indeed  was  the  case  with  the  other  sharehold 
ers  ;  but  it  perhaps  gave  him  some  standing  among  his  Kansas  neigh 
bors  to  have  even  this  connection  with  a  corporation  supposed  to  be  very 
rich. 


222  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

During  this  arctic  winter  Brown  wrote  as  follows  to  the 
family  at  North  Elba,  where  it  was  still  more  arctic :  — 

Jolm  Brovm  to  his  Family. 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Feb.  1,  1856. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  Yours  and  Watson's 
letters  to  the  boys  and  myself,  of  December  30  and  January  1,  were 
received  by  last  mail.  We  are  all  very  glad  to  hear  again  of  your 
welfare,  and  I  am  particularly  grateful  when  I  am  noticed  by  a  letter 
from  you.  I  have  just  taken  out  two  letters  for  Henry  [Thompson], 
one  of  which,  I  suppose,  is  from  Ruth.  Salmon  and  myself  are  so 
far  on  our  way  home  from  Missouri,  and  only  reached  Mr.  Adair's 
last  night.  They  are  all  well,  and  we  know  of  nothing  but  all  are 
well  at  the  boys'  shanties.  The  weather  continues  very  severe,  and 
it  is  now  nearly  six  weeks  that  the  snow  has  been  almost  constantly 
driven,  like  dry  sand,  by  the  fierce  winds  of  Kansas.  Mr.  Adair  has 
been  collecting  ice  of  late  from  the  Osage  River,  which  is  nine  and 
a  half  inches  thick,  of  perfect  clear  solid  ice,  formed  under  the 
snow.  By  means  of  the  sale  of  our  horse  and  wagon,  our  present 
wants  are  tolerably  well  met,  so  that,  if  health  is  continued  to  us,  we 
shall  not  probably  suffer  much.  The  idea  of  again  visiting  those  of 
my  dear  family  at  North  Elba  is  so  calculated  to  unman  me,  that  I 
seldom  allow  my  thoughts  to  dwell  upon  it,  and  I  do  not  think  best 
to  write  much  about  it ;  suffice  it  to  say,  that  God  is  abundantly 
able  to  keep  both  us  and  you,  and  in  him  let  ns  all  trust.  We  have 
just  learned  of  some  new  and  shocking  outrages  at  Leavenworth,  and 
that  the  Free-State  people  there  have  fled  to  Lawrence,  which 
place  is  again  threatened  with  an  attack.  Should  that  take  place, 
we  may  soon  again  be  called  upon  to  li  buckle  on  our  armor,"  which 
by  the  help  of  God  we  will  do,  —  when  T  suppose  Henry  and  Oliver 
will  have  a  chance.  My  judgment  is,  that  we  shall  have  no  general 
disturbance  until  warmer  weather.  I  have  more  to  say,  but  not  time 
now  to  say  it ;  so  farewell  for  this  time.  Write  ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Feb.  6,  1856. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  ...  Thermometer 
on  Sunday  and  Monday  at  twenty-eight  to  twenty-^nine  below  zero. 
Tee  in  the  river,  in  the  timber,  and  under  the  snow,  eighteen  inches 
thick  this  week.  On  our  return  to  where  the  boys  live  we  found 
Jason  again  down  with  the  ague,  but  he  was  some  better  yesterday. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN   KANSAS.  223 

Oliver  was  also  laid  up  by  freezing  his  toes,  —  one  great  toe  so  badly 
frozen  that  the  nail  has  come  off.  He  will  be  crippled  for  some  days 
yet.  Owen  has  one  foot  some  frozen.  We  have  middling  tough 
times  (as  some  would  call  them),  but  have  enougli  to  eat,  and  abun 
dant  reasons  for  the  most  unfeigned  gratitude.  It  is  likely  that  when 
the  snow  goes  off,  such  high  water  will  prevail  as  will  render  it  diffi 
cult  for  Missouri  to  invade  the  Territory  ;  so  that  God  by  his  elements 
may  protect  Kansas  for  some  time  yet.  .  .  .  Write  me  as  to  all  your 
wants  for  the  coming  spring  and  summer.  I  hope  you  will  all  be  led 
to  seek  G-od  "  with  your  whole  heart; "  and  I  pray  him.  in  his  mercy, 
to  be  found  of  you.  All  mail  communications  are  entirely  cut  off  by 
the  snowdrifts,  so  that  we  get  no  news  whatever  this  week.  .  .  . 


OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Feb.  20,  1856. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  Your  letter  to 
Salmon,  and  Ruth's  to  Henry  and  Ellen,  of  6th  and  16th  January, 
were  received  by  last  week's  mail.  This  week  we  get  neither  letter 
nor  paper  from  any  of  you.  I  need  not  continually  repeat  that  we 
are  always  glad  to  hear  from  you.  and  to  learn  of  your  welfare.  I 
wish  that  to  be  fully  understood.  Salmon  and  myself  are  here  again, 
on  our  way  back  from  Missouri,  where  we  have  been  for  corn,  —  as 
what  the  boys  had  raised  was  used  up,  stock  and  families  having  to 
live  on  it  mainly  while  it  lasted.  We  had  to  pay  thirty  cents  per 
bushel  for  corn.  Salmon  has  had  the  ague  again,  while  we  have 
been  gone,  and  had  a  hard  shake  yesterday.  To-day  is  his  well  day. 
We  found  Henry  and  Frederick  here  helping  Mr.  Adair ;  and  I  have 
been  helping  also  yesterday  and  to-day.  Those  behind  were  as  well 
as  usual  a  day  or  two  since.  I  have  but  little  to  write  this  time, 
except  to  tell  you  about  the  weather,  and  to  complain  of  the  almost 
lack  of  news  from  the  United  States.  We  are  very  anxious  to 
know  what  Congress  is  doing.  We  hear  that  Frank  Pierce  means 
to  crush  the  men  of  Kansas.  I  do  not  know  how  well  he  may  suc 
ceed  ;  but  I  think  he  may  find  his  hands  full  before  it  is  all  over. 
For  a  few  days  the  snow  has  melted  a  little,  and  it  begins  to  seem 
like  early  March  in  Ohio.  I  have  agreed  either  to  buy  the  line- 
backed  cow  of  Henry,  or  to  pay  five  dollars  for  the  use  of  her  and 
keep  her  a  year,  whichever  may  hereafter  appear  best ;  so  that,  if 
she  lives,  you  can  calculate  on  the  use  of  her.  I  have  also  written 
Mr.  Hurlbut,  of  Connecticut,  further  in  regard  to  the  cattle,  and 
think  you  will  soon  hear  something  from  him.  No  more  now.  May 
God  Almighty  bless  you  and  all  good  friends  at  North  Elba ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


224  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

Brown  seems  to  have  written  about  this  time  to  his 
former  representative  in  Congress,  Mr.  Giddings  of  Ohio, 
to  inquire  the  purpose  of  the  Government,  and  was  thus 
answered :  — 

HALL  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  U.  S., 
March  17,  1856. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  We  shall  do  all  we  can,  but  we  are  in  a  minor 
ity,  and  are  dependent  on  the  "  Know  Nothings"  1  for  aid  to  effect 
anything,  and  they  are  in  a  very  doubtful  position  ;  we  know  not  how 
they  will  act.  All  I  can  say  is,  we  shall  try  to  relieve  you.  In  the 
mean  time  you  ne'ed  have  no  fear  of  the  troops.  The  President  never 
will  dare  employ  the  troops  of  the  United  States  to  shoot  the  citi 
zens  of  Kansas.  The  death  of  the  first  man  by  the  troops  will  in 
volve  every  free  State  in  your  own  fate.  It  will  light  up  the  fires  of 
civil  war  throughout  the  North,  and  we  shall  stand  or  fall  with  you. 
Such  an  act  will  also  bring  the  President  so  deep  in  infamy  that  the 
hand  of  political  resurrection  will  never  reach  him.  Your  safety  de 
pends  on  the  supply  of  men  and  arms  and  money  which  will  move 
forward  to  your  relief  as  soon  as  the  spring  opens.  I  am  confident 
there  will  be  as  many  people  in  Kansas  next  winter  as  can  be  sup 
plied  with  provisions.  I  may  be  mistaken,  but  I  feel  confident  there 
will  be  no  war  in  Kansas. 

Very  respectfully, 

J.  R.  GIDDINGS. 

JOHN  BROWN,  ESQ. 

In  this  last  prediction  Mr.  Giddings  was  wide  of  the 
mark ;  for  within  two  months  from  the  time  this  letter 
reached  Kansas,  the  Territory  was  again  invaded,  Lawrence 
was  captured  and  pillaged,  and  the  Pottawatomie  execu 
tions  had  taken  place.  These  events  had  been  preceded  by 
many  others,  which  can  here  be  noticed  only  briefly,  though 
they  were  of  great  importance.  An  election  had  been  held, 
Jan.  15,  1856,  for  State  officers  and  a  Legislature,  under 
the  Free-State  constitution  adopted  at  Topeka  in  1855.  At 
some  points  in  Kansas,  particularly  at  Leavenworth,  the 
usurping  proslavery  men  forbade  this  election  ;  and  an  ad 
journed  election  was  held  for  that  county  at  Easton  (a  few 
miles  northwest  of  Leavenworth  and  near  Kickapoo,  where 
that  infamous  Border-Euffian  military  company,  the  "  Kick 
apoo  Eangers,"  had  their  headquarters)  on  the  17th  of 

1  A  political  party  (the  "Native  Americans")  so  designated. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN   FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  225 

January.  That  night,  Very  late,  while  a  Free-State  man 
named  Sparks  was  returning  home  with  his  sons,  he  was 
surrounded  by  the  ruffians,  and  rescued  by  B,.  P.  Brown 
(no  relative  of  John  Brown),  who  was  a  leader  of  the  Free- 
State  men  in  Leavenworth  County,  and  a  member  elect  of 
the  Topeka  Legislature,  as  Sparks  also  was.  The  next  morn 
ing,  as  Brown,  with  seven  other  Free-State  men,  —  among 
whom  was  Henry  J.  Adams,  afterward  Mayor  of  Leaven- 
worth,  —  was  returning  to  his  home,  about  half-way  between 
Easton  and  Leavenworth,  and  near  Kickapoo,  he  was  sur 
rounded  by  a  force  of  fifty  men  or  more,  all  armed,  and 
some  of  them  drunk,  who  took  them  prisoners.  The 
drunken  ruffians  tried  to  kill  the  Free-State  men,  but  were 
prevented  by  their  leaders,  among  whom  were  several  per 
sons  holding  Territorial  or  United  States  office.  The  pris 
oners  were  carried  by  this  howling  mob  back  to  Easton  ;  but 
Brown  was  separated  from  them.  A  rope  was  purchased 
and  shown  to  the  prisoners,  who  were  threatened  with 
hanging.  Unwilling  that  all  these  men  should  be  murdered, 
Martin,  the  Kickapoo  captain,  allowed  Adams  and  the  other 
prisoners  to  escape.  Adams  hastened  to  Fort  Leavenworth 
in  hopes  of  getting  United  States  troops  to  rescue  Brown, 
but  was  refused.  Meantime  Brown  had  surrendered  his 
arms,  and  was  helpless.  His  enemies,  who  dared  not  face 
him  the  night  before,  though  they  had  a  superior  force, 
crowded  around  him  ;  and  one  of  the  "  Rangers,"  a  drunken 
wretch  named  Gibson,  inflicted  the  fatal  blow,  —  a  large 
hatchet  gash  in  the  side  of  the  head,  penetrating  the  skull 
and  brain.  The  gallant  man  fell,  while  his  enemies  jumped 
on  him  and  kicked  him.  Desperately  wounded,  he  said, 
"  Don't  abuse  me  !  it  is  useless  ;  I  am  dying."  One  of  the 
mob  (afterward  United  States  deputy  marshal)  stooped 
over  the  prostrate  man,  and  spat  tobacco  juice  in  his  eyes. 
Finally  a  few  of  the  ruffians,  whom  a  little  spark  of  con 
science  or  fear  of  punishment  animated,  raised  the  dying 
man,  still  groaning,  and  placing  him  in  a  wagon,  in  a  cold 
winter  day,  drove  him.  to  the  grocery,  where  they  dressed 
his  wounds ;  but  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  his  case  they 
took  him  home  to  his  wife,  to  whom  he  said,  "I  have 
been  murdered  by  a  gang  of  cowards  in  cold  blood." 

15 


226  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1856. 

To  one  of  the  neighbors  who  came  to  Brown's  house  at 
three  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  January  19,  and  found  him 
lying  on  the  floor  soaked  in  blood,  the  murdered  man  said, 
"  I  am  dying,  but  in  a  good  cause."  "  I  sat  down,"  says 
this  neighbor,  "  took  his  head  upon  my  lap,  and  examined 
the  wound  in  his  head ;  opened  his  vest,  but  found  no  other 
wound.  He  raised  apparently  from  one  side,  as  if  he 
wanted  to  turn  over,  exclaimed,  'I  am  dying,'  and  imme 
diately  died,  with  his  head  on  my  lap.  Charles  Dunn  [a 
Border-Kuffian  'captain,'  who  brought  Brown  home]  told 
me  that  after  receiving  the  wound  Brown  had  made  his 
escape,  fled  to  the  woods,  had  been  caught  and  brought 
back,  and  that  he  [Dunn]  had  been  instrumental  in  keeping 
them  from  shooting  or  hanging  him.  Dunn  was  at  that 
time  very  much  intoxicated." 

The  offence  that  this  murdered  man  had  committed  was, 
first,  voting  ;  second,  defending  the  ballot-box  from  drunken 
ruffians  who  tried  to  break  up  the  election  ;  and,  finally,  with 
fifteen  men,  rescuing  his  neighbor  Sparks  from  twenty  or 
thirty  of  these  ruffians.  A  proslavery  man  of  the  better 
class,  Pierce  Rively,  who  kept  a  store  near  Brown's  farm 
in  "  Salt  Creek  Valley,"  testified  before  the  Congressional 
Committee,  four  months  later:  "I  do  not  know  that  the 
grand  jury  has  made  any  inquiry  into  this  matter,  or  has 
ever  attempted  it.  I  have  been  a  member  of  the  grand 
jury  since,  and  nothing  was  said  about  it ; "  yet  Rively  was 
present  when  Brown  received  his  death-blow,  and  helped 
the  drunken  Dunn  to  put  him  into  the  wagon.  The  wife 
and  child  of  Brown  went  to  live  with  a  neighbor  until 
spring,  and  then  went  back  to  Michigan.  The  wife  of 
Stephen  Sparks,  the  Free-State  man  whom  Brown  rescued, 
testified  that  on  the  day  Brown  was  murdered  a  party  of 
proslavery  horsemen,  commanded -by  Dunn,  rode  up  to  her 
cabin  on  Stranger  Creek,  four  miles  south  of  Easton.  They 
first  gave  chase  to  two  Free-State  men  near  by,  shooting  at 
them  and  shouting,  "Kill  the  damned  Abolitionists,"  and 
then  returned  to  the  Sparks  cabin,  where  Dunn  cried, 
"  Now  we  will  take  the  house  :  shoot  Captain  Sparks  at 
sight !  "  Whereupon,  Mrs.  Sparks  says  :  — 


1856.1 


THE   BROWN   FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  227 


"  I  then  told  them  I  had  an  afflicted  son,  and  that  anything  that 
excited  him  threw  him  into  spasms  right  at  once,  and  that  his  father 
and  all  but  him  were  away  from  home.  When  I  stepped  back  to  the 
door  and  looked  in,  I  saw  Captain  Dunn  with  a  six-shooter  presented 
at  my  son's  breast.  1  did  not  hear  the  question  asked,  but  I  heard 
my  son's  answer,  '  I  am  on  the  Lord's  side  ;  and  if  you  want  to  kill 
me,  kill  me !  I  am  not  afraid  to  die.'  Dunn  then  left  him,  and 
turned  to  my  little  son,  twelve  years  old,  put  the  pistol  to  his  breast, 
and  asked  him  where  his  father's  Sharpens  rifle  was.  My  son  told 
him  he  had  none.  Dunn  then  asked  where  those  guns  were,  — 
pointing  to  the  racks,  —  and  told  him  if  he  did  not  tell  the  truth  he 
would  kill  him.  .My  son  told  him  '  the  men-folks  generally  took  care 
of  the  guns.'  When  they  came  out,  I  asked  Captain  Dunn,  '  What 
does  all  this  mean  ? '  He  answered  that  '  they  had  taken  the  law  into 
their  own  hands,  and  they  intended  to  use  it.'  Late  in  February 
eight  men  came  to  the  house  ;  two  men  came  up  first,  and  the  others 
followed.  They  asked  for  Mr.  Sparks,  and  left  a  paper  with  me, 
ending  thus  :  '  Believing  that  your  further  residence  among  us  is  in 
compatible  with  the  peace  and  welfare  of  this  community,  we  advise 
you  to  leave  as  soon  as  you  can  conveniently  do  so.'  This  was 
signed  by  forty  men,  only  one  of  whom  is  an  actual  resident  in  the 
neighborhood  ;  most  of  them  are  Kickapoo  Rangers  and  Missourians. 
One  of  the  two  who  first  came  to  the  door  said  his  name  was 
Kennedy,  from  Alabama  ;  the  other,  I  think,  emigrated  from  Mis 
souri.  I  asked  him  what  he  had  against  Mr.  Sparks.  He  said 
he  had  nothing  against  him  ;  but  he  '  was  too  influential  in  his 
party,  and  they  intended  to  break  it  down ; '  that  I  must  tell  Mr. 
Sparks  to  leave  by  March  10  or  abide  the  consequences.  A  night 
or  two  before  the  10th  of  March  four  men  came  into  the  house, 
about  ten  o'clock,  and  searched  for  Mr.  Sparks,  but  did  not  find 
him.  They  asked  for  the  '  notice  to  leave,'  and  if  I  had  given  it 
to  Mr.  Sparks,  —  and  made  many  threats,  and  charged  us  to  leave 
at  that  time,  saying  that  if  he  was  there  they  would  cut  him  to 
pieces."  1 

1  This  testimony  was  given  by  Mrs.  "  Esseneth "  Sparks  (who  signed 
with  a  mark  because  she  could  not  write),  May  24,  1856,  — the  very  day 
that  Brown  with  his  party  was  executing  the  Doyles  and  other  ruffians  on 
the  Pottawatomie.  Stephen  Sparks  was  a  Missourian,  who  had  lived  in 
Platte  County  from  1845  to  1854,  then  moved  into  Kansas,  and  was  in 
1856  elected  to  the  Free-State  Legislature.  He  was  a  man  of  cool  courage, 
who  behaved  well  throughout  the  violent  scenes  of  January  17-19,  and 
told  the  Congressional  Committee,  "  I  belong  to  the  Free-State  party,  but 
am  no  Abolitionist,  either."  On  the  night  of  the  17th,  as  he  said,  "  My 
son  was  wounded  (and  knocked  down  within  six  or  eight  feet  of  me)  in 


228  '  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

The  Topeka  Legislature  (of  which  Sparks  and  the  mur- 
y  dered  Brown  were  members,  as  well  as  John  Brown,  Jr., 
and  Major  Abbott,  the  rescuer  of  Branson)  met  on  the  4th 
of  March,  and  remained  in  session  four  days,  adjourning  to 
July  4.  During  this  session  they  elected  James  H.  Lane 
(who  had  commanded  an  Indiana  regiment  in  the  Mexican 
War  and  distinguished  himself  at  Buena  Vista)  one  of  the 
United  States  senators  from  Kansas,  not  yet  admitted  as  a 
State.  On  the  19th  of  March  the  House  of  Representatives 
at  Washington  voted  a  special  committee  (WT.  A.  Howard 
of  Michigan,  John  Sherman  of  Ohio,  and  M.  1ST.  Oliver  of 
Missouri)  to  investigate  the  troubles  of  Kansas ;  and  on  the 
24th  of  March  General  Cass  presented  in  the  United  States 
Senate  the  Topeka  Free-State  Constitution.  Early  in  April, 
Jefferson  Buford,  of  Eufaula,  Ala.,  who  had  left  his  home 
in  March,  reached  Kansas  with  a  large  force  of  Southern 
men,  armed  champions  of  slavery,  and  encamped  not  far 
from  Osawatomie ;  while  on  the  16th  of  April  the  Free- 
State  men  round  there  —  John  Brown  and  his  son  John, 
0.  V.  Dayton,  Eichard  Mendenhall,  Charles  A.  Foster  of 
Massachusetts,  and  others  —  met  in  public  assembly,  and 
agreed  not  to  pay  taxes  to  the  usurping  Legislature,  for 
which  they  were  afterward  indicted  as  conspirators.  These 
occurrences  should  be  borne  in  mind  when  reading  John 
Brown's  next  letter. 

John  Brown  to  his  Family  at  North  Elba. 

BROWN'S  STATION,  K.  T.,  April  7,  1856. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  wrote  yon  last 
week,  enclosing  New  York  draft  for  thirty  dollars,  made  payable  to 
Watson ;  twenty  dollars  of  which  were  to  be  given  to  Ruth,  in  part 
payment  for  the  spotted  cow,  the  balance  to  be  used  as  circumstances 
might  require.  I  would  have  sent  you  more,  but  I  had  no  way  to  do 
it,  arid  money  is  very  scarce  with  me  indeed.  Since  I  wrote  last, 
three  letters  have  been  received  by  the  boys  from  Ruth,  dated  March 
5  and  9,  and  one  of  same  date  from  Watson.  The  general  tone  of 
'  those  letters  I  like  exceedingly.  We  do  not  want  you  to  borrow 

the  arm  and  head  slightly  ;  but  he  raised  again  and  fired."     See  Keport 
of  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Troubles  in  Kansas,  1856,  pp.  981-1020. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN  KANSAS.  229 

trouble  about  us,  but  trust  us  to  the  care  of  "  Him  who  feeds  the  young 
ravens  when  they  cry."  I  have,  as  usual,  but  little  to  write.  We 
are  doing  off  a  house  for  Orson  Day,  which  we  hope  to  get  through 
with  soon ;  after  which  we  shall  probably  soon  leave  this  neighbor 
hood,  but  will  advise  you  further  when  we  do  leave.  It  may  be  that 
Watson  can  manage  to  get  a  little  money  for  shearing  sheep  if  you 
do  not  get  any  from  Connecticut.  I  still  hope  you  will  get  help  from 
that  source.  We  have  no  wars  as  yet,  but  we  still  have  abundance 
of  "  rumors."  We  still  have  frosty  nights,  but  the  grass  starts  a 
little.  There  are  none  of  us  complaining  much  just  now,  all  being 
able  to  do  something.  John  has  just  returned  from  Topeka,1  not 
having  met  with  any  difficulty  ;  but  we  hear  that  preparations  are 
making  in  the  United  States  Court  for  numerous  arrests  of  Free- 
State  men.2  For  one,  I  have  no  desire  (all  things  considered)  to 
have  the  slave-power  cease  from  its  acts  of  aggression.  u  Their 
foot  shall  slide  in  due  time."  No  more  now.  May  God  bless  and 
keep  you  all! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

It  was  in  the  early  part  of  May  that  John  Brown  exe 
cuted  a  manoeuvre  which  has  often  been  related,  not  always 
in  the  same  manner,  and  which  he  may  have  repeated  when 
necessary, — his  visit  to  the  camp  of  the  proslavery  men 
in  the  guise  of  a  land-surveyor.  Mr.  Foster,  now  living 
in  Qnincy,  Mass.,  but  then  a  young  lawyer  at  Osawatomie, 
newly  married  and  beginning  to  practise  in  Miami  County, 

1  The  meeting  of  the  Free-State  Legislature. 

2  James  Hanway,  of  Pottawatomie,  speaking  of  his  old  log-cabin,  not 
far  from  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing,  said,  some  years  since  :  "  It  was  in  this 
cabin  that  the  Pottawatomie  Rifle  Company,  under  Captain  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  stacked  their  arms  when  they  paid  a  friendly  visit  to  Judge  Cato's 
court,  in  April,  1856.     The  Free-State  settlers  were  anxious  to  learn  what 
position  Judge  Cato  would  take,  in  his  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  concern 
ing  the  celebrated  '  bogus  laws  '  ot  the  Shawnee  Mission.     This  visit  of 
our  citizens  was  construed  by  the  court  as  a  demonstration  unfavorable  to 
the  execution  of  the  bogus  laws.     Before  daylight  the  next  morning  Cato 
and  his  proslavery  officials  had  left  (they  were  on  their  way  to  Lecomp- 
ton),  and  the  grand  jury  was  dismissed  from  further  labor.     This  was  the 
first  and  the  last  time  that  this  section   of  the  country  was  visited  by 
proslavery  officials."     But  we   shall  see,  when  we  come  to  consider  the 
Pottawatomie  executions,  that  this  court  did  take  action  ;  and  perhaps 
their  action  led  to  the  killing  of  the  five  proslavery  men  near  Dutch 
Henry's. 


230  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

is  authority  for  one  version  of  it.  Mention  has  just  been 
made  of  the  arrival  of  Jefferson  Buford  from  Alabama, 
with  an  armed  company,  which  divided  into  colonies.  Two 
of  these  directed  their  course  towards  the  town  of  Osa- 
watomie,  —  one  settling  in  a  block-house  on  the  Miami 
Keserve,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town ;  the  other, 
and  larger,  colony  made  their  first  halt  in  the  Osage  bottom, 
near  the  town  of  Stanton,  about  eight  miles  from  where  the 
Shermans,  Wilkinson,  and  the  Doyles  lived.  At  this  time 
John  Brown  was  not  generally  known,  although  he  had  been 
in  the  country  six  months.  It  was  a  matter  of  importance 
to  the  Free-State  men  to  know  what  was  the  purpose  of  these 
bodies  of  armed  men,  so  that  they  might  shape  their  action 
accordingly.  Brown,  without  consulting  any  one,  deter 
mined  to  visit  their  camp  and  ascertain  their  plans.  He 
therefore  took  his  tripod,  chain,  and  other  surveying  imple 
ments,  and  with  one  of  his  younger  sons  started  for  the_ 
camp.  Just  before  reaching  the  place  he  struck  his  tripod, 
sighted  a  line  through  the  centre  of  the  camp,  and  then 
with  his  son  began  "  chaining  "  the  distance.  The  Southern 
men  supposed  him  to  be  a  Government  surveyor  (in  those 
times,  of  course,  proslavery),  and  were  very  free  in  telling 
him  their  plan^  They  were  going  over  to  Pottawatomie 
Creek  to  drive  off  all  the  Free-State  men ;  and  there  was  a 
*  settlement  of  Browns  on  North  Middle  Creek,  who  had  some 
of  the  finest  stock,  — these  also  they  would  "clean  out,"  as 
well  as  the  Dutch  settlement  between  the  two  rivers.1  They 
were  asked  who  had  given  them  information  about  the 
Browns,  etc.,  and  who  was  directing  them  about  the  county  ; 
and  without  any  hesitation  the  Shermans,  Doyles,  Wilkin 
son,  George  Wilson,  and  others  were  named.  In  the  midst 
of  the  talk  these  men  walked  into  the  camp,  as  Mr.  Foster 
says,  and  were  received  with  manifestations  of  pleasure.  A 
few  days  after,  the  camp  was  moved  over  to  Pottawatomie 
Creek,  and  the  men  began  stealing  horses,  arms,  etc.  This 

1  This  was  the  neighborhood  where  Benjamin,  Bondi,  and  Wiener  had 
settled,  and  where  the  valuable  warehouse  of  Wiener  was  afterward  burned. 
The  Doyles  and  Wilkinson  were  not  far  off,  and  the  Shermans  at  Dutch 
Henry's  Crossing  were  between  the  "  Dutch  settlement "  and  Buford's 
camp. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  231 

had  been  going  on  for  some  weeks  when  the  attack  upon 
Lawrence  was  made  in  May.1 

The  immediate  occasion  of  the  invasion  of  Lawrence  a 
second  (or  rather  a  third)  time  was  the  resistance  of  the 
Lawrence  Free-State  men  to  an  attempt  made  by  Sheriff 
Jones,  as  'deputy  marshal  of  the  United  States,  to  arrest 
S.  N.  Wood,  one  of  the  rescuers  of  Branson  the  previous 
November.  Jones  made  the  first  attempt  April  19,  tried 
again  on  the  20th,  and  on  the  23d  came  with  a  file  of  United 
States  troops  to  support  him.  He  arrested  several  citizens, 
but  not  Wood,  and  at  night  was  himself  shot  at  and  wounded 
slightly.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  act  to  inflame  the 
minds  of  the  Missourians ;  and  the  United  States  District 
Court,  which  was  organized  by  this  time,  with  Judge  Le- 
compte  at  its  head,  took  up  the  matter  as  an  affair  of  rebel 
lion  and  treason.  Early  in  May  Lecompte  gave  a  charge  to 
the  grand  jury  at  the  town  named  for  him  (Lecompton), 
in  which  he  said  :  — 

"  This  Territory  was  organized  by  an  act  of  Congress,  and  so  far 
its  authority  is  from  the  United  States.  It  has  a  Legislature  elected 
in  pursuance  of  that  organic  act.  This  Legislature,  being  an  instru 
ment  of  Congress  by  which  it  governs  the  Territory,  has  passed  laws. 
These  laws,  therefore,  are  of  United  States  authority  and  making  ; 
and  all  that  resist  these  laivs  resist  the  power  and  authority  of  the 
United  States,  and  are  therefore  guilty  of  high-treason.  Now,  gen 
tlemen,  if  you  find  that  any  persons  have  resisted  these  laws,  then  you 
must,  under  your  oaths,  find  bills  against  them  for  high-treason.  If 
you  find  that  no  such  resistance  has  been  made,  but  that  combinations 
have  been  formed  for  the  purpose  of  resisting  them,  and  individuals 
of  influence  and  notoriety  have  been  aiding  and  abetting  in  such 
combinations,  then  must  you  still  find  bills  for  constructive  treason." 

It  was  under  this  monstrous  instruction,  by  which  usur 
pation  was  made  legal  and  put  on  a  level  with  the  existence 
of  the  United  States,  that  indictments  were  soon  found 
against  the  Browns,  Robinson,  and  others  for  treason,  con 
spiracy,  etc.  Robinson,  who  was  seeking  to  leave  Kansas, 
was  arrested  May  10,  and  held  a  prisoner  four  months,  when 

1  See  Mr.  Coleman's  version  of  this  surveying  adventure  in  the  next 
chapter. 


232  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

he  was  released  on  bail.  The  grand  jury  then  proceeded  to 
indict  other  persons,  and  even  the  new  hotel  at  Lawrence, 
—  thus  giving  an  air  of  burlesque  to  the  tragedy  they  had 
begun.  One  of  this  jury,  a  Free-State  man  named  Legate, 
who  has  since  been  conspicuous  in  Kansas  now  in  one  way 
and  now  in  another,  has  told  this  amusing  story  of  the  secret 
proceedings  at  the  Lecompton  court-house  : 1 

"  I  was  honored,  as  I  have  been  oftentimes,  by  holding  distin 
guished  positions  in  the  State  of  Kansas,  —  being  a  member  of  the 
grand  jury  ;  and  what  a  sweet-scented  jury  it  was  !  Uncle  Jimmy 
McGee  and  myself  were  members  from  Lawrence.  We  had  a  caucus 
semi-occasioually.  There  were  seventeen  members,  all  told.  Uncle 
Jimmy  and  I  were  temperate,  but  there  were  at  least  fifteen  bottles 
of  whiskey  in  the  room  all  the  time.  The  first  and  most  important 
case  to  be  tried  was  the  indictment  of  Sam  Wood  and  John  Speer. 
I  have  forgotten  whether  it  was  John  Speer  for  assuming  to  hold  an 
office  that  he  was  not  legally  elected  to,  and  Sam  Wood  for  re 
sisting, an  officer,  or  vice  versa.  Attorney -General  Isaacs  was  sent 
for.  Like  a  great  many  Yankees  I  was  inquisitive,  and  there  was  a 
very  important  point  to  be  decided,  in  my  mind ;  so  I  said  to  him, 
'  You  have  John  Speer  charged  with  treason.  Under  what  law  or 
circumstance  do  you  make  his  offence  treason  ?  '  '  Well,  sir,'  said 
he,  taking  hold  of  the  flask  of  whiskey,  '  the  facts  are  these  :  a  man 
who  pretends  to  hold  an  office,  having  once  held  that  office,  and  is 
defunct,  and  assumes  to  still  hold  it  against  the  constituted  authori 
ties,  commits  treason.'  Said  I,  '  What  about  Sam  Wood  ? '  He 
replied,  '  If  a  man  undertakes  to  carry  out  the  decrees  of  such  an 
officer,  he  commits  treason  also.'  I  thought  that  was  good  enough. 
There  were  thirteen  votes,  —  Stuart  not  voting.  Uncle  Jimmy 
McGee  and  I  voted  no.2 

1  See  "  The  Kansas  Memorial,"  1879,  pp.  62,  63.    This  volume  contains 
much  material  for  history,  undigested  and  ill-arranged,  along  with  some 
worthless  stuff. 

2  "  Uncle  Jimmy  McGee  "  was  a  Kansas  settler  of  Scotch-Irish  descent, 
a  Methodist  of  some  property,  who  when  the  defenders  of  Lawrence  were 
throwing  up  rifle-works  said  to  them,    "  Work  away,  boys  !   there 's  two 
thousand  bushels  of  corn  in  Jimmy  McGee's  crib,  and  while  it  lasts  ye 
sha'n't  starve."     James  F.  Legate  himself  is  a  Massachusetts  man  (born  in 
Leominster  in  1829),  who  saw  a  great  deal  of  the  machinery  that  in  1855-56 
was  used  to  produce  political  effect  in  Kansas  and  in  the  East.     He  said  in 
this  speech  of  1879  :   "I  remember,  twenty-five  years  ago,  when  the  Free- 
State  men  of  Kansas  (that  meant  Lawrence,  Topeka,  and  a  few  fellows  over 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  233 

"The  next  thing  was  this  'cussed'  Emigrant  Aid  Society. 
They  had  built  a  hotel  here  in  Lawrence  with  about  a  foot  and  a 
half  of  wall  above  the  roof,  and  fitted  it  up  with  port-holes,  and  they 
called  that  the  Fort.  It  was  designed  to  protect  the  town  against 
the  officers  of  the  law  from  executing  the  decrees  of  court,  they  said. 
About  that  time  I  remembered  that  I  had  a  pressing  engagement  out 
at  old  Judge  Wakefield's.  So  I  went  out  afoot  (that  is  the  way  we 
used  to  ride  a  good  deal  in  those  days),  and  got  a  pony  and  saddle 
there,  rode  up  to  Tecumseh,  where  I  had  a  talk  with  John  Sherman, 
Governor  Eobinson,  and  Mr.  Howard;  and  I  gave  them  a  pretty 
clear  idea  of  what  was  going  on,  — that  is,  I  intimated  it  to  them.  I 
then  went  back  to  Judge  Wakefield's,  slept  about  an  hour,  walked 
over  to  Lecompton,  and  was  arrested  for  contempt  of  court.  I  went 
into  the  court-room,  and  the  court  wanted  to  know  what  excuse  I 
had.  I  gave  a  truthful  answer,  as  I  always  do.  I  said  I  went  over 
to  Judge  Wakefield's,*  went  to  sleep,  and  had  overslept  myself.  I 
was  excused ;  and  I  went  back  to  Judge  Wakefield's,  got  the  pony, 
and  came  over  to  Lawrence.  I  do  not  think  Governor  Robinson  was 
there  at  the  time.  I  believe  he  had  pressing  duties  which  called  him 
East,  and  he  went  as  far  as  Lexington,  where  he  found  a  stopping- 
place.  He  came  back  by  way  of  Leavenworth  to  Lecompton.  They 
made  some  arrests  in  Lawrence,  and  then  they  went  about  abating 
the  nuisance  of  the  Fort  hotel.  They  had  a  cannon  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street ;  and  old  Atchisou  got  down  on  his  knees,  took  de 
liberate  aim  at  the  hotel,  and  shot  clear  over  it,  and  struck  the  hill 
near  where  a  crowd  of  women  were,  who  had  left  the  town  for  safety. 
Their  gunners  were  so  good  (?)  that  they  could  not  hit  the  whole  side 
of  a  hotel  across  the  street.  However,  they  finally  demolished  it.?> 

In  this  humorous  chronicle  Mr.  Legate  has  comprised  all 
the  time  from  the  8th  to  the  20th  of  May,  closing  with  the 
attack  on  Lawrence  by  the  United  States  marshal  and  his 
posse,  —  Sheriff  Jones,  too,  with  his  posse,  —  including  the 

in  Leavenworth)  would  hold  a  convention  as  often  as  the  Yankees  eat  in 
hay-time,  —  and  that  is,  three  regular  meals  a  day  and  a  luncheon  between. 
And  a  solemn  convention  it  would  be,  with  '  Dr.  Charles  Robinson,  presi 
dent,'  '  George  W.  Brown,  secretary '  (now  and  then  Joel  K.  Goodin  or  John 
Speer  for  secretary),  and  about  a  dozen  awfully  ragged,  deplorably  forlorn- 
looking  cusses  (who  wanted  to  get  back  East  again,  and  had  n't  the  money 
to  take  them  there)  to  make  up  the  audience.  And  W.  A.  Phillips,  Jim 
Redpath,  and  Hinton  would  report  it,  and  it  would  make  two  and  a  half 
and  sometimes  three  columns  in  the  '  New  York  Tribune.'  "  It  was  after 
coming  out  of  some  such  convention  that  John  Brown  said,  "  Great  cry  and 
little  wool,  —  all  talk  and  no  cider." 


234  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Border  Kuffians,  and  Atchison,  lately  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States,  at  their  head.  The  marshal,  Donaldson, 
acted  under  Judge  Lecompte,  and  collected  his  men  by  this 
proclamation,  dated  May  11 :  — 

"  Whereas  certain  judicial  writs  have  been  directed  to  me,  by  the 
First  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  etc.,  to  be  executed  within 
the  county  of  Douglas ;  and  whereas  an  attempt  to  execute  them  by 
the  United  States  deputy  marshal  was  violently  resisted  by  a  large 
number  of  the  citizens  of  Lawrence ;  and  as  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  an  attempt  to  execute  these  writs  will  be  resisted  by  a 
large  body  of  armed  men,  —  now,  therefore,  the  law-abiding  citizens 
of  the  Territory  are  commanded  to  be  and  appear  at  Lecomptou,  as 
soon  as  practicable,  and  in  numbers  sufficient  for  the  proper  execu 
tion  of  the  law." 

Atchison,  on  the  morning  of  May  20,  made  a  foul  speech 
near  Lawrence  to  five  hundred  Border  Ruffians,1  among  whom 
were  the  Kickapoo  E/angers,  who  had  murdered  Brown  at 
Easton.  He  said  :  — 

"  Boys,  this  day  I  am  a  Kickapoo  Ranger,  by  God !  This  day 
we  have  entered  Lawrence  with  l  Southern  Rights '  inscribed  upon 
our  banner, 'and  not  one  damned  Abolitionist  dared  to  fire  a  gun. 
Now,  boys,  this  is  the  happiest  day  of  my  life.  We  have  en 
tered  that  damned  town,  and  taught  the  damned  Abolitionists  a 
Southern  lesson  that  they  will  remember  until  the  day  they  die. 
And  now,  boys,  we  will  go  in  again,  with  our  highly  honorable 
Jones,  and  test  the  strength  of  that,  damned  Free- State  Hotel,  and 
teach  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company  that  Kansas  shall  be  ours.  Boys, 
ladies  should,  and  I  hope  will,  be  respected  by  every  gentleman. 

1  I  quote  this  speech,  with  all  its  profanity  and  drunken  gravity,  because 
in  no  other  way  than  by  reading  their  utterances  can  the  men  of  to-day  un 
derstand  how  vile  and  coarse  were  the  men  who  were  carrying  out  in  Kansas 
the  behests  of  the  Southern  slaveholders  and  their  willing  tools  at  Wash 
ington.  The  term  "  Border  Ruffians  "  is  also  used  for  the  same  purpose, 
since  none  could  be  so  descriptive  of  these  men  who  followed  Atchison  and 
his  comrades.  Among  their  leaders  were  men  of  cultivation,  wealth,  and 
humanity;  and  such  persons  did  much  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  the  brutal 
mob-despotism  which  then  prevailed,  by  intervals,  where  the  flag  of  the 
nation  should  have  secured  peace  and  justice  to  all  who  lived  under  it. 
But  from  the  rabble  who  filled  the  ranks  came  in  due  time  such  outlaws  as 
Quantrell,  who  in  1863  sacked  Lawrence  and  murdered  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  its  people  ;  and  the  James  brothers,  who  were  in  his  band. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN   KANSAS.  235 

But  when  a  woman  takes  upon  herself  the  garb  of  a  soldier  by 
carrying  a  Sharpe's  rifle,  then  she  is  no  longer  worthy  of  respect. 
Trample  her  under  your  feet  as  you  would  a  snake  !  Come  on, 
boys !  Now  do  your  duty  to  yourselves  and  your  Southern  friends. 
Your  duty  I  know  you  will  do.  If  one  man  or  woman  dare  stand 
before  you,  blow  them  to  hell  with  a  chunk  of  cold  lead." 

As  soon  as  Atchison  concluded,  the  men  moved  towards 
the  town  until  near  the  hotel,  when  the  advance  company 
halted.  Jones  said  the  hotel  must  be  destroyed ;  he  was 
acting  under  orders ;  he  had  writs  issued  by  the  First 
District  Court  of  the  United  States  to  destroy  the  Free- 
iState  Hotel,  and  the  offices  of  the  "  Herald  of  Freedom  "  and 
"  Free  State."  The  grand  jury  at  Lecompton  had  indicted 
them  as  nuisances,  and  the  court  had  ordered  them  to  be 
destroyed.  Here  is  the  indictment :  — 

"  The  Grand  Jury  sitting  for  the  adjourned  term  of  the  First 
District  Court,  in  and  for  the  County  of  Douglas,  in  the  Territory  of 
Kansas,  beg  leave  to  report  to  the  Honorable  Court,  from  evidence 
laid  before  them  showing  it,  that  the  newspaper  known  as  '  The 
Herald  of  Freedom,'  published  at  the  town  of  Lawrence,  has  from 
time  to  time  issued  publications  of  the  most  inflammatory  and 
seditious  character,  denying  the  legality  of  the  Territorial  au 
thorities  ;  addressing  and  commanding  forcible  resistance  to  the 
same;  demoralizing  the  popular  mind,  and  rendering  life  and  prop 
erty  unsafe,  even  to  the  extent  of  advising  assassination  as  a  last 

resort. 

"  Also,  that  the  paper  known  as  '  The  Kansas  Free  State '  has 
been  similarly  engaged,  and  has  recently  reported  the  resolutions 
of  a  public  meeting  'in  Johnson  County,  in  this  Territory,  in  which 
resistance  to  the  Territorial  laivs  even  unto  blood  has  been  agreed 
upon.  And  that  we  respectfully  recommend  their  abatement  as  a 
nuisance.  Also,  that  we  are  satisfied  that  the  building  known  as 
the  '  Free-State  Hotel'  in  Lawrence  has  been  constructed  with  the 
view  to  military  occupation  and  defence,  regularly  parapeted  and 
portholed  for  the  use  of  cannon  and  small  arms,  and  could  only  have 
been  designed  as  a  stronghold  of  resistance  to  law,  thereby  endanger 
ing  the  public  safety  and  encouraging  rebellion  and  sedition  in  this 
country,  and  respectfully  recommend  that  steps  be  taken  whereby 
this  nuisance  may  be  removed. 

"  OWEN  C.  STEWART,  Foreman." 


236  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Incredible  as  it  may  now  appear,  this  indictment  was 
carried  out :  the  hotel  was  destroyed,  the  offending  news 
paper  had  its  type  and  press  thrown  into  the  Kansas  River ; 
and  all  this  was  done  under  the  cover  of  United  States 
authority.  The  President  (Pierce),  his  Cabinet,  in  which 
Jefferson  Davis  was  a  controlling  member,  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  national  courts  appeared  as  the 
accomplices  of  murder,  arson,  and  pillage,  and  as  the  cham 
pions  of  pettier  tyrants  who  would  hesitate  at  no  crime. 
It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  John  Brown  now 
took  the  field  ;  and  he  shall  be  his  own  reporter. 

BROWN'S  SECOND  CAMPAIGN  IN  KANSAS. 

NEAR  BROWN'S  STATION,  K.  T.,  June,  1856. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  It  is  now  about  five 
weeks  since  I  have  seen  a  line  from  North  Elba,  or  had  any  chance 
of  writing  you.  During  that  period  we  here  have  passed  through 
an  almost  constant  series  of  very  trying  events.  We  were  called  to 
go  to  the  relief  of  Lawrence,  May  22,  and  every  man  (eight  in  all), 
except  Orson,  turned  out;  he  staying  with  the  women  and  children, 
and  to  take  care  of  the  cattle.1  John  was  captain  of  a  company  to 
which  Jason  belonged ;  the  other  six  were  a  little  company  by  our 
selves.  On  our  way  to  Lawrence  we  learned  that  it  had  been  already 
destroyed,  and  we  encamped  with  John's  company  overnight.  Next 
day  our  little  company  left,  and  during  the  day  we  stopped  and 
searched  three  men. 

Lawrence  was  destroyed  in  this  way  :  Their  leading  men  had  (as 
I  think)  decided,  in  a  very  cowardly  manner,  not  to  resist  any  pro 
cess  having  any  Government  official  to  serve  it,  notwithstanding  the 
process  might  be  wholly  a  bogus  affair.  The  consequence  was  that 
a  man  called  a  United  States  marshal  came  on  with  a  horde  of 
ruffians  which  he  called  his  posse,  and  after  arresting  a  few  persons 
turned  the  ruffians  loose  on  the  defenceless  people.  They  robbed  the 
inhabitants  of  their  money  and  other  property,  and  even  women  of 
their  ornaments,  and  burned  considerable  of  the  town. 

On  the  second  day  and  evening  after  we  left  John's  men  we 
encountered  quite  a  number  of  proslavery  men,  and  took  quite  a 

1  "Orson"  was  Mr.  Orson  T)a.j,  a.  brother  of  Mrs.  John  Brown.  The 
"  other  six  "  were  probably  John  Brown,  Owen,  Frederick,  Salmon,  Oliver, 
and  Henry  Thompson. 


1856.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  237 

number  prisoners.  Our  prisoners  we  let  go ;  but  we  kept  some  four 
or  five  horses.1  We  were  immediately  after  this  accused  of  murdering 
five  men  at  Pottawatomie,  and  great  efforts  have  since  been  made  by 
the  Missourians  and  their  ruffian  allies  to  capture  us.  John's  com 
pany  soon  afterward  disbanded,  and  also  the  Osawatomie  men.2 
.  Jason  started  to  go  and  place  himself  under  the  protection  of  the 
Government  troops ;  but  on  his  way  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Bogus  men,  and  is  yet  a  prisoner,  I  suppose.  John  tried  to  hide  for 
several  days ;  but  from  feelings  of  the  ungrateful  conduct  of  those 
who  ought  to  have  stood  by  him,  excessive  fatigue,  anxiety,  and  con 
stant  loss  of  sleep,  he  became  quite  insane,  and  in  that  situation 
gave  up,' or,  as  we  are  told,  was  betrayed  at  Osawatomie  into  the 
hands  of  the  Bogus  men.  We  do  not  know  all  the  truth  about  this 
affair.  He  has  since,  we  are  told,  been  kept  in  irons,  and  brought  to 
a  trial  before  a  bogus  court,  the  result  of  which  we  have  not  yet 
learned.  We  have  great  anxiety  both  for  him  and  Jason,  and 
numerous  other  prisoners  with  the  enemy  (who  have  all  the  while 
had  the  Government  troops  to  sustain  them).  We  can  only  commend 
them  to  God.8 


night    i 
3  next    / 


1  This  is  all  that  Brown  says  in  this  letter  about  the  events  of  that 
in  May  when  the  Doyles  were  executed.      Doubtless  his  text  for  the 
morning  was  from  the  Book  of  Judges  :  "  Then  Gideon  took  ten  men  of  his 
servants,  and  did  as  the  Lord  had  said  unto  him  ;  and  so  it  was  that  he 
did  it  by  night.      And  when  the  men  of  the  city  arose  early  in  the  morn 
ing,  behold  the  altar  of  Baal  was  cast  down.     And  they  said,  one  to  another, 
Who  hath  done  this  thing  ?    And  when  they  inquired  and  asked,  they  said, 
Gideon,  the  son  of  Joash,  hath  done  this  thing." 

2  In  the  original  something  has  been  erased  after  this,  to  which  this  note 
seerns  to  have  been  appended  :  ' '  There  are  but  very  few  who  wish  real 
facts  about  these  matters  to  go  out."     Then  is  inserted  the  date  "  June 
26,"  as  below. 

3  John  Brown,  Jr.'s,  own  account  of  this  campaign,  as  given  by  him 
to  a  reporter  of  the  "Cleveland  Leader,"  April,  1879,  is  as  follows: 
"  During  the  winter  of  1856  I  raised  a  company  of  riflemen  from  the 
Free-State  settlers  who  had  their  homes  in  the  vicinity  of  Osawatomie  and 
Pottawatomie  Creek,  and  marched  with  this  company  to  the  defence  of 
Lawrence,  May,  1856,  but  did  not  reach  the  latter  place  in  time  to  save  it 
from  being  burned  by  the  Missourians  at  that  time.  On  this  march  I  was 
joined  by  three  other  companies,  and  was  chosen  to  the  command  of  the 
combined  forces.  Returning  to  our  homes,  we  found  them  burned  to  the 
ground  by  Buford's  men  from  Alabama,  who  had  marched  in  from  Missouri 
on  our  rear.  Our  cattle  and  horses  were  driven  off  and  dispersed,  there 
only  being  three  or  four  which  we  ultimately  recovered.  In  that  destruc 
tion  of  our  houses  I  lost  my  library,  consisting  of  about  four  hundred 
volumes,  which  I  had  been  accumulating  since  I  was  sixteen.  Reaching 


238  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856 

The  cowardly  mean  conduct  of  Osawatomie  and  vicinity  did  not 
save  them  ;  for  the  ruffians  came  on  them,  made  numerous  prisoners, 
fired  their  buildings,  and  robbed  them.  After  this  a  picked  party  of 
the  Bogus  men  went  to  Brown's  Station,1  burned  John's  and  Jason's 
houses,  and  their  contents  to  ashes ;  in  which  burning  we  have  all 
suffered  more  or  less.  Orson  and  boy  have  been  prisoners,  but  were 
soon  set  at  liberty.  They  are  well,  and  have  not  been  seriously  in 
jured.  Owen  and  I  have  just  come  here  for  the  first  time  to  look  at 
the  ruins.  All  looks  desolate  and  forsaken,  —  the  grass  and  weeds 
fast  covering  up  the  signs  that  these  places  were  lately  the  abodes  of 
quiet  families.  After  burning  the  houses,  this  self-same  party  of 
picked  men,  some  forty  in  number,  set  out  as  they  supposed,  and  as 
was  the  fact,  on  the  track  of  my  little  company,  boasting,  with  awful 
profanity,  that  they  would  have  our  scalps.  They  however  passed 
the  place  where  we  were  hid,  and  robbed  a  little  town  some  four  or 
five  miles  beyond  our  camp  in  the  timber.2  I  had  omitted  to  say" 
that  some  murders  had  been  committed  at  the  time  Lawrence  was 
sacked. 

On  learning  that  this  party  were  in  pursuit  of  us,  my  little  company, 
now  increased  to  ten  in  all,  started  after  them  in  company  of  a  Cap 
tain  Shore,  with  eighteen  men,  he  included  (June  1).  We  were  all 
mounted  as  we  travelled.  We  did  not  meet  them  on  that  day,  but 
took  five  prisoners,  four  of  whom  were  of  their  scouts,  and  well 
armed.  We  were  out  all  night,  but  could  find  nothing  of  them  until 

Osawatomie,  my  brother  Jason  and  I  were  arrested  on  the  charge  of  treason 
against  the  United  States,  by  United  States  troops,  acting  as  posse  for  the 
marshal  of  the  Territory,  and  taken  to  Paola,  where  Judge  Cato  was  to  hold 
a  preliminary  examination  ;  but  he  did  not  hold  his  court.  It  was  from  the 
latter  place  that  I  was  tied  by  Captain  Wood  of  the  United  States  cavalry, 
and  driven  on  foot  at  the  head  of  the  column  a  distance  of  nine  miles  at 
full  trot  to  Osawatomie.  My  arms  were  tied  behind  me,  and  so  tightly  as 
to  check  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  especially  in  the  right  arm,  causing 
the  rope,  which  remained  on  me  twenty-seven  hours,  to  sink  into  the  flesh, 
leaving  a  mark  upon  that  arm  which  I  have  to  this  day.  The  captain  of  that 
company  was,  I  think,  a  Georgian,  and  finally,  I  believe,  entered  the  Con 
federate  service  during  the  late  war.  From  there  we  were  marched,  chained 
two  by  two,  carrying  the  chain  between  us,  to  a  camp  near  Lecompton, 
where  we  met  the  other  treason  prisoners  and  were  turned  over  to  the  cus 
tody  of  Colonel  Sacket,  who  had  command  of  a  regiment  of  United  States 
cavalry.  We  were  held  here  until  September  of  1856,  when  we  were  re 
leased  on  bail ;  and  a  few  days  after  I  took  part  in  the  defence  of  Lawrence 
against  the  third  attack.  At  that  time  Franklin  was  burned,  a  few  miles 
from  Lawrence." 

1  Ten  miles  west  of  Osawatomie. 

2  This  town  was  Palmjn-a. 


1856.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  239 

about  six  o'clock  next  morning,  when  we  prepared  to  attack  them  at 
once,  on  foot,  leaving  Frederick  and  one  of  Captain  Shore's  men  to 
guard  the  horses.  As  I  was  much  older  than  Captain  Shore,  the  prin 
cipal  direction  of  the  fight  devolved  on  me.  We  got  to  within  about 
a  mile  of  their  camp  before  being  discovered  by  their  scouts,  and  then 
moved  at  a  brisk  pace,  Captain  Shore  and  men  forming  our  left,  and 
my  company  the  right.  When  within  about  sixty  rods  of  the  enemy, 
Captain  Shore's  men  halted  by  mistake  in  a  very  exposed  situation, 
and  continued  the  fire,  both  his  men  and  the  enemy  being  armed 
"with  Sharpe's  rifles.  My  company  had  no  long-shooters.  We  (my 
company)  did  not  fire  a  gun  until  we  gained  the  rear  of  a  bank, 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  rods  to  the  right  of  the  enemy,  where  we 
commenced,  and  soon  compelled  them  to  hide  in  a  ravine.  Captain 
Shore,  after  getting  one  man  wounded,  and  exhausting  his  ammuni 
tion,  came  with  part  of  his  men  to  the  right  of  my  position,  much 
discouraged.  The  balance  of  his  men,  including  the  one  wounded, 
had  left  the  ground.  Five  of  Captain  Shore's  men  came  boldly  down 
and  joined  my  company,  and  all  but  one  man,  wounded,  helped  to 
maintain  the  fight  until  it  was  over.  I  was  obliged  to  give  my  con 
sent  that  he 1  should  go  after  more  help,  when  all  his  men  left  but 
eight,  four  of  whom  I  persuaded  to  remain  in  a  secure  position,  and 
there  busied  one  of  them  in  shooting  the  horses  and  mules  of  the 
enemy,  which  served  for  a  showr  of  fight.  After  the  firing  had  con 
tinued  for  some  two  to  three  hours,  Captain  Pate  with  twenty-three 
men,  two  badly  wounded,  laid  down  their  arms  to  nine  men,  myself 
included,  — four  of  Captain  Shore's  men  and  four  of  my  own.  One 
of  my  men  (Henry  Thompson)  2  was  badly  wounded,  and  after  con 
tinuing  his  fire  for  an  hour  longer  was  obliged  to  quit  the  ground. 
Three  others  of  my  company  (but  not  of  my  family)  had  gone  off. 
Salmon  was  dreadfully  wounded  by  accident,  soon  after  the  fight;  but 
both  he  and  Henry  are  fast  recovering. 

A  day  or  two  after  the  fight,  Colonel  Sumner  of  the  United  States 
army  came  suddenly  upon  us,  while  fortifying  our  camp  and  guard 
ing  our  prisoners  (which,  by  the  way,  it  had  been  agreed  mutually 
should  be  exchanged  for  as  many  Free-State  men,  John  and  Jason 
included),  and  compelled  us  to  let  go  our  prisoners  without  being 
exchanged,  and  to  give  up  their  horses  and  arms.  They  did  not  go 
more  than  two  or  three  miles  before  they  began  to  rob  and  injure 
Free-State  people.  We  consider  this  as  in  good  keeping  with  the 

1  By  "he"  is  apparently  meant  Captain  Shore. 

'2  Brown's  son-in-law,  the  husband  of  Ruth  Brown.  The  agreement 
with  Pate,  referred  to  above,  is  still  in  existence  to  confirm  this  letter  ; 
both  copies  of  it  having  found  their  way  to  the  Historical  Library  at 


240  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

cruel  and  unjust  course  of  the  Administration  and  its  tools  through 
out  this  whole  Kansas  difficulty.  Colonel  Sumner  also  compelled  us 
to  disband ;  and  we,  being  only  a  handful,  were  obliged  to  submit 

Since  then  we  have,  like  David  of  old,  had  our  dwelling  with  the 
serpents  of  the  rocks  and  wild  beasts  of  the  wilderness ;  being  obliged 
/to  hide  away  from  our  enemies.  We  are  not  disheartened,  though 
/  nearly  destitute  of  food,  clothing,  and  money.  God,  who  has  not 
/  given  us  over  to  the  will  of  our  enemies,  but  has  moreover  deliv 
ered  them  into  our  hand,  will,  we  humbly  trust,  still  keep  and  deliver 
us.  We  feel  assured  that  He  who  sees  not  as  men  see,  does  not  lay 
V  the  guilt  of  innocent  blood  to  our  charge. 

I  ought  to  have  said  that  Captain  Shore  and  his  men  stood  their 
ground  nobly  in  their  unfortunate  but  mistaken  position  during  the 
early  part  of  the  fight.  I  ought  to  say  further  that  a  Captain  Ab 
bott,  being  some  miles  distant  with  a  company,  came  onward  promptly 
to  sustain  us,  but  could  not  reach  us  till  the  fight  was  over.  After 
the  fight,  numerous  Free- State  men  who  could  not  be  got  out  before 
were  on  hand;  and  some  of  them,  I  am  ashamed  to  add,  were  very 
busy  not  only  with  the  plunder  of  our  enemies,  but  with  our  private 
effects,  leaving  us,  while  guarding  our  prisoners  and  providing  in 
regard  to  them,  much  poorer  than  before  the  battle. 

If,  under  God,  this  letter  reaches  you  so  that  it  can  be  read,  I  wish 
it  at  once  carefully  copied,  and  a  copy  of  it  sent  to  Gerrit  Smith.  I 
know  of  no  other  way  to  get  these  facts  and  our  situation  before  the 
world,  nor  when  I  can  write  again. 

Topeka,  where  Mr.  F.  G.  Adams,  the  secretary,  showed  them  to  me  in 
1882.  Here  is  a  copy  :  — 

This  is  an  article  of  agreement  between  Captains  John  Brown,  Sr.,  and  Samuel  T. 
Shore  of  the  first  part,  and  Captain  H.  C.  Pate  and  Lieutenant  W.  B.  Brockett  of  the 
second  part  :  and  witnesses  that,  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the  parties  of  the  first 
part  have  a  number  of  Captain  Pate's  company  prisoners,  that  they  agree  to  give  up 
and  fully  liberate  one  of  their  prisoners  for  one  of  those  lately  arrested  near  Stanton, 
Osawatomie,  and  Pottawatomie,  and  so  on,  one  of  the  former  for  one  of  the  latter  alter 
nately,  until  all  are  liberated.  It  is  understood  and  agreed  by  the  parties  that  the  sons 
of  Captain  John  Brown,  Sr.  —  Captain  John  Brown,  Jr.,  and  Jason  Brown  —  are  to  be 
among  the  liberated  parties  (if  not  already  liberated),  and  are  to  be  exchanged  for 
Captain  Pate  and  Lieutenant  Brockett,  respectively.  The  prisoners  are  to  be  brought  on 
neutral  ground  and  exchanged.  It  is  agreed  that  the  neutral  ground  shall  be  at  or  near 
the  house  of  John  T.  (or  Ottawa)  Jones  of  this  Territory,  and  that  those  who  have  been 
arrested  and  have  been  liberated  will  be  considered  in  the  same  light  as  those  not  liber 
ated  ;  but  they  must  appear  in  person,  or  answer  in  writing  that  they  are  at  liberty. 
The  arms,  particularly  the  side  arms  of  each  one  exchanged,  are  to  be  returned  with 
the  prisoners  ;  also  the  horses,  so  far  as  practicable. 

(Signed)  JOHN  BROWN. 

8.  T.  SHORE. 

H.  C.  PATE. 

W.  B.  BROCKETT. 
PRAIRIE  CITY,  K.  T.,  June  2,  1856. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY   IN  KANSAS.  241 

Owen  has  the  ague  to-day.  Our  camp  is  some  miles  off.  Have 
heard  that  letters  are  in  for  some  of  us,  but  have  not  seen  them.  Do 
continue  writing.  We  heard  last  mail  brought  only  three  letters, 
and  all  these  for  proslavery  men.  It  is  said  that  both  the  Lawrence 
and  Osawatomie  men,  when  the  ruffians  came  on  them,  either  hid  or 
gave  up  their  arms,  and  that  their  leading  men  counselled  them  to 
take  such  a  course. 

May  God  bless  and  keep  you  all! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.    Ellen  and  Wealthy  are  staying  at  Osawatomie. 

The  above  is  a  true  account  of  the  first  regular  battle  fought  be 
tween  Free-State  and  proslavery  men  in  Kansas.  May  God  still 
gird  our  loins  and  hold  our  right  hands,  and  to  him  may  we  give  the 
glory !  I  ought  in  justice  to  say,  that,  after  the  sacking  and  burning 
of  several  towns,  the  Government  troops  appeared  for  their  protection 
and  drove  off  some  of  the  enemy.  J.  B. 

June  26.  Jason  is  set  at  liberty,  and  we  have  hopes  for  John. 
Owen,  Salmon,  and  Oliver  are  down  with  fever  (since  inserted)  ; 
Henry  doing  well. 

With  this  chapter  of  Brown's  commentaries  on  the  Kan 
sas  war  may  properly  go  the  following  papers,  although 
they  were  not  written  until  some  months  later,  —  the  first 
in  August,  1856,  and  the  second  after  Brown  left  Kansas 
in  October,  1856.  The  first  is  addressed  to  his  friend  Ed 
mund  B.  Whitman,  who  then  lived  at  Lawrence. 

For  Mr.  Whitman. 

Names  of  sufferers  and  persons  who  have  made  sacrifices  in  en 
deavoring  to  maintain  and  advance  the  Free-State  cause  in  Kansas, 
within  my  personal  knowledge. 

1.  Two  German  refugees  (thoroughly  Free-State),  robbed  at  Pot- 
tawatomie,  named  Benjamin  and  Bondy  (or  Bandy).     One  has  served 
under  me  as  a  volunteer ;  namely,  Bondy.     Benjamin  was  prisoner 
for  some  time.     Suffered  by  men  under  Coffee  and  Pate. 

2.  Henry  Thompson.     Devoted  several  months  to  the  Free-State 
cause,  travelling  nearly  two  thousand  miles  at  his  own  expense  for 
the  purpose,  leaving  family  and  business  for  about  one  year.     Served 
under  me  as  a  volunteer ;  was  dangerously  wounded  at  Palmyra,  or 
Black  Jack ;  has  a  bullet  lodged  beside  his  backbone ;  has  had  a 

16 


242  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

severe  turn  of  fever,  and  is  still  very  feeble.    Suffered  a  little  in  burn 
ing  of  the  houses  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  and  Jason  Brown. 

3.  John,  Jr.,  and  Jason  Brown.    Both  burned  out ;  both  prisoners 
for  some  time,  one  a  prisoner  still  ;  both  losing  the  use  of  valuable, 
partially  improved  claims.     Both  served  repeatedly  as  volunteers  for 
defence  of  Lawrence  and  other  places,  suffering  great  hardships  and 
some  cruelty. 

4.  Owen  and  Frederick  Brown.     Both  served  at  different  periods 
as  volunteers  under  me;  were  both  in  the  battle  of  Palmyra  j  both 
suffered  by  the  burning  of  their  brothers'  houses ;  both  have  had 
sickness  (Owen  a  severe  one),  and  are  yet  feeble.     Both  lost  the  use 
of  partially  improved  claims  and  their  spring  and  summer  work. 

5.  Salmon  Brown  (minor).     Twice  served  under  me  as  a  volun 
teer;    was  dangerously  wounded    (if  not  permanently  crippled)  by 
accident  near  Palmyra ;  had  a  severe  sickness,  and  still  feeble. 

6.  Oliver  Brown  (minor).     Served   under  me  as  a  volunteer  for 
some  months;  was  in  the  battle  of  Palmyra,  and  had  some  sickness. 

7.  [B.  L.J  Cochrau  (at  Pottawatomie).      Twice  served  under  me 
as  a  volunteer  ;  was  in  the  battle  of  Palmyra.1 

8.  Dr.  Lucius  Mills  devoted  some  months  to  the  Free-State  cause, 
collecting  and  giving  information,   prescribing  for  and  nursing  the 
sick  and  wounded  at  his  own  cost.     Is  a  worthy  Free-State  man. 

9.  John  Brown  has  devoted  the  service  of  himself  and  two  minor 
sons  to  the  Free-State  cause  for  more  than  a  year ;  suffered  by  the 
fire  before  named  and  by  robbery  ;  has  gone  at  his  own  cost  for  that 
period,  except  that  he  and  his  company  together  have  received  forty 
dollars  in  cash,  two  sacks  of  flour,  thirty-five  pounds  bacon,  thirty- 
five  do.  sugar,  and  twenty  pounds  rice. 

I  propose  to  serve  hereafter  in  the  Free-State  cause  (provided  my 
needful  expenses  can  be  met),  should  that  be  desired;  and  to  raise  a 
small  regular  force  to  serve  on  the  same  condition.  My  own  means 
are  so  far  exhausted  that  I  can  no  longer  continue  in  the  service 
at  present  without  the  means  of  defraying  my  expenses  are  fur 
nished  me. 

I  can  give  the  names  of  some  five  or  six  more  volunteers  of  special 
merit  I  would  be  glad  to  have  particularly  noticed  in  some  way. 

J.  BROWN. 

The  second  paper  is  part  of  the  notes  which  Brown  drew 
up  for  his  speeches  at  Hartford,  Boston,  Concord,  and  other 
New  England  towns,  in  the  spring  of  1857.  In  this  speech 
he  laid  stress  not  only  on  the  sins  of  the  Border  Ruffians 

1  Better  known  as  Black  Jack. 


1856.]  THE   BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  243 

and  the  unpatriotic  conduct  of  the  National  Government,  but 
on  the  pecuniary  loss  which  he  and  the  other  settlers  had 
undergone  in  being  kept  from  their  work,  at  the  busiest 
season  of  the  year,  by  the  raids  from  Missouri.  This  gives 
a  strange  air  to  the  paper,  which  is  otherwise  noticeable  for 
the  facts  set  forth. 


AN    IDEA    OF    THINGS    IN    KANSAS. 

onose,  in  order  to  make  this -meeting  as  useful  and  interest 
ing  as  /f  can,  to  try  and  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  condition  of  things 
in  Kansas,  as  they  were  whiles/Was  there,  and  a^I  suppose  they 
still  are,  so  far  as  the  great  question  at  issue  is  concerned.  And  here 
let  me  remark  that  in  Kansas  the  question  is  never  raised  of  a  man, 
Is  he  a  Democrat  ¥  Is  he  a  Republican  ?  The  quffltfoflg  thfirn 
raised  are,  JsJie  .A.EiseJiitatejimill.  or,  Is  he  a  prosla very  man  f 
^Ll'saw,  while  in  Missouri  in  the  fall  of  1855,  large  numbers  on 
their  way  to  Kansas  to  vote,  and  also  returning  after  they  had  so 
done,  as  they  said.  QL^together  with  four  of  my  sons,  was  called  out 
to  help  defend  Lawrence  in  the  fall  of  1855,  arid  travelled  most  of  the 
way  on  foot,  and  during  a  dark  night,  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles, 
where  we  were  detained  with  some  five  hundred  others,  or  there 
about,  from  five  to  fifteen  days,  —  say  an  average  of  ten  days,  — at 
a  cost  to  each  per  day  of  $1.50  as  wages,  to  say  nothing  of  the  actual 
loss  and  suffering  it  occasioned  ;  many  of  them  leaving  their  families 
at  home  sick,  their  crops  not  secured,  their  houses  unprepared  for 
winter,  andjnany  of  them  without  houses  at  all.  This  was  the  case 
with  myself  and  all  my  sons,  who  were  unable  to  get  any  house 
built  after  our  return.  The  loss  in  that  casfi^a§_wage^iilone^  would  __ 
amount  to  $7,5Q£L-  Loss  and  suffering  in  consequence  cannot  be 
estimated,  .^psaw  at  that  time  the  body  of  the  murdered  Barber, 
and  was  present  when  his  wife  and  other  friends  were  brought  in 
to  see  him  as  he  lay  in  the  clothes  he  had  on  when  killed,  —  no  very 
pleasant  sight ! 

Jtlwent,  in  the  spring  of  last  year,  with  some  of  my  sons  among 
the  Buford  men,  in  the  character  of  a  surveyor,  to  see  and  hear  from 
them  their  business  into  the  Territory ;  this  took  us  from  our  work. 
_I  and  numerous  others,  in  the  spring  of  last  year,  travelled  some  ten 
miles  or  over  on  foot,  to  meet  and  advise  as  to  what  should  be  done 
to  meet  the  gathering  storm  ;  this  occasioned  much  loss  of  time...Ci 
also,  with  many  others,  about  the  same  time  travelled  on  foot  a  sim 
ilar  distance  to  attend  a  meeting  of  Judge  Cato's  court,  to  find  out 
what  kind  of  laws  he  intended  to  enforce ;  this  occasioned  further 


244  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

loss  of  time.  ( I  with  six  sons  and  a  son-in-law  was  again  called  out 
to  defend  Lawrence,  May  20  and  21,  and  travelled  most  of  the  way 
on  foot  and  during  the  night,  being  thirty-five  miles.  From  that 
date  none  of  us  could  do  any  work  about  our  homes,  but  lost  our 
whole  time  until  we  left,  in  October  last,  excepting  one  of  my  sons, 
who  had  a  few  weeks  to  devote  to  the  care  of  his  own  and  his  broth 
er's  family,  who  had  been  burned  out  of  their  houses  while  the  two 
men  were  prisoners. 

From  about  the  20th  of  May  of  last  year  hundreds  of  men  like 
ourselves  lost  their  whole  -time,  and  entirely  failed  of  securing  any 
kind  of  crop  whatever.  vLJbieliave  it  safe  to  say  that  five  hundred 
Free-State  men  lost  each  one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  at  $1.50  per 
day,  which  would  be,  to  say  nothing  of  attendant  losses,  $90,000. 
I  saw  the  ruins  of  many  Free-State  men's  houses  at  different  places 
in  the  Territory,  together  with  stacks  of  grain  wasted  and  burning, 
to  the  amount  of,  say  $50,000 ;  making,  in  lost  time  and  destruction 
of  property,  more  than  $150,000.  On  or  about  the  30th  of  May  last 
two  of  my  sous,  with  several  others,  were  imprisoned  without  other 
crime  than  opposition  to  bogus  enactments,  and  most  barbarously 
treated  for  a  time, — one  being  held  about  one  month,  the  other 
about  four  months.  Both  had  their  families  in  Kansas,  and  destitute 
of  homes,  being  burned  out  after  they  were  imprisoned.  In  this 
burning  all  the  eight  were  sufferers,  as  we  all  had  our  effects  at  the 
two  houses.  One  of  my  sons  had  his  oxen  taken  from  him  at  this 
time,  and  never  recovered  them.  Here  is  the  chain  with  which  one 
of  them  was  confined,  after  the  cruelty,  sufferings,  and  anxiety  he 
underwent  had  rendered  him  a  maniac,  —  yes,  a  maniac. 

On  the  2d  of  June  last  my  son-in-law  was  terribly  wounded  (sup 
posed  to  be  mortally),  and  two  other  Free- State  men,  at  Black  Jack. 
On  the  6th  or  7th  of  June  last  one  of  my  sons  was  wounded  by  acci 
dent  in  camp  (supposed  to  be  mortally),  and  may  prove  a  cripple  for 
life.  In  August  last  I  was  present  and  saw  the  mangled  and  shock 
ingly  disfigured  body  of r -the  murdered  Hoyt,  .of  Deerfield,  Mass., 
brought  into  our  camp.  L  knew  him  well,  sty  saw  several  other 
Free-State  men  who  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  whose  nameiQ) 
cannot  now  remember.1'  l)saw  Dr.  Graham,  who  was  a  prisoner  with 
the  ruffians  on  the  2d  "of  June  last,  and  was  present  when  they 
wounded  him,  in  an  attempt  to  kill  him,  as  he  wras  trying  to  save 
himself  from  being  murdered  by  them  during  the  fight  of  Black  Jack. 
I  kpow  that  for  much  of  the  time  during  the  last  summer  the  travel 
over  a  portion  of  the  Territory  was  entirely  cut  off,  and  that  none  but 
bodies  of  armed  men  dared  to  move  at  all.  Lljnow  that  for  a  con 
siderable  time  the  mails  on  different  routes  were  entirely  stopped,  and 
that  notwithstanding  there  were  abundant  United  States  troops  at 


1856.]  THE  BROWN  FAMILY  IN  KANSAS.  245 

hand  to  escort  the  mails,  such  eseorts  were  not  furnished  as  they 
might  or  ought  to  have  been,,  (J/saw  while  it  was  standing,  and 
afterward  saw  the  ruins  of,  a  most  valuable  house,  full  of  good  arti 
cles  and  stores,  which  had  been  burned  by  the  ruffians  for  a  highly 
civilized,  intelligent,  and  most  exemplary  Christian  Indian,  for  be 
ing  suspected  of  favoring  Free- State  men.  He  is  known  as  Ottawa 
Jones,  or  John  T.  Jones.  In  September  last  I  visited  a  beautiful 
little  Free-State  town  called  Stanton,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Osage 
or  Marais  des  Cygnes  Kiver,  as  it  is  called,  from  which  every  inhab 
itant  had  fled  (being  in  fear  of  their  lives),  after  having  built  them, 
at  a  heavy  expense,  a  strong  block-house  or  wooden  fort  for  their 
protection.  Many  of  them  had  left  their  effects  liable  to  be  destroyed 
or  carried  off,  not  being  able  to  remove  them.  This  was  .a  most 
gloomy  scene,  and  like  a  visit  to  a  vast  sepulchre. 

During  last  summer  and  fall  deserted  houses  and  cornfields  were  to 
be  met  with  in  almost  every  direction  south  of  the  Kansas  Kiver. 
I  saw  the  burning  of  Osawatomie  by  a  body  of  some  four  hundred 
ruffians,  and  of  Franklin  afterward  by  some  twenty-seven  hundred 
men, — the  first-named  on  August  30,  the  last-named  September 
14  or  15.  Governor  Geary  had  been  for  some  time  in  the  Territory, 
and  might  have  saved  Franklin  with  perfect  ease.  It  would  not  have 
cost  the  United  States  one  dollar  to  have  saved  Franklin. 

I,  with  five  sick  and  wounded  sons  and  son-in-law,  was  obliged  for 
some  time  to  lie  on  the  ground,  without  shelter,  our  boots  and  clothes 
worn  out,  destitute  of  money,  and  at  times  almost  in  a  state  of  starva 
tion,  and  dependent  on  the  charities  of  the  Christian  Indian  and  his 

wife  whom  X  before  named.1!  I  saw,  in  September  last,  a  Mr.  Parker, 
y~  VL^ 

1  Notwithstanding  the  losses  and  charities  of  this  good  Indian  in  1856, 
he  was  the  next  year  in  condition  to  make  further  gifts  to  Brown,  as 
appears  by  this  letter  :  — 

OTTAWA  CREEK,  K.  T.,  Oct.  13,  1857. 
MR.  JOHN  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Respecting  the  account  you  have  against  us  as  a  band,  I  would  respect 
fully  inform  you  that  I  have  presented  the  matter  before  them  two  or  three  different 
times,  and  1  cannot  persuade  them  but  what  was  paid  by  them  was  all  that  could  be 
reasonably  demanded  of  them,  from  the  bargain  they  entered  into  with  Jones  the  agent. 
For  my  part,  I  think  the  charge  is  just,  and  it  ought  to  be  paid.  The  Ottawa  payment 
comes  off  some  time  this  week,  and  I  will  present  your  case  before  them  again,  and  do 
what  I  can  to  induce  them  to  attend  to  the  account,  though  I  entertain  no  hopes  of  its 
being  allowed  ;  but  nothing  like  trying.  In  contributing  my  mite  in  aiding  you  in  your 
benevolent  enterprise,  I  enclose  you  ten  dollars  on  the  State  Bank  of  Indiana  (I  presume 
it  is  good,  though  hundreds  of  other  banks  are  worthless),  and  throw  in  the  young 
man's  bill  and  horse-hire,  which  amounts  to  four  dollars.  Accept  it,  sir,  as  a  free-will 
offering  from  your  friend. 

Times  are  coming  round  favorably  in  Kansas.  Mr.  Parrott  for  Congress  will  have 
8,000  to  10,000  majority  over  Ransom,  and  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  the  same  in 
proportion.  I  am  quite  encouraged  that  all  things  will  work  together  for  good  for  those 
who  are  trying  to  work  out  righteousness  in  the  land.  May  God  bless  you  in  your  work 


246  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

whom  I  well  know,  with  his  head  all  bruised  over  aiid  his  throat 
partly  cut,  having  before  been  dragged,  while  sick,  out  of  the  house  of 
Ottawa  Jones,  the  Indian,  when  it  was  burned,  and  thrown  for  dead 
over  the  bank  of  the  Ottawa  Creek. 

.^J/saw  three  mangled  bodies  of  three  young  men,  two  of  which 
were  dead  and  had  lain  on  the  open  ground  for  about  eighteen  hours 
for  the  flies  to  work  at,  the  other  living  with  twenty  buckshot  and 
bullet-holes  in  him.  One  of  those  two  dead  was /my  own  son. 

Here,  then,  we  may  pause  to  review  the  position  of  the 
Brown  family  in  Kansas,  twelve  months  after  John  Brown 
had  set  forth  from  Illinois  to  support  his  children  in  making 
free  and  peaceful  homes  on  those  beautiful  prairies.     One 
I  of  his  sons  was  dead ;  another  a  prisoner  charged  with  trea- 
j  son ;    a  third  was  desperately  wounded  j   a  fourth  stricken 
;  down  with  illness ;    all  had  lost  their  cabins,  their  crops, 
»i  their  books  and  papers ;  their  wives  and  children  were  scat 
tered  or  far  away.     Only  one  son  of  the  six  remained  in 
fighting  condition ;  all  were  in  extreme  poverty ;  the  cause 
of  freedom,  for  which  they  had  ventured  so  much,  seemed 
almost  lost.    Everything  was  subdued  except  the  inexorable 
will  of  John  Brown.1     That  remained  ;  his  faith  in  God  and 
his  obedience  to  the  voice  of  God  were  as  quick  as  ever ;  and 
he  had  begun  the  warfare  against  slavery  by  a  dire  blow, 
which  was  destined  in  its  consequences  to  make  Kansas  free, 
even  as  his  master-stroke  in  Virginia,  three  years  later,  was 
to  set  in  motion  the  avalanche  that  destroyed  slavery  in  the 
whole  land.     This  blow  was  the  execution  at  Pottawatomie 
on  the  24th  of  May. 

of  benevolence  and  philanthropy  :  and  may  God  reward  you  more  than  double  for  your 
toil  and  losses  in  the  work  to  bring  about  liberty  for  all  men  !  Write  me  if  you  can,  and 
let  me  know  how  you  are  getting  along,  etc. 

I  remain  your  sincere  friend,  JOHN  T.  JONES. 

By  "us  as  a  band"  is  meant  the  Ottawa  tribe  of  Indians,  and  their 
"  payment "  was  the  allowance  periodically  given  to  them  by  the  Federal 
Government.      I  saw  one  of  the  last  nomadic  Indians  of  this  tribe  sitting 
bareheaded  on  his  pony  in  the  busy  streets  of  Ottawa,  in  August,  1882, 
staring  with  his  stolid  eye  at  the  white  man's  way  of  life. 
1  Audire  magnos  jam  videor  duces 
Non  indecoro  pulvere  sordidos, 
El  cnncta,  terrarum  subctcta 
Prceter  atrocem  animum  Catonis. 

HORACE,  Odes,  lib.  ii.  car.  i. 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS.  247 


CHAPTER   IX. 

• 

THE   POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS. 

'"PHE  story  of  John  Brown  will  mean  little  to  those  who 

do_not  believe  that  God  governs  Jjiglyorld.  and  thpt— 
He  makes  His~wiil  known  in  advance  to  certain  chosen  men 
and^  women  who  perform  it,  consciously  or  unconsciously. 
OFsuch  pmpFfttin,  t-T^avfin-flppointed^men  John  Brown  was 
the  most  conspicuous  in  our  time,  and  his  life  must  be  con-  ' 
strued  in  the Jjght  of  that  fact,  —  as  the  career  of  Cromwell  *" 
rmTsTbe,  and  has  been,  since  Carlyle  set  it  forth  to  the  world 
in  its  true  colors.  Cotton  Mather,  in  1720,  intimated  to  the 
young  friend  for  whom  he  wrote  his  quaint  "  Directions  for 
a  Candidate  of  the  Ministry,"  that  he  must  not  look  at 
Cromwell  through  Clarendon's  glasses.  "  I  do  particularly 
advertise  you,"  said  Mather,  "that  this  mighty  man  has 
never  yet  had  his  history  fully  and  fairly  given  ;  and  when 
you  read  it  given  with  the  greatest  impartiality  wherein 
you  have  hitherto  seen  it,  you  may  bear  this  in  your  mind, 
that  the  principal  stroke  in  his  character,  and  the  princi 
pal  spring  of  his  conduct,  is  forever  defectively  related." 
Brown  has  not  suffered  so  much  as  Cromwell  in  this  way, 
for  his  worldly  success  was  not  so  great,  and  therefore  he 
offered  a  lesser  mark  for  envy  and  malice ;  he  was  also  a 
more  simple  and  ingenuous  Calvinist  than  Cromwell,  and  • 
could  not  lay  himself  so  open  to  the  charge  of  hypocrisy 
and  self-seeking.  But  the  source  of  his  greatness  and  the 
motive  of  his  public  conduct  were  essentially  the  same,  — 
an  impression  that  God  had  called  him  to  a  high  and  pain 
ful  work,  and  that  he  must  accomplish  this  even  with 
bloodshed  and  at  the  loss  of  friends,  life,  and  reputation.  , 
Milton,  in  so  many  points  like  Cromwell,  though  in  more 
like  Brown  (I  speak  not  of  his  genius,  but  of  his  character), 


248  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

understood  this,  —  and  also  that  there  is  a  divine  antinomi- 
anism  as  well  as  a  loose  and  diabolic  one.  Therefore  he 
said  in  one  of  those  matchless  choral  passages  of  the 
"-  Samson,'1  — 

"  Just  are  the  ways  of  God, 
And  justifiable  to  men  ; 
Unless  the,re  be  who  think  not  God  at  all. 
If  any  be,  they  walk  obscure  ; 
For  of  such  doctrine  never  was  there  school, 
But  the  heart  of  the  fool,  — 
And  no  man  therein  doctor  but  himself. 

Yet  more  there  be  who  doubt  His  ways  not  just, 
As  to  His  own  edicts  found  contradicting  ; 

As  if  they  would  confine  th'  Interminable, 

And  tie  Him  to  His  own  prescript, 

Who  made  our  laws  to  bind  us,  not  Himself, 

And  hath  full  right  to  exempt  • 

Whom  it  so  pleases  Him  by  choice 

From  national  obstriction,  without  taint  „ 

Of  sin  or  legal  debt  ; 

For  with  His  own  laws  He  can  best  dispense." 

This  is  a  high  doctrine,  applying  only  to  heroes ;  but  it 
holds  good  of  John  Brown,  and  particularly  in  regard  to 
•the  Pottawatomie  executions  of  May,  1856.  Such  a  deed 
must  not  be  judged  by  the  every -day  rules  of  conduct,  which 
distinctly  forbid  violence  and  the  infliction  of  death  for 
private  causes ;  branding  the  act,  and  justly,  by  the  odious 
names  of  "  murder  "  and  "  assassination."  The  cause  here 
was  a  public  one  ;  the  crisis  was  momentous,  and  yet  invisible 
all  but  the  eyes  divinely  appointed  to  see  it  and  to  foresee 
its  consequences.  Upon  the  swift  and  secret  vengeance  of 
John  Brown  in  that  midnight  raid  hinged  the  future  of  Kan 
sas,  as  we  can  now  see  ;  and  on  that  future  again  hinged  the 
^destinies  of  the  whole  country.  Had  Kansas  in  the  death- 
struggle  of  1856  fallen  a.  prey  to  the  slaveholders,  slave- 
holding  would  to-day  be  the  law  of  our  imperial  democracy ; 
the  sanctions  of  the  Union  and  the  Constitution  would  now 
be  on  the  side  of  human  slavery,  as  they  were  from  1840  to 
1860.  And  the  turning  point  in  the  Kansas  conflict  was 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  249 

that  week  of  May,  1856,  when  the  whole  power  of  the 
United  States  was  shamefully  put  forth  to  conquer  the  little 
town  of  Lawrence,  to  abase  the  free  spirit  of  the  Northern 
farmers  on  the  Kansas  prairies,  and  to  give  supremacy 
to  the  vilest  and  most  inhuman  elements  in  the  American 
nationality.  The  attack  on  Lawrence  (May  20)  was  coin 
cident  in  time  with  the  close  of  Charles  Sumner's  great 
speech  in  the  Senate  on  the  "  Crime  against  Kansas ;  "  and 
the  temporary  downfall  of  the  Free-State  cause  west  of 
the  Missouri  wa,s  echoed  at  Washington  in  the  contrived 
and  almost  completed  murder  of  Sumner  by  the  weapons  of 
South  Carolina,  as  he  sat  in  the  Senate  chamber  two  days 
after  (May  22,  1856).  One  shout  of  exultation  went  up 
from  the  slaveholding  States  over  the  two  events  ;  and  one 
thrill  of  anguish  ran  through  the  free  North  when  the 
tidings  came  in  the  same  day  from  Kansas  and  from  Wash 
ington.  A  venerable  citizen  of  Boston,  —  Josiah  Quincy, 
then  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  —  who  had  seen  the  Indepen 
dence  of  America  declared  by  Jefferson  and  maintained  by 
Washington,  Franklin,  and  Lafayette,  raised  his  aged  voice 
in  protest  against,  the  degeneracy  of  their  descendants. 
Writing  to  Judge  Hoar,  of  Concord  (May  27,  1856),  Mr. 
Quincy  said  :  — 

"  My  mind  is  in  no  state  to -receive  pleasure  from  social 
scenes  and  friendly  intercourse.  I  can  think  and  speak  of 
nothing  but  the  outrages  of  slaveholders  at  Kansas,  and  the 
outrages  of  slaveholders  at  Washington,  —  outrages  which, 
if  not  met  in  the  spirit  of  our  fathers  of  the  Revolution 
(and  I  see  no  sign  that  they  will  be),  our  liberties  are  but  a 
name,  and  our  Union  proves  a  curse.  But,  alas !  sir,  I  see 
no  principle  of  vitality  in  what  is  called  freedom  in  these 
times.  The  palsy  of  death  rests  on  the  spirit  of  freedom  in 
the  so-called  free  States." 

Thus  Quincy  spoke ;  and  in  the  same  sense,  to  a  result 
such  as  Quincy  could  not  foresee,  John  Brown  had  already 
acted.  He  also  felt  that  "  our  liberties  are  but  a  name  and 
our  Union  proves  a  curse,"  if  the  deeds  done  at  Lawrence, 
preceded  by  murders  and  followed  by  the  flight  of  freemen 
from  Kansas,  were  not  to  be  met  with  retaliation,  JThe 
at.  Pnt.ta.wa.tnpife  follQwed^as  a  signal  to  every  Kansas 


250  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [185G. 

ruffianthat  blood  must  recompense  blood.  For  every  cold- 
rbloode3~nmrder  heretofore  perpetrated,  —  for  Dow,  Barber, 
Brown,  Stewart,  and  Jones,  —  the  sabres  of  Pottawatoraie 
requited  life  with  life.  Five  representative  defenders  of 
slavery  were  struck  down  in  a  single  night,  in  reprisal  for 
the  five  sons  of  liberty  slain  in  the  previous  six  months. 
The  lesson  was  terrible,  but  salutary  ;  the  oppressors  of 
Kansas  never  forgave  it,  but  they  could  not  forget  it,  —  and 
it  wrought  their  defeat  in  the  end.  j/t_shocked  the  Free- 
State  men,  no _doubt _;Jhut,it  so^n_gave_them  confidence  that 
Gpct^  justice"  did  not  sleep^  jind  that  their  cause  was  not 
jos£^  r~have  already^cited  what  CliarTesTlobTnsbn  said  of  it 
in  1878,  —  that  he  had  always  believed  John  Brown  to  be 
the  author  of  the  Pottawatomie  executions,  because  he  was 
the  only  man  then  in  Kansas  who  comprehended  the  situ 
ation,  and  had  the^ierv^ia^atrike_the  bluar,  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  in  this  respect  agrees  with  Robinson,  and  says  :  "It  has 
never  been  asserted  by  me,  nor  by  any  one  else  who  compre 
hended  the  situation  at  that  time,  that  the  killing  of  those 
men  at  Pottawatomie  was  wholly  on  account  of  the  emer 
gency  in  that  neighborhood.  Tha^hlg^^was  struck  for 
^ansas___and_the  slave;  and  he  'who  attempts..  .tcTlimit  its 
object  to  a^merft_sfttt.1p.inpn±  of  acj^rvnritsjwitk  a  fftw  prjjsla.v- 
ery  diBsperaHoes  on  that  creek,  shows  himy>lf  jnn^pfllflft  nf 
^rendering  jjust  judgment  in  the ;  cass-"  When  Jason  Brown 
metnis  father  for  the  first  time  after  the  executions,  near 
the  empty  cabins  from  which  the  Brown  families  had  fled  for 
safety  to  Osawatomie,  the  tender-hearted  son  said  :  "  Father, 
did  you  have  anything  to  do  with  that  bloody  affair  on  the 
Pottawatomie  ?  "  Brown's  reply  was,  "  I  approved  of  it." 
Jason  then  said :  "  Whoever  did  it,  the  act  was  uncalled  for 
and  wicked."  Brown  answered,  "  God  is  my  judge,  —  the 
people  of  Kansas  will  yet  justify  my  course."  This  predic 
tion  was  true.  •"  An  old  friend  of  his.  James  Han  way,  who 
lived  near  the  scene  of  the  executions,  and  at  first  strongly 
abhorred  them,  has  given  this  testimony  on  the  point :  — 

"  In  the  month  of  January,  1859,  the  last  time  I  met  John  Brown 
before  he  left  the  Territory  for  the  last  time,  he  asked  me,  in  the 
presence  of  my  family,  <  What  do  the  old  settlers  now  think  about 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  251 

the  affair  ? '  alluding  to  the  killing  of  the  Doyles,  etc.  My  reply 
was,  'A  great  change  in  public  opinion  has  taken  place;  it  is  not 
now  looked  upon  with  that  feeling  of  horror  which  prevailed  soon 
after  the  event  took  place.7  Brown  replied,  '  I  knew  all  good  men 
who  loved  freedom,  when  they  became  better  acquainted  with  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  case,  would  approve  of  it.  The 
public  mind  was  not  ready  then  to  accept  such  hard  blows.'  £aptain 

Brown  firjiiilyjieliej^ instrument  in  the  hands  of 

Providence  to  smite  the  slave-power,  and  roll  back  its  blasphemous 
threatsT  "The  question  with  him  was  the  proper  time  to  strike. .the 
bl'o^^'H€Li£QufKrtH(BTiour  had  come,  aqd  ibe^Pottawatoime  tragedy 
was  the  result.7-'- 

The  scene  of  this  act  of  wild  justice  was  one  of  the  most 
romantic  in  Kansas.  The  broad  prairies  of  that  State  are 
fertile  and  sunny,  but  they  have  the  tameness  and  sameness 
of  landscape  that  soon  wearies  the  eye  of  the  traveller. 
Around  Osawatomie,  however,  this  monotony  is  broken  by 
winding  streams,  swelling  hills,  and  steep  ravines  ;  while 
along  the  streams  is  a  noble  border  of  woodland.  That  in 
stinctive  love  of  the  picturesque  which  led  John  Brown  and 
his  sons  to  the  fores-ts  of  Ohio,  the  mountains  of  the  Adiron- 
dac  wilderness,  and  the  snow-capped  heights  of  California, 
guided  their  steps  in  Kansas  also,  and  pitched  their  tents  in 
this  wildest  tract  of  a  tame  region.  Two  copious  rivers, 
though  condescending  to  bear  the  commonplace  name  of 
"creek,75  —  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  and  the  Pottawatomie,  — 
unite  near  Osawatomie,  in  what  was  then  the  home  of  Indian 
tribes,  to  form  the  Osage  River,  the  largest  tributary  of 
the  Missouri  below  the  mountain-torrents.  Each  of  these 
Kansas  rivers  is  formed  by  tributary  streams,  and  all  wind 
gracefully  among  fringes  of  woodland,  below  which  in  many 
places  the  banks  shelve  steeply  down  to  the  lazy  waters.1 

1  I  visited  Osawatomie,  August  21,  1882,  and  made  this  entry  in  my 
journal :  "  Crossed  the  Marais  des  Cygnes  by  a  bridge  on  the  road  from  Paola 
between  the  insane  asylum  and  the  village  of  Osawatomie,  —  a  large  stream 
with  high  banks,  heavily  timbered,  perhaps  one  hundred  feet  wide  at  this 
season,  and  in  some  places  twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep  ;  so  that  men  fording 
it  have  often  been  drowned.  It  was  on  the  northern  bank  of  this  river,  one 
mile  or  rtiore  from  the  village,  that  John  Brown  was  encamped  (August  29, 
30)  before  the  battle  of  Osawatomie.  I  saw  one  of  Brown's  friends,  —the 


252  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Beyond  this  forest  selvage  stretches  broad  and  grand  the 
grassy,  flower-enamelled  prairie,  now  dotted  at  many  points 
with  orchards,  groves,  farm-houses  and  villages,  —  but  in 
1856  a  virgin  soil,  which  the  plow  had  only  scarred  a  little 
now  and  then,  and  over  which  ranged  and  flitted  countless 
beasts  and  birds,  with  here  and  there  a  herd  of  cattle,  or 
a  group  of  half-wild  horses.  The  Indian  hunter  pursued 
his  game  there,  and  the  buffalo  had  not  wholly  forsaken  his 
old  grazing-ground.  The  villages  of  Osawatomie,  which 
gave  John  Brown  a  distinctive  name,  and  of  Lane,  which 
has  grown  up  near  the  old  ford  of  the  Pottawatomie  in 
the  township  of  that  ilk,  once  known  as  Dutch  Henry's 
Crossing,  are  neither  of  them  large  or  specially  flourishing, 
but  a  historic  interest  attaches  to  both  from  their  asso 
ciation  with  Brown's  career.  Lane  is  southwest  of  Osa 
watomie,  and  therefore,  as  the  river  runs,  above  it ;  and 
above  the  old  Crossing,  where  there  is  now  a  modern 
bridge,  are  the  neighborhoods  which  Brown  visited  on 
that  tragic  night.  Professor  Spring,  the  latest  historian 
of  Kansas,  thus  describes  the  country  as  he  saw  it  three 
years  ago :  — 

"  The  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing  of  1882  is  a  paradise  of  rural  peace 
and  happiness.  The  fiercest  sounds  I  heard  during  a  visit  to  that 
region  were  the  clatter  of  agricultural  machinery  and  the  fervent 
hallelujahs  of  a  l  holiness '  camp-meeting.  Here  quiet  and  security 
seem  to  have  reached  their  utmost  limit.  The  Pottawatomie  —  half 
limpid,  with  slighter  mixtures  of  discoloring  mud  than  any  Kansas 
stream  that  I  have  seen  —  winds  languidly  between  beautifuhy 
shaded  banks  toward  the  Marais  des  Cygnes.  The  vast  fields  of 

Sniders  of  the  Trading  Post  massacre,  —  a  blacksmith  of  Osawatomie  now, 
standing  tall  and  swarthy  in  his  shop  at  the  village  ;  and  then  drove  the 
next  morning  two  miles  farther  west  to  the  log-house  of  Rev.  S.  L.  Adair, 
on  the  high  prairie  along  which  the  Missourians  came  the  morning  of  the 
fight.  The  road  from  the  village  to  Mr.  Adafr's  is  steep  and  rocky,  —  more 
so  than  any  I  have  yet  seen  in  Kansas.  His  house  is  the  one  he  built  in 
the  spring  of  1855,  though  it  has  since  been  enlarged ;  it  is  the  common 
cabin  of  squared  logs,  chinked  in  with  clay,  and  the  main  room  has  two 
beds  in  it.  In  this  room  John  Brown  was  .sick  with  typhoid  fever  for  six 
weeks,  in  1858,  —  Kagi  and  the  Adairs  taking  care  of  him.  The  house  has 
orchards  about  it,  and  in  front  two  or  three  pine-trees  which  Mr.  Adair 
brought  from  the  East  about  1&60,  one  of  which  is  now  twenty  feet  high." 


1856.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS.  253 

corn  and  wheat,  with  their  picturesque  borders  of  orange  hedge,  lie 
mapped  upon  the  rolling  prairie  in  every  direction,  — 

*  As  quietly  as  spots  of  sky 
Among  the  evening  clouds.' 

"  The  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing  of  1856  stands  in  antithesis  to  all 
this  Arcadian  repose.  Then  there  was  no  law  but  force,  no  rule  but 
violence,  in  the  Territory  of  Kansas.  A  veritable  reign  of  terror  was 
inaugurated.  Marauders  were  prowling  about  in  whose  eyes  nothing 
was  sacred-  that  stood  in  the  way  of  their  passions.  The  opposing 
factious  into  whose  hands  the  question  of  slavery  or  no  slavery  for 
Kansas  had  fallen,  hunted  each  other  like  wolves.  Pistol-shots  and 
sword-slits  were  the  prevailing  style  of  argument.  For  purposes 
of  ambush  and  concealment  this  location  was  admirably  chosen. 
The  surface  is  cut  up  by  gulches  affording  natural  defences  which 
ten  resolute  men  could  hold  against  a  hundred.  I  spent  half  a  day  in 
exploring  this  region  with  one  of  Brown's  men,  who  had  not  been  on 
the  ground  for  twenty-six  years,  in  an  effort  to  recover  the  exact  site 
of  Brown's  bivouac  of  May  23.  But  so  marked  is  the  change  which 
time  has  wrought  in  the  landscape,  so  great  the  number  and  similar 
ity  of  the  ravines,  that  all  our  efforts  failed.  Indeed,  nothing  here 
remains  as  it  was  in  the  Border  period.  The  earliest  cabins  have 
been  pulled  down,  frontier  characteristics  are  gone,  and  the  customs 
of  older  civilizations  appear.  The  ford  retains  its  quaint  and  primitive 
name  of  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing,  but  has  ceased  to  be  used.  The 
once  broad  and  travelled  road  leading  down  to  it  has  now  shrunk  to 
a  narrow,  weed-choked  path,  right  across  which  lies  a  half-decayed 
tree.  I  found  one  direct,  and  to  me  pathetic,  memorial  of  the  Potta- 
watomie  raid  (even  that  is  being  rapidly  obliterated),  —  the  grave 
of  three  of  its  victims.  They  were  buried  coffinless  in  one  shallow 
trench.  No  stone  or  tablet  marks  their  resting-place,  —  only  a  slight 
heaving  of  the  turf,  in  an  open  field  near  the  ford." 

The  two  Shermans,  —  Dutch  Henry  and  Dutch  Wil 
liam, —  who  lived  here  and  gave  their  name  to  the  ford, 
were  brothers,  from  Oldenburg  in  Germany,  who  had  been 
long  in  America,  and  were  among  the  earliest  white  settlers 
of  this  region.  They  were  men  of  harsh  and  brutal  charac 
ter,  who  profited  by  the  neighborhood  of  peaceful  Indians 
to  advance  their  own  interests  at  the  expense  of  the  red  men, 
and  who  looked  upon  Indians  and  negroes  with  equal  con 
tempt.  Their  house  was  a  sort  of  tavern,  as  many  of  the 
prairie  cabins  were  in  those  days,  and  their  most  acceptable 


254  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

visitors  were  the  proslavery  men  from  Missouri  and  farther 
south.  At  this  very  time,  in  the  words  of  John  Brown  the 
younger,  "  the  Doyles,  AVilkinsons,  and  Shermans  were  fur 
nishing  places  of  rendezvous  and  active  aid  to  the  armed 
men  who  had  sworn  to  kill  us  and  others."  With  the  Browns 
it  was  simply  a  question  as  to  which,  to  use  a  Western  phrase, 
should  "  first  get  the  drop  "  on  the  others.  Upon  this  point, 
which  of  late  years  has  been  the  subject  of  controversy,  the 
testimony  is  clear  and  ample.  The  men  who  suffered  death 
were  not  only  leagued  with  the  Missouri  invaders,  but  had 
themselves  committed  gross  outrages,  such  as  they  had 
threatened  a  year  before  their  death.  An  early  citizen  of 
Kansas  (now  or  recently  a  police  magistrate  at  Salina),  Au 
gust  Bondi  by  name,  went  to  settle,  in  May,  1855,  on  the 
Mosquito  branch  of  the  Pottawatomie,  four  miles  from  Dutch 
Henry's.  Being  a  German,  and  having  two  compatriots 
(Theodore  Wiener  and  Jacob  Benjamin)  owning  near  him, 
Bondi  went  to  call  on  Henry  Sherman,  whom  he  had  heard 
of  as  a  German  also,  and  therefore  sought  his  acquaintance. 
After  a  short  conversation  with  him,  Henry  Sherman  said 
"he  had  heard  that  Bondi  and  Benjamin  were  Freesoilers, 
and  therefore  would  advise  them  to  clear  out,  or  they  might 
meet  the  fate  of  Baker,"  — a  Vermont  man  whom  the  Bor 
der  Ruffians  had  taken  from  his  cabin  on  the  Marais  des 
Cygnes,  whipped,  and  hanged  upon  a  tree,  but  had  cut  him . 
down  before  death,  and  released  him  upon  his  promise  to 
leave  Kansas.  Allen  Wilkinson,  who  was  a  member  of  the 
usurping  Legislature,  talked  to  Bondi  in  much  the  same  way. 
The  two  Germans  (Bondi  and  Benjamin,  for  Wiener  had 
not  yet  arrived)  took  counsel  what  should  be  done.  Benja 
min,  who  had  worked  several  days  at  the  settlement  on  the 
Marais  des  Cygnes,  reported  that  no  help  could  be  expected 
thence,  where  the  settlers  were  all  from  Missouri  or  Arkan 
sas.  He  had  heard,  however,  of  a  small  settlement  of  Ohio 
men  about  five  miles  to  the  northeast,  and  both  agreed  that 
these  ought  to  be  seen.  Next  morning  Benjamin  went  there, 
and  about  noon  returned  with  Frederick  Brown,  who  brought 
word  from  his  three  brothers  that  they  would  always  be 
found  ready  to  assist  Bondi  and  his  friend.  N"o  attack  was 
made  that  summer,  during  which  there  was  a  large  immi- 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  255 

gration  into  the  Pottawatomie  region,  both  from  the  North 
and  the  South,  — the  Northern  men  in  the  majority,  but  the 
proslavery  men  having  the  advantage  of  being  generally 
well  armed  and  under  better  organization.  On  their  side, 
too,  were  the  gangs  of  robbers  and  murderers  on  the  borders 
of  Missouri  and  the  Indian  Territory. 

But  in  the  spring  of  1856  the  Shermans  and  their  com 
rades  began  to  carry  out  their  threats.  George  Grant,  who 
then'  lived  on  the  Pottawatomie,  testified  in  1879 :  — 

"My  father,  John  T.  Grant,  came  from  Oneida  County,  N.  Y., 
and  settled  on  Pottawatomie  Creek,  in  1854.  We  were  near  neigh 
bors  of  the  Shermans,  of  the  Doyles,  and  of  Wilkinson,  who  were 
afterward  killed.  There  was  a  company  of  Georgia  Border  Ruffians 
encamped  on  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  about  four  miles  away  from  us, 
who  had  been  committing  outrages  upon  the  Free-State  people ;  and 
these  proslavery  men  were  in  constant  communication  with  them. 
They  had  a  courier  who  went  backward  and  forward  carrying  mes 
sages.  When  we  heard  on  the  Pottawatomie  that  the  Border  Ruf 
fians  were  threatening  Lawrence,  and  that  the  Free-State  men  wanted 
help,  we  immediately  began  to  prepare  to  go  to  their  assistance. 
Frederick  Brown,  sou  of  John  Brown,  went  to  a  store  at  Dutch 
Henry's  Crossing,  kept  by  a  Mr.  Morse,  from  Michigan,  known  as 
old  Squire  Morse,  a  quiet,  inoffensive  old  Free-State  man,  living 
there  with  his  two  boys,  and  bought  some  bars  of  lead,  —  say  twenty 
or  thirty  pounds.  He  brought  the  lead  to  my  father's  house  on  Sun 
day  morning,  and  my  brother  Henry  C.  Grant  and  my  sister  Mary 
spent  the  whole  day  in  running  Sharpe's  and  other  rifle  bullets  for 
the  company.  As  Frederick  Brown  was  bringing  this  lead  to  our 
house,  he  passed  by  Henry  Sherman's  house,  and  several  proslavery 
men,  among  them  Doyle  and  his  sons,  William  Sherman,  and  others, 
were  sitting  on  tbe  fence,  and  inquired  what  he  was  going  to  do  with 
it.  He  told  them  he  was  going  to  run  it  into  bullets  for  Free-State 
guns.  They  were  apparently  much  incensed  at  his  reply,  as  they 
knew  that  the  Free- State  company  was  then  preparing  to  go  to 
Lawrence.  The  next  morning,  after  the  company  had  started  to  go 
to  Lawrence,  a  number  of  these  proslavery  men  —  Wilkinson,  Doyle, 
his  two  sons,  and  William  Sherman,  known  as  'Dutch  Bill'  —  took 
a  rope  and  went  to  old  Squire  Morse's  house,  and  said  they  were 
going  to  hang  him  for  selling  the  lead  to  the  Free-State  men.  They 
frightened  the  old  man  terribly  ;  but  finally  told  him  he  must  leave 
the  country  before  eleven  o'clock,  or  they  would  hang  him.  They 
then  left  and  went  to  the  Shermans'  and  went  to  drinking,  About 


256  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

eleven  o'clock  a  portion  of  them,   half  drunk,   went  back  to  Mr. 

Morse's,  and  were  going  to  kill  him  with  an  axe.     His  little  boys 

one  was  only  nine  years  old  —  set  up  a  violent  crying,  and  begged 
for  their  father's  life.  They  finally  gave  him  until  sundown  to  leave. 
He  left  everything  and  came  at  once  to  our  house.  He  was  nearly 
frightened  to  death.  He  came  to  our  house  carrying  a  blanket  and 
leading  his  little  boy  by  the  hand.  When  night  came  he  was  so 
afraid  that  he  would  not  stay  in  the  house,  but  went  out  doors  and 
slept  on  the  prairie  in  the  grajs.  For  a  few  days  he  lay  about  in  the 
brush,  most  of  the  time  getting  his  meals  at  our  house.  He  was 
then  taken  violently  ill  and  died  in  a  very  short  time.  Dr.  Gilpatrick 
attended  him  during  his  brief  illness,  and  said  that  his  death  was 
directly  caused  by  the  fright  and  excitement  of  that  terrible  day  when 
he  was  driven  from  his  store.  The  only  thing  they  had  against  Mr. 
Morse  was  his  selling  the  lead,  and  this  he  had  previously  bought  of 
Henry  Sherman,  who  had  brought  it  from  Kansas  City.  While  the 
Free- State  company  was  gone  to  Lawrence,  Henry  Sherman  J  came 
to  my  father's  house  and  said :  l  We  have  ordered  old  Morse  out  of 
the  country,  and  he  has  got  to  go,  and  a  good  many  others  of  the 
Free-State  families  have  got  to  go.'  The  general  feeling  among  the 
Free-State  people  was  one  of  terror  while  the  company  was  gone, 
as  we  did  not  know  at  what  moment  the  Georgia  ruffians  might  come 
in  and  drive  us  all  out." 


1  Mr.  Foster,  already  quoted,  who  knew  the  Shermans  and  their  repu 
tation,  tells  this  story  of  the  brutality  of  "Dutch  Bill,"  who  was  one  of  the 
five  men  executed  by  Brown  :  "  In  the  spring  of  1856  William  Sherman 
had  taken  a  fancy  to  the  daughter  of  one  of  his  Free- State  neighbors,  and 
had  been  refused  by  her.  The  next  time  he  met  her  he  used  the  most  vile 
and  insulting  language  toward  her,  in  the  midst  of  which  Frederick  Brown 
appeared  and  was  besought  for  protection,  which  was  readily  granted. 
Sherman  then  drew  his  knife,  and,  speaking  to  the  young  woman,  said  : 
'  The  day  is  soon  coming  when  all  the  damned  Abolitionists  will  be  driven 
out  or  hanged  ;  we  are  not  going  to  make  any  half-way  work  about  it ;  and 
as  for  you,  Miss,  you  shall  either  marry  me  or  I  '11  drive  this  knife  to  the 
hilt  until  I  find  your  life.'  Frederick  Brown  quietly  warned  Sherman 
that  if  he  attempted  any  violence  he  would  be  taken  care  of ;  when,  with 
an  oath  and  threat,  Sherman  left  them."  His  viler  brother,  Henry  Sher 
man,  who  escaped  Brown's  avenging  hand,  was  shot  not  long  afterward,  I 
have  heard,  by  one  of  Brown's  soldiers,  — not  a  member  of  the  party  which 
William  Sherman.  The  chief  wonder  was,  that  a  wretch  so  outra 
geous  as  Dutch  Henry,  in  a  country  so  full  of  tumult  as  Southern  Kansas, 
had  not  been  killed  sooner.  His  house  has  long  been  destroyed,  and  only 
a  few  apple-trees  remain  to  mark  the  spot  where  he  lived  and  persecuted 
his  Free-State  neighbors. 


1856.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  257 

Notwithstanding  the  controversy  which  has  so  long  been 
kept  up  concerning  these  executions,  the  facts  are  plain  and 
simple,  and  are  now  almost  universally  accepted.  The  char 
acter  of  the  men  slain  was  notoriously  bad,  as  has  been 
shown ;  and  they  had  long  been  plotting  with  the  Missou- 
rians,  and  more  recently  with  Buford's  armed  colonists  from 
the  South,  to  exterminate  the  Free-State  settlers  along  the 
Pottawatomie  arid  its  tributaries.  While  the  Free-State 
men  were  on  their  way  to  the  defence  of  Lawrence,  and 
their  families  were  left  unprotected,  word  was  sent  to  the 
camp  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  who  commanded  the  Pottawato- 
mie  Kifles,  that  the  Free-State  families  along  the  Creek 
were  to  be  attacked  and  driven  out.  This  news  followed 
hard  upon  the  tidings  that  Lawrence  had  been  captured  and 
burned  by  the  Missouri  ruffians.  After  that  dismal  mes 
sage,  John  Brown,  who  was  a  member  of  his  son's  company, 
proposed  marching  at  once  on  Lawrence.  But  word  soon 
came  from  that  town  requesting  the  company  not  to  come, 
since  the  ruffians  had  gone  back  to  Missouri,  and  the  Free- 
State  men  were  short  of  provisions.  A  vote  was  therefore 
taken  in  the  company  not  to  visit  Lawrence,  but  to  go  into 
camp  near  the  house  of  Captain  Shore  on  the  Middle  Ottawa 
Creek;  and  this  was  done  on  the  night  of  May  22.  The 
place  is  about  five  miles  from  the  town  of  Palmyra,  and 
not  more  than  ten  miles  from  where  Brown  afterward  won 
the  fight  of  Black  Jack.  James  Hanway,  already  quoted, 
was  a  member  of  the  Pottawatomie  Rifles,  and  a  witness 
of  entire  credibility.  He  says  :  — 

"  When  we  were  in  camp  on  Middle  Ottawa  Creek,  in  Franklin 
County,  a  young  man,  son  of  Mr.  Grant,1  brought  the  intelligence 
that  certain  proslavery  citizens  of  the  Pottawatomie  had  visited  some 
of  the  Free-State  families,  and  threatened  them  with  death,  and  their 
property  with  destruction,  if  they  did  not  leave  the  neighborhood  by 
the  following  Saturday  or  Sunday  night.  Old  John  Brown,  who  had 
a  firm  belief  that  Providence  directed  his  steps  in  all  undertakings, 
immediately  raised  a  small  party  of  men,  and  visited  those  who  had 
been  the  instigators  of  this  threatened  movement.  I  think  it  was 
May  23,  about  two  p.  M.,  that  John  Brown  and  his  party  left  our 

1  Others  say  another  was  the  messenger. 
17 


258  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

camp.  When  Brown  was  packing  up  bis  camp  kettles,  etc.,  at 
Middle  Ottawa  Creek.  I  was  invited  to  become  one  of  the  party,  by 
one  of  the  eight  who  formed  the  company.  I  was  informed  at  the 
time  of  the  purpose  of  the  expedition,  and  the  necessity  there  was  to 
carry  oat  the  programme. 

"  The  following  day  we  camped  at  Palmyra.  We  had  heard  of  the 
arrest  of  Governor  Robinson,  and  our  object  was  to  rescue  him  if 
they  brought  him  by  the  Santa  Fe  road  to  Lecompton.  On  Sunday 
morning,  May  25,  we  broke  camp,  and  took  up  quarters  near  Prairie 
City,  on  Liberty  Hill.  It  was  then  and  there  that  four  persons  came 
riding  across  the  prairie,  and  reported  what  had  taken  place  on  the 
Pottawatomie.  That  night  we  camped  in  the  yard  of  Ottawa  Jones, 
and  during  the  night  John  Brown's  party,  who  had  left  our  company 
several  days  before,  made  their  appearance.  I  was  with  Jason  Brown 
in  what  was  called  the  Brown  tent.  John  Brown  asked  if  his  son 
John  was  there.  I  replied  no ;  he  was  in  Ottawa  Jones's  house. 
This  was  about  the  middle  of  the  night." 

Between  the  departure  of  John  Brown  from  his  son's 
camp  early  in  the  afternoon  of  May  23,  and  his  return 
thereto  in  the  night  of  May  25-26,  the  deed  of  death  was 
done.  Those  who  accomplished  it  were  under  Brown's 
orders,  and  were  directed  in  all  their  movements  by  him. 
Of  this  there  is  now  110  doubt,  although  at  the  time,  and  for 
many  years  afterward,  John  Brown's  presence  at  the  execu 
tions  was  denied ;  and  this  denial  was  supposed  to  be  sup 
ported  by  his  words.  But  upon  inquiry  of  all  those  who 
talked  with  him  on  the  subject,  it  does  not  appear  that  he 
ever  denied  his  presence  at  the  scene,  while  he  constantly 
justified  the  act.  One  of  the  earliest  witnesses  has  already 
been  cited,  —  Jason  Brown.  John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  not  in 
formed  of  the  deed  by  his  father.  An  old  Kansas  settler,' 
E.  A.  Coleman,  now  living  near  Lawrence,  where  he  was  in 
1855-56,  bears  witness  thus  :  — 

11  John  Brown  frequently  visited  me  at  my  house,  and  stayed  with 
me.  In  fact,  my  latch-string  was  always  out  for  such  men.  John 
Brown  knew  where  his  friends  lived,  and  could  go  to  them  night  or 
day.  One  evening,  not  long  before  the  fight  at  Osawatomie,  we  ate 
supper  out  of  doors  in  the  shade  of  my  cabin  at  five  o'clock.  As 
soon  as  supper  was  over,  Captain  Brown  commenced  pacing  back 
and  forth  in  the  shade  of  the  house.  My  wife  stood  by  the  dishes, 


1856 1  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  259 

and  I  sat  in  my  chair.  I  finally  said,  '  Captain  Brown,  I  want  to 
ask  you  one  question,  and  you  can  answer  it  or  not  as  you  please, 
and  I  shall  not  be  offended.'  He  stopped  his  pacing,  looked  me 
square  in  the  face,  and  said,  l  What  is  it  I '  Said  I,  '  Captain 
Brown,  did  you  kill  those  five  men  on  the  Pottawatomie,  or  did  you 
not  ? '  He  replied,  4 1  did  not;  but  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  they 
wore  not  killed  by  my  order;  and  in  doing  so  I  believe  I  was  doing 
God's  service.'  My  wife  spoke  and  said,  '  Then,  Captain,  you  think- 
that  God  uses  you  as  an  instrument  in  his  hands  to  kill  men  '?  ' 
Brown  replied,  '  I  think  he  has  used  me  as  an  instrument  to  kill 
men  ;  and  if  I  live,  I  think  he  will  use  me  as  an  instrument  to  kill  a 
good  many  more.'  He  went  on  and  said:  'Mr.  Coleman,  I  will 
tell  you  all  about  it,  and  you  can  judge  whether  I  did  right  or  wrong. 
I  had  heard  that  these  men  were  coming  to  the  cabin  that  my  son  and 

I  were  staying  in   [I  think  he  said  the  next  Wednesday  night]  to 
set  fire  to  it  and  shoot  us  as  we  ran  out.      Now,  that  was  not  "proof 
enough  for  me;  but  I  thought  I  would  satisfy  myself,  and  if  they 
had  committed  murder  in  their  hearts,  I  would  be  justified  in  killing 
them.      I  was  an  old  surveyor,  so  I  disguised  myself,  took  two  men 
to  carry  the  chain,  and  a  flagman.    The  lines  not  being  run,  I  knew 
that  as  soon  as  they  saw  me  they  would  come  out  to  find  out  where 
their  lines  would  come.'      And  taking  a  book  from  his  pocket,  he 
said,    l  Here  is  what  every  man  said  that  was  killed.      I  ran  my 
lines  close  to  each  man's  house.     The  first  that  came  out  said,  "  Is 
that  my  line,  sir  I  "     I  replied,  u  I  cannot  tell ;  I  am  running  test 
lines."     I  then  said  to  him,  "  You  have  a  fine  country  here;  great 
pity  there  are  so  many  Abolitionists  in  it."     "  Yes,  but  by  God  we 
will  soon  clean  them  all  out,"  he  said.     I  kept  looking  through  my 
instrument,  making  motions  to  the  flagman  to  move  either  way,  and 
at  the  same  time  I  wrote  every  word  they  said.     Then  I  said,  '•'  I 
hear  there  are  some  bad  men  about  here  by  the  name  of  Brown." 

II  Yes,  there  are  ;  but  next  Wednesday  night  we  will  kill  them."    So 
I  ran  the  lines  by  each  one  of  their  houses,  and  I  took  down  every 
word ;  and  here  it  is,  word  for  word,  by  each  one.      [Shows  wife  and 
me  the  book].    I  was  satisfied  that  each  one  of  them  had  committed 
murder  in  his  heart,  and  according  to  the  Scriptures  they  were  guilty 
of  murder,  and  I  felt  justified  in  having  them  killed ;  but,  as  I  told 
you,  I  did  not  do  it  myself.'      He  then  said,   '  Now,  Mr.  Coleman, 
what  do  you  think  ? '      I  told  him  I  thought  he  did  right,  and  so  did 
my  wife.     This  statement  we  are  both  willing  to  be  sworn  to."  l 

1  See  "  The  Kansas  Memorial,"  1879,  pp.  196,  197.  I  have  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Coleman,  written  in  1885,  in  which  he  repeats  this  striking  conversa 
tion,  with  some  variations,  but  in  substance  as  recited  above.  He  says  : 


260  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  has  thus  expressed  himself  concerning 
the  mystery  which  long  concealed  the  true  facts  in  this  af 
fair  ;  and  no  person  who  knows  him  will  doubt  his  word  : 

/  "  The  only  statement  that  I  ever  heard  my  father  make  in  regard 
to  this  was,  l  I  did  not  myself  kill  any  of  those  men  at  Pottawatomie, 
"but  I  am  as  fully  responsible  as  if  I  did.'  This  statement  of  his  is 
strictly  in  accordance  with  the  facts,  as  I  have  now  abundant  evi 
dence.  The  statements  of  others,  giving  a  different  version,  I  believe 

"The  Browns  were  hunted  as  we  hunt  wolves  to-day  ;  and  because  they  un 
dertook  to  protect  themselves,  they  are  called  cold-blooded  murderers,  — 
merely  because  they  '  had  the  dare,'  and  were  contented  to  live  and  die  as 
God  intended  them  to.  Brown  was  a  Bible-man,  —  he  believed  it  all  ; 
and  though  1  am  not,  I  give  him  credit  for  being  honest,  and  the  most 
consistent  so-called  Christian  I  have  ever  met.  Brown  and  his  sons  had 
claims,  and  worked  them,  as  I  did  mine,  when  these  devils  were  not  prowl 
ing  about,  killing  a  man  now  and  then,  stealing  our  stock  and  running 
them  off'  to  Missouri." 

John  Brown,  Jr.'s,  version  of  the  surveying  adventure,  and  doubtless 
the  more  correct  one,  is  as  follows  :  "  Early  in  the  spring  of  1856,  Colonel 
"Buford,  of  Alabama,  arrived  with  a  regiment  of  armed  men,  mostly  from 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  They  came  with  the  openly  declared  purpose 
to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State  at  all  hazards.  A  company  of  these  men  was 
reported  to  us  as  being  encamped  near  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  a  little  south 
of  the  town  now  called  Rantoul,  I  think,  and  distant  from  our  place  about 
two  miles.  Father  took  his  surveyor's  compass,  and  with  him  four  of  my 
brothers,  —  Owen,  Frederick,  Salmon,  and  Oliver,  — as  chain -carriers,  ax- 
*  man,  and  marker,  and  found  a  section  line  which,  on  following,  led  through 
the  camp  of  these  men.  The  Georgians  indulged  in  the  utmost  freedom  of  ex 
pression.  One* of  them,  who  appeared  to  be  the  leader  of  the  company,  said  : 
'  We'  ve  come  here  to  stay.  We  won't  make  no  wa,r  on  them  as  minds 
their  own  business  ;  but  all  the  Abolitionists,  .such  as  them  damned  Browns 
over  there,  we'  re  going  to  whip,  drive  out,  or  kill, —  any  way  to  get  shut  of 
them,  by  God.'  The  elder  Doyle  was  already  there  among  them,  having 
come  from  the  Pottawatomie,  a  distance  of  nine  miles,  to  show  them  the 
best  fords  of  the  river  and  creek." 

Upon  reading  Mr.  Coleman's  letter,  John  Brown  has  written  me  thus  : 
"While  we  had  in  the  spring  of  1856  abundant  and  entirely  satisfactory 
evidence  that  our  family  were  marked  for  destniction,  I  am  not  aware  of 
any  information  having  been  received  by  any  of  our  number  that  a  par 
ticular  day  had  been  decided  upon  for  the  undertaking.  It  is  probable 
that  father  related  to  Mr.  Coleman  the  story  of  his  running  that  line 
through  a  camp  of  Buford's  men  and  of  the  information  he  obtained  ;  but 
further  than  this  1  think  he  did  not  go.  The  running  of  that  line  occurred 
a  few  days  before  our  second  call  to  assist  Lawrence,  May  20,  1856." 


1859.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  261 

have  been  made  in  good  faith  upon  reports  which  they  supposed  were 
true,  or  upon  their  interpretation  of  father's  words  as  given  above.  I 
have  yet  to  learn  of  any  authentic  statement  made  by  him  touching 
this  matter  which  in  substance  differs  from  his  words  as  I  have  given 
them.  In  the  fall  of  1856  I  was  told  by  one  who  as  I  supposed  was 
in  possession  of  the  facts,  that  when  my  father  and  his  men,  on  their 
return  from  our  camp  near  Ottawa  Creek,  had  reached  Middle  Creek, 
his  party  divided;  that  he  and  some  of  the  men  crossed  the  Marais 
des  Cygnes  to  reconnoitre  the  position  of  a  party  of  Buford's  men,  and 
that  consequently  he  was  several  miles  away  when  those  men  were 
killed  on  the  Pottawatomie.  I  accepted  this  statement  as  true,  and 
whenever  I  had  occasion  to  refer  to  the  matter  I  stated  it  in  accord 
ance  with  what  I  supposed  was  fact.  It  was  not  until  July,  1860, 
that  I  was  more  correctly  informed  by  one  who  had  himself  partici 
pated  in  that  affair.  At  that  time  a  large  reward  was  offered  by  the 
State  of  Virginia  for  my  capture.  Soon  after,  stimulated  by  that 
reward,  kidnappers  attempted  the  work  of  my  abduction :  and  from 
that  time  until  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  other  matters  more  urgent 
claimed  my  attention  than  the  correction  of  my  own  statements  in 
regard  to  Pottawatomie,  or  of  Mr.  Redpath's  mistake,  which  I  have 
no  doubt  was  as  innocently  made  as  my  own."  x 

The  most  direct  statement  made  by  any  of  the  party  who 
accompanie4  John  Brown  on  his  expedition  of  May  23, 
that  was  made  public  before  the  Civil  War,  is,  I  think,  a 
letter  from  one  of  his  sons,  who  undertook,  a  few  weeks 
after  his  father's  death,  to  answer  a  question  on  the  subject 
which  was  asked  of  his  mother.  She  had  no  knowledge  con 
cerning  the  matter,  as  she  told  me  in  1882 ;  but  knowing 
that  her  son  Salmon  had  been  Brown's  constant  companion 
in  Kansas,  she  requested  him  to  reply.  He  was  then  living 
with  her  at  North  Elba,  and  he  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

NORTH  ELBA,  Dec.  27,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  to  my  mother  was  received  to-night. 
You  wish  me  to  give  you  the  facts  in  regard  to  the  Pottawatomie 
execution,  or  murder,  and  to  know  whether  my  father  was  a  partici 
pator  in  the  act.  I  was  one  of  his  company  at  the  time  of  the  homi 
cide,  and  was  never  away  from  him  one  hour  at  a  time  after  we  took 
up  arms  in  Kansas;  therefore  I  say  positively  that  he  was  not  a 

1  In  confirmation  of  this,  I  may  say  that  my  last  letters  from  Mr.  Red- 
path  continued  to  declare  that  John  Brown  was  not  at  the  executions. 


262  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

participator  in  the  deed,  —although  I  should  think  none  the  less  of 
him  if  he  had  been  there;  for  it  was  the  grandest  thing  that  was 
ever  done  in  Kansas.  It  was  all  that  saved  the  Territory  from  being 
overrun  with  drunken  land-pirates  from  the  Southern  States.  That 
was  the  first  act  in  the  history  of  Kansas  which  proved  to  the  demon 
of  Slavery  that  there  was  as  much  room  to  give  blows  as  to  take 
them.  It  was  done  to  save  life,  and  to  strike  terror  through  their 
wicked  ranks. 

Yours  respectfully, 

SALMON  BROWN. 

The  member  of  Brown's  company  of  eight  who  first  dis 
closed  the  details  of  the  expedition  of  May  23-25,  was  Barnes 
,  a  Maryland  man,  who  had  emigrated  to  Kansas 


in  October,  1855,  and  settled  on  the  Pottawatomie,  a  mile 
west  of  the  present  town  of  Greeley.  This  is  several  miles 
southwest  of  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing,  and  therefore  higher 
up  on  the  creek.  Townsley  had  been  a  cavalry  soldier  in 
the  United  States  army  from  1839  to  1844,  and  had  fought 
against  Indians  in  Florida  ;  by  trade  he  was  a  painter,  and 
he  was  an  acquaintance  of  Martin  and  Jefferson  Conway, 
who  like  himself  migrated  from  Maryland  to  Kansas,  but 
were  opposed  to  slavery.  He  set  out  from  Baltimore  with 
his  wife  and  four  children  and  eleven  hundred  dollars  in 
money,  and,  leaving  his  family  in  Kansas  City,  went  into 
the  Pottawatomie  region  and  bought  a  "claim,'''  for  which 
he  paid  eighty  dollars,  put  up  a  rude  cabin,  and  moved  his 
family  into  it.  They  suffered  much  from  cold  during  the 
winter,  and  were  just  beginning  to  plant  their  land  in  the 
spring,  when  Townsley,  who  had  joined  the  "  Pottawatomie 
Eifles  "  in  April,  was  called  upon  to  march  for  the  protec 
tion  of  Lawrence.  This  was  on  the  afternoon  of  May  21. 
What  followed  has  thus  been  told  by  himself  :  — 

"  About  two  miles  south  of  Middle  Creek  we  were  joined  by  the 
Osawatomie  company,  under  Captain  Dayton,  and  proceeded  to 
Mount  Vernon,  where  we  waited  about  two  hours  until  the  moon 
rose.  We  then  marched  all  night,  camping  the  next  morning  (the 
22d)  for  breakfast,  near  Ottawa  Jones's.  Before  we  arrived  at  this 
point  news  had  been  received  that  Lawrence  had  been  destroyed,  and 
a  question  was  raised  whether  we  should  return  or  go  on.  During 
the  forenoon,  however,  we  proceeded  up  Ottawa  Creek  to  within 


1856.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS.  263 

about  five  miles  of  Palmyra,  and  went  into  camp  near  the  residence 
of  Captain  Shore.  Here  we  remained  undecided  over  night.  About 
noon  the  next  day,  the  23d,  old  John  Brown  came  to  me  and  said  he 
had  just  received  information  that  trouble  was  expected  on  the  Potta- 
watomie,  and  wanted  to  know  if  I  would  take  my  team  and  take  him 
and  his  boys  back,  so  that  they  could  keep  watch  of  what  was  going 
on.  I  told  him  I  would  do  so.  The  party  —  consisting  of  John  Brown, 
Frederick-  Brown,  Owen  Brown,  Watson  Brown,  Oliver  Brown, 
Henry  Thompson  (John  Brown's  son-in-law),  and  Mr.  Wiener  —  were 
soon  ready  for  the  trip,  and  we  started,  as  near  as  I  can  remember, 
about  two  o'clock  p.  M.  All  of  the  party  except  Mr.  Wiener,  who 
rode  a  pony,  rode  with  me  in  my  wagon.  When  within  two  or  three 
miles  of  the  Pottawatomie  Creek  we  turned  off  the  main  road  to  the 
right,  drove  down  into  the  edge  of  the  timber  between  two  deep  ra 
vines,  and  camped  about  one  mile  above  Dutch  Henry's  Crossing. 
After  my  team  was  fed  and  the  party  had  taken  supper,  John  Brown 
told  me  for  the  first  time  what  he  proposed  to  do.  He  said  he  wanted 
me  to  pilot  the  company  up  to  the  forks  of  the  creek,  some  five  or 
six  miles  above,  into  the  neighborhood  in  which  I  lived,  and  show 
them  where  all  the  proslavery  men  resided ;  that  he  proposed  to 
sweep  the  creek  as  be  came  down  of  all  the  proslavery  men  living  on 
it.  I  positively  refused  to  do  it.  He  insisted  upon  it ;  but  when 
he  found  that  I  would  not  go  he  decided  to  postpone  the  expedition 
until  the  following  night.  I  then  wanted  to  take  my  team  and  go 
home,  but  he  refused  to  let  me  do  so,  and  said  I  should  remain  with 
them.  We  remained  in  camp  that  night  and  all  day  the  next  day. 
Sometime  after  dark  we  were  ordered  to  march." 

Townsley  has  related,  not  always  in  the  same  manner,  and 
with  more  or  less  variation  from  the  fact  (as  in  the  above 
statement,  which  is  somewhat  incorrect,  though  mainly 
true),  how  the  five  men  were  called  out  and  despatched,  — 
alleging  that  he  had  no  hand  in  the  actual  slaughter,  but 
that  John  Brown  had.1  I  have  talked  with  those  present, 
and  find  reason  to  doubt  this.  Whatever  Townsley's  part 
may  have  been,  I  am  convinced  that  John  Brown  did  not 
raise  his  own  hand  or  discharge  his  weapon  against  his  vic 
tims.  He  was  no  less  responsible  for  their  death  than  if  he 
had  done  so,  and  this  he  never  denied.  Bujjor  some  reason 
he  cjiasjajiQjLtostrike  a  blow  himself ;  andtliis  is  wnat  Sal 
mon  Brown  meant  when  he  declared  tnat  his  father  "  was 

1  Owen  Brown  and  Henry  Thompson  deny  this. 


264  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

not  a  participator  in  the  deed."  It  was  a  very  narrow  inter 
pretation  of  the  word  "  participator  "  which  would  permit 
such  a  denial ;  but  it  was  no  doubt  honestly  made,  although 
for  the  purpose  of  disguising  what  John  Brown's  real  agency 
in  the  matter  was.  He  was,  in  fact,  the  originator  and  per 
former  of  these  executions,  although  the  hands  that  dealt 
the  wounds  were  those  of  others.  The  actual  executioners 
were  but  three  or  four.  The  weapons  used  were  short  cut 
lasses,  or  artillery  sabres,  which  had  been  originally  worn  by 
a  military  company  in  Ohio,  and  were  brought  from  Akron 
in  1855  by  John  Brown.1  They  were  straight  and  broad, 
like  an  old  Eoman  sword,  and  were  freshly  ground  for  this 
expedition  at  the  camp  of  John  Brown,  Jr.2  When  the 
bodies  of  the  dead  were  found,  there  went  up  a  cry  that  they 
had  been  mutilated ;  but  this  was  because  of  the  weapons 
used.  Their  death  was  speedy  and  with  little  noise,  the  use 
of  fire-arms  being  forbidden.  A  single  shot  was  fired  during 
the  five  executions  5  but  when,  and  for  what  purpose,  the 
witnesses  are  in  dispute.  The  Doyles  were  first  slain,  then 

1  The  swords  used  were  not  sabres  exactly,  but  weapons  made  like  the 
Eoman  short-sword,  of  which  six  or  eight  had  been  given  to  Brown  in 
.Akron,   Ohio,  just  before  he  went  to  Kansas,  by  General  Bierce  of  that 
city,  who  took  them  from  an  old  armory  there.     They  had  been  the  swords 
of  an  artillery  company,  then  disbanded,  which  General  Bierce  had  some 
thing  to  do  with,  and  there  were  also  some  guns  and  old  bayonets  among 
these  arms.     The  bayonets  would  not  fit  any  guns  the  Kansas  people 
had  ;  and  so  in  December,  1855,  when  the  Browns  went  up  to  defend 
Lawrence  for  the  first  time,  they  fastened  some  of  them  on  sticks,  and 
intended    to    use    them    in   defending  breastworks.     They  were  thrown 
loosely  "into  the  bed  of  the  wagon,"  —  not  set  up  about  it  for  parade,  as 
some  have  said.     There  were  also  some  curved  swords  among  these  Akron 
arms. 

2  "When  Brown  called  for  volunteers  to  go  on  a  secret  expedition,  his  son 
at  first  questioned  the  wisdom  of  reducing  his  main  force  in  this  way  ;  but 
as  only  eight  men  were  wanted  no  serious  opposition  was  made,  and  John 
Brown,  Jr.,  says  :  "We  aided  him  in  his  outfit,  and  I  assisted  in  the 
sharpening  of  his  cutlasses.     James  Townsley,  who  resided  near  Pottawa- 
tomie  Creek,  volunteered  to  return  with  his  team,  and  offered  to  point  out 
the  abodes  of  such  as  he  thought  should  be  disposed  of.     No  man  of  our 
entire  number  could  fail  to  understand  that  a  retaliatory  blow  would  fall  ; 
yet  when  father  and  his  little  band  departed,  they  were  saluted  by  all  our 
men  with  a  rousing  cheer."     All  the  survivors  of  the  "  little  band,"  except 
Townsley,  deny  that  Brown  "  proposed  to  sweep  the  creek." 


1856.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  265 

Wilkinson;  and  finally  the  Shermans  were  visited,  their 
guests  captured  and  questioned,  but  only  William  Sherman 
executed.  The  testimony  of  James  Harris,  one  of  the  com 
rades  of  William  Sherman,  who  was  allowed  to  go  unpun 
ished,  was  given  in  these  words  before  the  Congressional 
Committee  of  1856  : l  — 

"  On  Sunday  morning,  May  25,  1856,  about  two  A.  M.,  while  my 
wife  and  child  and  myself  were  in  bed  in  the  house  where  we  lived, 
near  Henry  Sherman's,  we  were  aroused  by  a  company  of  men  who 
said  they  belonged  to  the  Northern  army,  and  who  we*e  each  armed 
with  a  sabre  and  two  revolvers,  two  of  whom  I  recognized ;  namely, 
a  Mr.  Brown,  whose  given  name  I  do  not  remember  (commonly 
known  by  the  appellation  of  l  old  man  Brown'),  and  his  son  Owen 
Brown.  They  came  into  the  house  and  approached  the  bedside 
where  we  were  lying,  and  ordered  us,  together  with  three  other  men 
who  were  in  the  same  house  with  me,  to  surrender;  that  the  Northern 
army  was  upon  us,  and  it  would  be  no  use  for  us  to  resist.  The 
names  of  these  other  men  who  were  then  in  the  house  with  me  were 
William  Sherman  and  John  S.  Whiteman  ;  the  other  man  I  did 
not  know.  They  were  stopping  with  me  that  night.  They  had 
bought  a  cow  from  Henry  Sherman,  and  intended  to  go  home  the 
next  morning.  When  they  came  up  to  the  bed,  some  had  drawn 
sabres  in  their  hands,  and  some  revolvers.  They  then  took  into  their 
possession  two  rifles  and  a  bowie-knife,  which  I  had  there  in  the 
room  (there  was  but  one  room  in  my  house),  and  afterwards  ran 
sacked  the  whole  establishment  in  search  of  ammunition.  They 
then  took  one  of  these  three  men,  who  were  staying  in  my  house, 
out,  (This  was  the  man  whose  name  I  did  not  know.)  He  came 
back.  They  then  took  me  out,  and  asked  me  if  there  were  any 
more  men  about  the  place.  I  told  them  there  were  not.  They 
searched  the  place,  but  found  no  others  but  us  four.  They  asked 
me  where  Henry  Sherman  was.  (Henry  was  a  brother  to  William 
Sherman.)  I  told  them  he  was  out  on  the  plains  in  search  of  some 
cattle  M7hich  he  had  lost.  They  asked  me  if  I  had  ever  taken  any 
hand  in  aiding  proslavery  men  in  coming  to  the  Territory  of  Kansas, 
or  had  ever  taken  any  hand  in  the  last  troubles  at  Lawrence ;  they 
asked  me  whether  I  had  ever  done  the  Free-State  party  any  harm,  or 
ever  intended  to  do  that  party  any  harm  ;  they  asked  me  what  made 

v* 

1  James  Hanway,  who  talked  with  Harris  more  than  once  after  the 
affair,  says  that  this  testimony  differed  from  the  accounts  Harris  privately 
gave. 


266  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

me  live  at  such  a  place.  I  then  answered  that  I  could  get  higher 
wages  there  than  anywhere  else.  They  asked  me  if  there  were  any 
bridles  or  saddles  about  the  premises.  I  told  them  there  was  one 
saddle,  which  they  took ;  and  they  also  took  possession  of  Henry 
Sherman's  horse,  which  I  had  at  my  place,  and  made  me  saddle  him. 
They  then  said  if  I  would  answer  no  to  all  the  questions  which  they 
had  asked  me,  they  would  let  me  loose.  Old  Mr.  Brown  and  his  son 
then  went  into  the  house  with  me.  The  other  three  men  —  Mr.  Wil 
liam  Sherman,  Mr.  Whiteman,  and  the  stranger  —  were  in  the  house 
all  this  time.  After  old  man  Brown  and  his  son  went  into  the 
house  with  me,  old  man  Brown  asked  Mr.  Sherman  to  go  out  with 
him ;  and  M*  Sherman  then  went  out  with  old  Mr.  Brown,  and  an 
other  man  came  into  the  house  in  Brown's  place.  I  heard  nothing 
more  for  about  fifteen  minutes.  Two  of  the  Northern  army,  as  they 
styled  themselves,  stayed  in  with  us  until  we  heard  a  cap  burst,  and 
then  these  two  men  left.  That  morning,  about  ten  o'clock,  I  found 
William  Sherman  dead  in  the  creek  near  my  house.  I  was  looking 
for  him ;  as  he  had  not  come  back,  I  thought  he  had  been  murdered. 
I  took  Mr.  William  Sherman  out  of  the  creek  and  examined  him. 
Mr.  Whiteman  was  with  me.  Sherman's  skull  was  split  open  in 
two  places,  and  some  of  his  brains  was  washed  out  by  the  water.  A 
large  hole  was  cut  in  his  breast,  and  his  left  hand  was  cut  off  except 
a  little  piece  of  skhi  on  one  side.  We  buried  him." 

Mr.  Hanway  used  to  declare  that  this  James  Harris  told 
him  that  when  the  avenging  party  first  entered  the  house 
his  wife  supposed  they  were  Missouri  men,  arrived  there  for 
the  purpose  of  driving  out  the  Free-State  settlers.  Mrs. 
Wilkinson,  an  unfortunate  woman  who  had  tried  in  vain  to 
keep  her  husband  from  engaging  in  the  outrages  against 
their  Free-State  neighbors,  was  visited  early  in  the  morn 
ing  after  the  executions  by  Dr.  Gilpatrick  and  Mr.  Grant, 
two  Free-State  men,  who  went  to  her  house  (which  was  the 
post-office)  to  get  their  mail.  They  found  the  poor  woman 
weeping,  and  saying  that  a  party  of  men  had  been  to  the 
house  during  the  night  and  taken  her  husband  out ;  she  had 
heard  that  morning  that, Mr.  Doyle  had  been  killed  within 
the  night,  and  she  was  afraid  that  her  husband  had  been 
killed  also.  Among  other  reasons  that  she  gave  for  fearing 
this,  he  had  said  to  her  the  night  before  that  there  was  going 
to  be  an  attack  made  upon  the  Free-State  men,  and  that 
by  the  next  Saturday  night  there  would  not  be  a  Free-State 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  267 

settler  left  on  the  creek.  These,  she  said,  were  his  last 
words  to  her  the  night  before  as  they  were  going  to  sleep. 
Her  testimony  before  the  Congressional  Committee  was  as 
follows  :  — 

.  .  .  "On  the  25th  of  May  last,  somewhere  between  the  hours  of 
midnight  and  daybreak,  I  cannot  say  exactly  at  what  hour,  after  we 
all  had  retired  to  bed,  we  were  disturbed  by  the  barking  of  the  dog. 
I  was  sick  with  the  measles,  and  woke  up  Mr.  Wilkinson,  and  asked 
him  if  he  heard  the  noise,  and  what  it  meant.  He  said  it  was  only 
some  one  passing  about,  and  soon  after  was  again  asleep.  It  was 
not  long  before  the  dog  raged  and  barked  furiously,  awakening  me 
once  more ;  pretty  soon  I  heard  footsteps  as  of  men  approaching  ; 
saw  one  pass  by  the  window,  and  some  one  knocked  at  the  door.  I 
asked,  *  Who  is  that  ?  '  No  one  answered.  I  awoke  my  husband, 
who  asked,  '  Who  is  that  ? '  Some  one  replied,  1 1  want  you  to 
tell  me  the  way  to  Dutch  Henry's.'  He  commenced  to  tell  them, 
and  they  said,  '  Come  out  and  show  us.'  He  wanted  to  go,  but  I 
would  not  let  him  ;  he  then  told  them  it  was  difficult  to  find  his 
clothes,  and  could  tell  them  as  well  without  going  out  of  doors.  The 
men  out  of  doors  after  that  stepped  back,  and  I  thought  I  could  hear 
them  whispering ;  but  they  immediately  returned,  and  as  they  ap 
proached,  one  of  them  asked  my  husband,  '  Are  you  a  Northern 
armist  ? '  He  answered,  4I  am.'  I  understood  the  answer  to 
mean  that  my  husband  was  opposed  to  the  Northern  or  Free-Soil 
party.  I  cannot  say  that  I  understood  the  question.  My  husband 
was  a  proslavery  man,  and  was  a  member  of  the  Territorial  Legisla. 
ture  held  at  Shawnee  Mission.  When  my  husband  said.  '  I  am,' 
one  of  them  said,  i  You  are  my  prisoner ;  do  you  surrender  I '  He 
said,  *  Gentlemen,  I  do.'  They  said,  l  Open  the  door.'  Mr.  Wil 
kinson  told  them  to  wait  till  he  made  a  light,  and  they  replied,  '  If 
you  don't  open  it,  we  will  open  it  for  you.'  He  opened  the  door 
against  my  wishes  ;  four  men  came  in  ;  my  husband  was  told  to  put 
on  his  clothes,  and  they  asked  him  if  there  were  not  more  men  about. 
They  searched  for  arms,  and  took  a  gun  and  powder-flask,  —  all  the 
weapon  that  was  about  the  house.  I  begged  them  to  let  Mr.  Wil 
kinson  stay  with  me,  saying  that  I  was  sick  and  helpless,  and  could 
not  stay  by  myself.  The  old  man,  who  seemed  to  be  in  command, 
looked  at  me,  and  then  around  at  the  children,  and  replied,  '  You 
have  neighbors.'  I  said,  '  So  I  have ;  but  they  are  not  here,  and  I 
cannot  go  for  them.'  The  old  man  replied,  l  It  matters  not.'  They 
then  took  my  husband  away.  One  of  them  came  back  and  took  two 
saddles;  I  asked  what  they  were  going  to  do  with  him,  and  he  said, 
1  Take  him  a  prisoner  to  the  camp.'  I  wanted  one  of  them  to  stay 


268  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

with  me.  He  said  l  he  would,  but  they  would  not  let  him.'  After 
they  were  gone,  I  thought  I  heard  my  husband's  voice  in  complaint, 
but  do  not  know  j  went  to  the  door,  and  all  was  still.  Next  morn 
ing  Mr.  Wilkinson  was  found  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from 
the  house,  in  some  dead  brush.  I  believe  that  one  of  Captain  Brown's 
sons  was  in  the  party  who  murdered  my  husband ;  I  heard  a  voice 
like  his.  I  do  not  know  Captain  Brown  himself.  The  old  man  who 
seemed  to  be  commander  wore  soiled  clothes  and  a  straw  hat,  pulled 
down  over  his  face.  He  spoke  quick  j  is  a  tall,  narrow-faced, 
elderly  man.  I  would  recognize  him  if  I  could  see  him.  My  hus 
band  was  a  quiet  man,  and  was  not  engaged  in  arresting  or  disturbing 
anybody."  l 

There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  this  account  is  sub- 
stantially  correct.  The  particulars  of  the  action,  like  the 
deed  itself,  were  bloody,  and  it  is  not  pleasant  to  read  them 
or  relate  them  ;  but  they  were  the  opening  scenes  of  war,  and 
in  requital  for  bloodier  and  quite  inexcusable  deeds  which 
had  preceded  them.  Brown  long  foresaw  the  deadly  conflict 
with  the  slave-power,  which  culminated  in  the  Civil  War,  and 
was  eager  to  begin  it,  that  it  might  be  the  sooner  over.  He 
knew  — - -jvhat _ffi\v_^could_then  believe  —  that  slavery  must 
*pejjgH__in  blood  ; 2  and,  though_a  peaceful '  man,  lie  had  no 
scruples  about  /shedding  blood"  in  so  good  a  cause.  The 
American  people  a  few  years  after  engaged  in  organized 
bloodshed  for  the  attack  and  defence  of  slavery,  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  men  died  in  the  cause  that  Brown  had  killed 
and  been  killed  to  maintain.  Yet  we  who  praise  Grant  for 
those  military  movements  which  caused  the  bloody  death 
of  thousands,  are  so  inconsistent  as  to  denounce  Brown  for 
the  death  of  these  five  men  in  Kansas.  If  Brown  was  a 
murderer,  then  Grant  and  Sherman,  and  Hancock  and  the 
other  Union  generals,  are  tenfold  murderers,  —  for  they 
simply  did  on  a  grand  scale  what  he  did  on  a  small  one. 
War  is  murder,  —  in  one  of  its  aspects  it  is  deliberate  and 
repeated  murder ;  and  yet  the  patriot  warrior  who  goes 

1  On  the  contrary,  Mr.  Grant  and  his  other  neighbors  speak  of  him  as 
a  -vicious,  malignant  man,  who  ill-treated  his  wife  as  well  as  the  Free-State 
men. 

2  "Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sins,"  was  a 
favorite  text  with  Brown. 


1856.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS.  269 

to  battle  in  behalf  of  his  country  is  not  arraigned  for  murder, 
but  honored  as  a  hero.  This  is  so  even  when  by  stratagem, 
or  midnight  assault,  he  slays  hundreds  of  defenceless  peo 
ple  ;  for  the  cause  in  which  he  fights  is  supposed  to  excuse 
all  atrocious  deeds.  A  like  excuse  must  serve  for  this 
violent  but  salutary  act  of  John  Brown  ; 1  and  it  was  in  this 
way  that  he  defended  it  to  those  who  served  under  him, 
and  by  whose  hands  the  deed  was  done.  I  have  talked 
with  more  than  one  of  these  men,  and  from  one  of  them  I 
had  this  statement :  — 

"John  Brown  did  no  shooting  in  my  presence,  and  I  think  he  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  killing  of  any  of  the  five  men.  At  a  consul 
tation  on  Middle  Creek  the  question  came  up  who  would  join ;  I 

opposed  the  scheme  for  a  time,  and  opposed  it  all  the  time, 

and  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  except  that  he  went  along  with  us. 
John  Brown  thought  it  a  matter  of  duty  that  there  should  be  a  little 
bloodletting  on  both  sides ;  he  not  only  approved  these  executions, 
but  planned  and  carried  them  through  very  successfully.2  I  reflected 
that  these  men  were  influential  persons,  leading  men,  and  among  the 
worst  holding  office  [referring  particularly  to  Wilkinson  and  George 
Wilson] ,  and  I  agreed  with  Brown  it  was  a  matter  of  duty  ;  yet  I 

1  Charles  Robinson,  who  had  as  many  minds  about  the  Pottawatomie 
affair  as  his  Democratic  friends  used  to  have  about  slavery  itself,  charac 
terized  it  thus  in  a  letter  of  Dec.  21,  1879,  published  in  the  Topeka  "  Com 
monwealth  "  of  Jan.  8,  1880  (he  has  since  called  John  Brown  all  sorts  of 
names,  jussit  quod  splendida  bilis) :    "It  had  the  effect  to  strike  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  all  proslavery  men,  and  had  its  influence  in  the  general 
melee.     The  proslavery  party  could  take  no  exceptions  to  it,  as  it  had 
inaugurated  the  war,  and  all  the  Free-State  men  can  say  in  its  defence  is, 
it  was  an  incident  of  the  civil  war  set  on  foot  by  the  slave-power.   .   .  . 
But  was  John  Brown  at  heart  a  murderer  in  this  butchery  ?     I  think  not. 
He  worshipped  the  God  of  Joshua  and  David,  who  ordered  all  the  enemies 
ol  his  people  slaughtered,  including  non-combatants,  women,  and  children, 
flocks  and  herds,  and  '  everything  that  breathed.'     John  Brown  seemed 
to  believe  he  was  the  special  messenger  and  servant  of  this  God  ;  and  he 
may  have  been  as  sincere  as  was  Abraham  when  he  stretched  forth  his 
hand  to  take  the  knife  to  slay  his  own  son,  or  as  Joshua  when  he  slaughtered 
all  that  breathed  of  his  enemies." 

2  The  following  anecdote  is  said  to  rest  on  the  testimony  of  James 
Christian,  a  Kansas  Democrat.     How  good  authority  this  may  be  I  can 
not  say,  but  give  it  as  I  find  it:   "Jerome  Glanville  was  the  man  who 
was  stopping  at  Dutch  Henry's  on  the  night  of  the  massacre,  and  was 
taken  out  to  be  killed,  as  the  others  were.     On  examination  he  was  found 


270  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

was  opposed  to  doing  it  myself.  I  saw  the  inconsistency  of  this,  and 
afterwards  acted  consistently.  I  had  seen  Doyle  and  his  boys  two  or 
three  times,  and  knew  them  ;  they  harbored  the  worst  ruffians,  and 
I  thought  them  as  guilty  as  if  they  had  done  the  deeds  themselves. 
There  was  a  signal  understood,  and  no  firing  done  in  the  first  opera 
tion  (at  Doyle's).  The  signal  was  when  John  Brown  was  to  raise  a 
sword,;  then  we  were  to  begin,  and  there  were  to  be  no  shots  fired.  I 
heard  but  one  shot  when  I  was  keeping  guard  over  the  family  of 
Henry  Sherman ;  it  was  fired  down  the  creek,  half  a  mile  away,  and 
I  did  riot  know  what  it  meant.  The  antislavery  people  in  the  Terri 
tory  disapproved  of  the  killing,  —  Mr.  Adair  among  them.  He  said 
to  one  of  us,  '  You  are  a  marked  man.  You  see  what  a  terrible 
calamity  you  have  brought  upon  your  friends,  and  the  sooner  you  go 
away  the  better.'  The  reply  was,  '  I  intend  to  be  a  marked  man.' 
The  Border  lluffians  had  for  their  watchword  '  War  to  the  knife, 
and  the  knife  to  the  hilt,'  in  the  spring  before  the  Pottawatomie 
executions  ;  after  that,  they  thought  the  knife  might  come  from 
the  other  side.  Liberty  can  only  live  or  survive  by  the  shedding 
of  blood." 

Townsley  declares  that  when  he  and  others  of  the  party 
were  unwilling  to  slay  men  taken  by  surprise  and  unarmed, 
John  Brown  argued  that  it  was  a  just  and  necessary  stroke 
of  war ;  and  said,  "  It  is  better  that  ten  guilty  proslavery 
men  should  die,  .than  that  one  Free-State  settler  should  be 
driven  out."  Townsley  adds  that  he  was  unwilling  to  have 
the  proslavery  men. who  lived  in  his  neighborhood  (Ander 
son  County,  near  Greeley)  attacked  by  Brown,  because  some 
of  them  were  good  men,  and  others  had  wives  who  had  been 
kind  to  his  wife.  He  thought  as  ill  as  Brown  did  of  the 
proslavery  probate  judge  Wilson,  then  supposed  to  be  at 
Dutch  Henry's,  and  was  willing  to  have  the  attack  made 
there.  He  was  also  ready  to  go  to  the  Doyles,  who,  "  when 
they  had  drunk  a  little  whiskey,  were  ready  to  do  what- 

to  be  only  a  traveller,  but  was  kept  a  prisoner  until  morning  and  then 
discharged.  He  informed  me  personally  who  were  the  principal  actors  in 
that  damning  midnight  tragedy,  and  said  that  the  next  morning,  while 
the  old  man  raised  his  hands  to  Heaven  to  ask  a  blessing,  they  were 
stained  with  the  dried  blood  of  his  victims.  For  being  too  free  in  his 
expressions  about  the  matter  he  was  soon  after  shot  in  his  wagon,  between 
Black  Jack  and  the  head  of  Bull  Creek,  while  on  his  way  to  Kansas 
City." 


1856.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  271 

ever  Dutch  Henry  told  them."  According  to  Townsley, 
Wilkinson  was  born  in  the  North,  but  had  married  a  Ten 
nessee  wife,  and  adopted  her  view  of  slavery  ;  he  w^as  the 
postmaster  at  Shermans ville  (now  called  Lane),  and  was  an 
active  proslavery  leader,  like  Henry  Sherman  and  George 
Wilso'n.1  Townsley  and  all  the  witnesses  agree  that  the 
horses  of  the  Shermans  were  taken  and  carried  with  the 
party  to  the  camp  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  near  Ottawa  Jones's, 
where  they  arrived  late  on  the  night  of  the  24th.  The  next 
morning  Oliver  Brown  showed  his  brother  John  a  horse 
with  his  mane  and  tail  sheared,  saying,  "  Did  you  ever  see 
that  horse  before  ?  That  is  Dutch  Henry's  gray  pony." 
This  horse  was  soon  after  taken  to  northern  Kansas  by 
some  Free-State  men,  who  gave  in  exchange  for  that  and 
other  horses  captured  on  the  Pottawatomie  some  fast  Ken 
tucky  horses,  on  one  of  which  Owen  Brown  afterward 
escaped  from  his  pursuers.  August  Bondi  says  of  the 
executions  :  — 

"  Late  in  the  evening  of  May  25  I  arrived  at  my  claim,  in  company 
with  an  old  neighbor,  Austin,  who  was  afterward  named  Old  Kill 
Devil,  from  a  ritle  he  had  of  that  name.  The  family  of  Benjamin 
(whom  we  had  left  when  we  departed  for  camp)  had  disappeared, 
and  no  cattle  were  to  be  seen.  This  latter  was  a  serious  matter,  for 
there  was  nothing  left  in  the  shape  of  provisions.  When  I  told  Aus 
tin  that  I  was  willing  to  stay  with  him  until  the  last  of  the  Border 
Kuffians  had  left  the  country,  he  encouraged  me,  and  assured  me 
that  he  would  find  Benjamin's  family  and  protect  them  at  all  events. 
This  the  old  man  faithfully  did.  The  next  evening  (May  26)  I  arrived, 
tired  and  hungry,  at  the  camping-ground  of  John  Brown,  a  log-cabin 
on  the  banks  of  Middle  Creek  upon  the  claim  of  his  brother-in-law 
Orson  Day.  This  is  one  of  the  houses  which,  under  the  name  of 
'  John  Brown's  cabin,'  has  since  become  famous.  The  Browns 
built  it  as  a  first  shelter  in  the  winter  of  1855-56,  and  Day  dwelt 

1  Mrs.  Rising,  a  New  Hampshire  woman,  who  then  lived  next  neighbor 
to  the  Wilkinsons,  told  a  friend  of  mine  that  she  knew  Mrs.  Wilkinson 
very  well  before  and  after  the  killing  of  her  husband  ;  that  Mrs.  Wilkin 
son  said  she  had  persuaded  him  to  take  the  proslavery  side,  but  was  -sorry 
for  it,  since  he  was  a  worse  man  after  it  than  before,  and  had  treated 
her  badly.  Mrs.  Rising  added  that  he  was  harsh  and  cruel  to  his  wife, 
who  was  a  delicate,  sickly  woman  ;  and  that  he  was  a  bad  man  in  other 
respects. 


272  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

in  it  after  March,  1856.  It  stands  west  from  Osawatomie  on  the 
bottom  land  of  North  Middle  Creek.  Here  also  I  found  my  friend 
Wiener,1  from  whom  I  first  heard  an  account  of  the  killing  of  Doyle 
and  his  sons,  Wilkinson,  and  Dutch  Henry's  brother  William.  In 
this  account  Wiener  never  expressed  himself  positively  as  to  who 
killed  those  persons,  and  I  could  only  guess  about  it.  I  was  as 
tonished,  but  not  at  all  displeased.  The  men  killed  had  been  our 
neighbors,  and  I  was  sufficiently  acquainted  with  their  characters 
to  know  that  they  were  of  the  stock  from  which  afterwards  came  the 
James  brothers,  the  Youngers,  and  the  rest,  who  never  shrank  from 
perpetrating  crime  if  it  was  done  in  the  interest  of  the  proslavery 
cause.  As  to  their  antecedents,  —  the  Doyles  had  been  '  slave- 
hunters  '  before  they  came  to  Kansas,  and  had  brought  along  two  of 
their  blood -hounds.  Dutch  Bill  (Sherman),  —  a  German  from 
Oldenburg,  and  a  resident  of  Kansas  since  1845,  —  had  amassed  con 
siderable  property  by  robbing  cattle  droves  and  emigrant  trains.  He 
was  a  giant,  six  feet  four  inches  high,  and  for  the  last  weeks  before 
his  death  had  made  it  his  pastime  (in  company  with  the  Doyles)  to 
break  in  the  doors  of  Free- State  settlers,  frightening  and  insulting 
the  families,  or  once  in  a  while  attacking  and  ill-treating  a  man 
whom  they  encountered  alone.  Wilkinson  was  one  of  the  few 
Southerners  who  were  able  to  read  and  write,  and  who  prided  him 
self  accordingly.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Border  Ruffian  Legisla 
ture,  and  a  principal  leader  in  all  attempts  to  annoy  and  extirpate 
the  Free-State  men.  Although  he  never  directly  participated  in  the 
murders  and  robberies,  still  it  was  well  understood  that  he  was  always 
informed  a  short  time  before  an  invasion  of  Missourians  was  to  occur; 
and  on  the  very  day  of  his  death  he  had  tauntingly  said  to  some  Free- 
State  men  that  in  a  few  days  the  last  of  them  would  be  either  dead 
or  out  of  the  Territory.  In  this  he  referred  to  the  coming  invasion 
of  Cook,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  armed  men  from  Bates 
County,  Mo.,  who  made  his  appearance  about  the  27th  of  May  and 
plundered  the  whole  region." 

A  startling  tale  has  been  told,  but  without  good  authority, 
concerning  the  effect  produced  in  the  camp  on  the  Ottawa 

1  Wiener,  who  took  part  in  the  Pottawatomie  executions,  was  residing 
in  St.  Louis,  September,  1855,  but  then  agreed  with  Benjamin  to  go  to 
Kansas  and  open  a  store  on  Bondi's  claim.  He  invested  some  $7,000  in 
goods,  and  took  them  io  Kansas  just  after  Bondi  had  gone  back  to  St. 
Louis,  in  November.  In  May,  1856,  Wiener  went  there  to  buy  more 
goods,  and  Bondi  returned  to  Kansas  with  him.  Wiener  furnished  as  a 
gift  all  the  provisions  needed  by  the  two  rifle  companies  of  sixty-five  men, 
when  they  set  out  for  Lawrence. 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  273 

by  the  return  of  John  Brown,  —  how  his  son  resigned  the 
command  and  became  insane,  and  how  general  was  the  exe 
cration  against  Brown  for  his  bloody  deed.  No  doubt  it  was 
regretted  by  most  of  the  company,  and  it  is  true  that  John 
Brown,  Jr.,  resigned  his  captaincy.  But  this  was  for  other 
reasons,  and  the  insanity  which  soon  appeared  had  other 
causes.  Jason  Brown,  who  was  in  his  brother's  company, 
says :  "  On  the  afternoon  of  Monday,  May  26,  a  man  came 
to  us  at  Liberty  Hill  (eight  miles  north  of  Ottawa  Jones's 
house),  his  horse  reeking  with  sweat,  and  said,  (  Five  men 
have  been  killed  on  the  Pottawatornie,  horribly  cut  and 
mangled ;  and  they  say  old  John  Brown  did  it.'  Hearing 
this,  I  was  afraid  it  was  true,  and  it  was  the  most  ter 
rible  shock  that  ever  happened  to  my  feelings  in  my  life ; 
but  brother  John  took  a  different  view.  The  next  day, 
as  we  were  on  the  east  side  of  Middle  Creek,  I  asked 
father,  f  Did  you  have  any  hand  in  the  killing  ?  '  He 
said,  '  I  did  not,  but  I  stood  by  and  saw  it.'  I  did  not 
ask  further,  for  fear  I  should  hear  something  I  did  not 
wish  to  hear.  Frederick  said,  '  I  could  not  feel  as  if  it  was 
right ; '  but  another  of  the  party  said  it  was  justifiable  as  a 
means  of  self-defence  and  the  defence  of  others.  What  I 
said  against  it  seemed  to  hurt  father  very  much ;  but  all  he 
said  was,  '  God  is  my  judge,  —  we  were  justified  under  the 
circumstances/ "  The  occasion  upon  which  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  resigned  his  command  had  occurred  the  day  before,  —  the 
setting  free  by  him  of  some  slaves,  who  were  afterward  re 
turned  to  their  master.  On  the  Sunday  following  the  Pot- 
tawatomie  executions,  but  before  the  tidings  reached  him, 
he  had  gone  with  Captain  Abbott,  the  rescuer  of  Branson, 
to  see  the  ruins  of  Lawrence,  and  on  his  way  back  with  a  file 
of  men,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  liberated  two  slaves  from  their 
Missouri  master,  near  Palmyra,  and  took  them  up  to  his 
camp,  while  the  master  fled  to  Missouri. 

The  arrival  of  these  slaves  in  camp  caused  a  commotion. 
The  act  of  freeing  them,  though  attended  by  no  violence  or 
-bloodshed,  was  freely  denounced,  and  in  accordance  with 
a  vote  given  by  a  large  majority  of  the  men  they  were  or 
dered  to  go  back  to  their  master.  The  driver  of  the  team 
which  carried  them  back,  overtaking  him  on  his  way  to 

18 


274  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Westport,  received  a  side-saddle  as  his  reward  from  the 
grateful  slaveholder.  Young  Brown,  feeling  insulted  by 
this  act  of  his  men,  refused  to  command  them  any  longer. 
But  in  the  mean  time  (so  fast  did  events  move  that  day), 
while  the  company  from  Osawatomie  was  still  at  Liberty 
Hill,  two  or  three  miles  south  of  Palmyra,  a  company  of 
United  States  dragoons  came  up,  and  their  leader,  a  lieuten 
ant,  asked  to  see  the  commander  of  the  Free-State  force. 
John  Brown,  Jr.,  who  had  not  yet  resigned,  sent  word  that 
if  the  lieutenant  would  come  forward  without  his  men  he 
(Brown)  would  meet  him.  Thereupon,  says  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  "  A  solitary  horseman  from  their  number  came  toward 
us,  and  I  rode  out  and  met  him.  He  introduced  himself  as 
Lieutenant  Ives,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  and  told  me  that  he 
had  been  sent  by  Colonel  Sumner,  then  in  command  of  the 
Federal  troops  in  Kansas,  with  an  order  for  all  armed  bodies 
of  men  on  either  side  to  disperse  and  return  to  their  homes, 
—  adding  that  Colonel  Sumner  had  undertaken  to  prevent 
hostile  meetings  of  armed  men.  The  lieutenant  hoped  we 
would  not  delay  in  complying  with  the  order,  and  further 
said  that  he  was  then  on  his  way  to  disperse  the  force  of 
Georgians,  who,  he  had  been  informed,  were  in  camp  a  few 
miles  east.  He  and  his  men  then  rode  away  in  that  direc 
tion,  while  I  returned  and  related  what  the  lieutenant  had 
said.  It  gave  much  satisfaction  ;  for  we  were  all  anxious 
to  be  at  home  and  attend  to  the  planting  of  our  spring 
crops,  which  had  seemed  likely  to  be  prevented,  in  accord 
ance  \vith  the  openly  avowed  plan  of  our  enemies.  We 
did  not  return  to  our  first  place  of  encampment,  but  at 
once  began  our  homeward  march,  and  reached  Ottawa 
Jones's  place,  where  we  met  my  father,  about  ten  o'clock 
that  evening."  The  attack  of  insanity,  which  came  on 
after  this,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  caused  by  the  news 
from  Pottawatomie,  but  by  the  hardships,  exposure,  and 
anxiety  to  which  John  Brown,  Jr.,  had  been  subjected,  and 
which  were  soon  to  be  redoubled  by  the  harsh  treatment 
of  his  captors 

The  tidings  of  the  executions  inflamed  the  Border  Ruf 
fians  greatly,  as  was  natural,  and  gave  an  excuse  for  the 
activity  of  the  Federal  troops  on  the  side  of  the  slave- 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  275 

holders.  Warrants  had  already  been  issued  for  the  arrest 
of  the  Browns  as  conspirators  against  the  Territorial  gov 
ernment  ;  and  these  were  now  served  by  civil  officers  who 
had  a  strong  military  force  behind  them.  We  saw  in  the 
last  chapter  John  Brown's  explanation  of  his  sons'  capture.1 
I  will  now  give  in  the  words  of  those  sons  the  events 
accompanying  it.  John  Brown,  Jr.,  says  :  — 

u  We  got  back  to  Osawatomie  from  our  five  days'  campaign,  toward 
evening  on  the  26th  of  May.  The  same  night  I  went  to  the  house  of 
Mr.  Adair,  whore  I  found  my  wife  and  son,  Jason  and  his  wife  and  "^ 
their  little  boy.  Jason  and  I  remained  there  all  night ;  but  next  « 
morning,  learning  that  a  man  named  Hughes,  of  Osawatomie,  a  pre-^ 
tended  Free- State  man,  was  heading  a  party  to  capture  us,  Mr.  ^) 
Adair  did  not  consider  it  prudent  for  us  to  stay  longer,  and  advised 
us  to  secrete  ourselves  in  a  ravine  on  his  place  well  tilled  with  small 
undergrowth.  He  told  us  he  had  received  word  that  the  United  States 
Marshal  had  warrants  for  us  and  all  of  our  family,  —  also  for  Mr. 
Williams,  William  Partridge,  and  several  others,  —  and  that  Hughes 
wanted  to  distinguish  himself  b'y  taking  us,  though  pretending  to  be 
friendly.  Jason  started  at  once  on  foot  for  Lawrence,  saying  that 
if  there  was  a  warrant  out  for  him  he  would  go  there  and  give 
himself  up  to  a  United  States  officer  rather  than  be  taken  by  &  posse 
made  up  of  Missourians  and  Buford's  men.  While  on  his  way  to 
Lawrence  he  was  captured  near  Stanton  (now  called  Rantoul)  by 
just  such  a  gang  as  he  hoped  to  avoid,  and  was  taken  at  once  to 
Paola,  then  called  Baptisteville.  I  took  my  rifle  and  horse  and  went 
into  the  ravine  on  Mr.  Adair's  land,  remaining  there  through  that 
day  (May  27)  and  the  following  night.  About  four  o'clock  p.  M.  I 
was  joined  by  my  brother  Owen,  who  had  been  informed  at  Mr. 
Adair's  of  my  whereabouts.  He  brought  with  him  into  the  brush 
a  valuable  running  horse,  mate  of  the  one  I  had  with  me.  These 
horses  had  been  taken  by  Free-State  men  near  the  Nebrnska  line 
and  exchanged  for  horses  obtained  in  the  way  of  reprisals  further 
south  ;  and  while  on  foot  a  few  miles  south  of  Ottawa  Jones's  place, 
May  26,  I  had  been  offered  one  of  these  to  ride  the  remaining  distance 
to  Osawatomie.  Owen's  horse  was  wet  with  sweat ;  and  he  told  rne 
of  the  narrow  escape  he  had  just  had  from  a  number  of  armed  pro- 
slavery  men  who  had  their  headquarters  at  Tooley's,  —  a  house  at  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  west  of  Mr.  Adair's.  Their 
guards,  seeing  him  in  the  road  coming  down  the  hill,  gave  a  signal, 

1  See  Brown's  Second  Campaign  in  Kansas,  p.  237. 


276  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

and  at  once  the  whole  gang  were  in  hot  chase.  The  superior  fleet- 
ness  of  the  horse  Oweu  rode  alone  saved  him.  He  exchanged  horses 
with  me,  and  that  night  forded  the  Marais  des  Cygues,  and  going  by 
Stanton  (or  Standiford,  as  it  was  sometimes  called),  recrossed  the 
river  to  father's  camp  about  a  mile  north  of  the  house  of  Mr.  Day. 
Until  Owen  told  me  that  night,  I  did  not  know  where  father  could  be 
found.  The  next  morning  early  I  went  to  Mr.  Adair's .  house ;  and 
was  there  but  a  few  moments  when  there  suddenly  rode  up  a  number 
of  United  States  cavalry,  whom  I  was  quite  willing  to  see ;  but  while 
in  conversation  with  them  a  large  number  of  mounted  Missourians 
came  up  also,  and  with  them  the  United  States  Marshal,  whom  I 
knew,  but  did  not  wish  to  see.  He  read  to  me  a  warrant  for  my 
arrest,  which  charged  me  with  treason  against  the  United  States. 
Resistance  was  of  course  out  of  the  question.  It  was  then  I  dis 
covered  that  the  soldiers  were  there  simply  as  a  posse  to  aid  the 
marshal ;  and  I  went  along  in  a  wagon  accompanied  by  all  of 
these  as  far  as  where  Captain  Wood  of  the  cavalry  had  his  camp, 
near  Osawatomie,  when  the  soldiers  returned  to  their  camp,  and 
the  others  went  on  with  me  to  Paola.  There  I  found  Jason  and 
several  others  of  our  men,  including  Mr.  Williams,  Mr.  Partridge, 
and,  I  think,  Mr.  Benjamin." 

Such  were  the  adventures  of  one  brother,  before  he  joined 
the  other  in  captivity  at  Baptisteville,1  now  called  Paola. 
Jason's  adventures  were  even  more  romantic.  He  had 
parted  from  his  father,  May  26,  early  in  the  morning,  after 
the  conversation  already  quoted,  and  had  returned  with  a 
heavy  heart  to  Osawatomie,  where  his  family  were.  His 
brother  John  was  suffering  from  his  sleepless  anxieties,  al 
though  he  afterward  became  much  worse ; 2  and  the  conduct 

1  This  is  a  town   of  some   importance   between  Osawatomie  and  the 
Missouri   border,   and  about  ten   miles  northeast  of  Mr.   Adair's  honse. 
Its  name  in    1856   (pronounced   colloquially   "  Batteesville")   was  given 
in  honor  of  an  Indian, — Baptiste  Peoria, — from  whose  last  name,   by 
corruption,  the  present  title  of  the  town  seems  to  be  derived.     It  was  a 
proslavery  settlement  at  that  time,  while  Osawatomie  was  celebrated  for 
its  antislavery  character. 

2  Mr.  Adair  told  me,  when  I  visited  him  in  1882,  among  his  orchards 
and  vines  at  Osawatomie,  that  John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  "beside  himself" 
when  he  came  to  the  Adair  place  Monday  night,  May  26,  with  Jason  ;  that 
he  had  been  without  sleep  several  nights,  and  was  perhaps  disturbed  also 
by  the  killing  of  the  Doyles,  etc.     Thinking  him  in  such  a  condition  as 
made  it  unsafe  to  have  him,  fully  armed,  in  the  house,  some-  of  his  friends, 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS.  277 

of  his  father  at  Pottawatomie  weighed  on  Jason's  compas 
sionate  inind.  His  uncle  Adair  could  give  them  no  protec 
tion,  and  was  endangered  himself  by  their  presence.  Jason 
therefore  set  forth  alone  and  on  foot  across  the  prairie 
north  of  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  to  go  back  to  the  friendly 
house  of  Ottawa  Jones,  the  Christian  Indian,  and  thence  to 
Lawrence,  where  he  meant  to  give  himself  up  to  "  Uncle 
Sam's "  troops,  and  not  to  the  Border  Ruffians.  He  had 
not  gone  far  when  he  saw  in  the  distance  towards  Paola  a 
dozen  horsemen,  whom  he  took  to  be  Missourians,  moving 
southwest  toward  the  Browns'  settlement  on  Middle  Creek, 
while  he  was  travelling  northwest  from  Osawatomie.  Their 
lines  of  travel  soon  intersected,  and  Jason,  going  up  to  one 
of  the  horsemen,  inquired  the  way  to  Ottawa  Jones's.  The 
leader  of  the  party  with  an  oath  exclaimed  :  "  You  are  one 
of  the  men  we're  hunting  for;  "and  levelled  his  rifle  at 
him.  Jason  stood'still,  and  the  men  began  to  question  him 
rapidly.  "  What  is  your  name  ?  "  "  Jason  Brown."  —  "  The 
son  of  old  John  Brown  ?  "  "  Yes."  —  "  Are  you  armed  ?  " 
"  Yes,  with  a  revolver."  — "  Give  it  up.  Have  you  any 
money  ? "  He  produced  two  or  three  dollars,  which  he 
happened  to  have,  and  gave  that  up.  "  Now  step  in  front 
of  the  horses."  Upon  this,  he  knew  they  meant  to  shoot 
him ;  so  he  stepped  backward,  facing  them,  opened  his 
bosom,  and  said :  "  I  am  an  Abolitionist ;  I  believe  that 
slavery  is  wrong,  and  that  Kansas  ought  to  be  a  free  State. 
I  never  knowingly  harmed  any  man  in  the  world.  If  you 
want  to  take  my  blood  for  believing  in  the  doctrines  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  do  it  now."  When  he  said 
this  with  emphasis,1  three  or  four  of  the  Missourians  laid 
their  rifles  across  their  saddles,  but  the  rest  kept  aiming  at 
him.  The  leader,  who  proved  to  be  Martin  Wrhite,  a  pro- 
slavery  preacher  (the  same  who  afterward  shot  Frederick 
Brown),  said,  "  Well,  we  won't  shoot  you  now,  but  make  a 

or  those  who  professed  to  be  such,  tried  to  have  him  give  up  his  arms, 
and  be  himself  given  up  to  the  United  States  troops  and  put  under  their 
protection.  Owen  Brown,  who  spent  some  hours  with  John  the  night  be 
fore  his  arrest,  denies  this  alleged  insanity  at  that  time. 

1  "  I  could  talk  then,"  said  the  modest  man,  telling  me  the  story  ;  "  I 
can't  talk  now." 


278  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

prisoner  of  you ; "  and  they  took  him  back  toward  Paola. 
On  the  way  they  halted,  and  he,  overcome  with  fatigue,  sat 
down  on  the  ground  and  fell  asleep.  He  was  waked  by 
men  who  seemed  to  be  threatening  his  life  again ;  but  he 
began  to  talk  to  them,  denouncing  slavery  and  declaring 
himself  an  Abolitionist,  with  the  reasons  why.  One  or 
two  of  the  company,  who  seemed  more  intelligent  than 
the  rest,  listened  to  him ;  and  when  they  reached  Paola, 
these  men  —  Judge  Cato  and  Judge  Jacobs,  as  they  were 
called  —  caused  their  prisoner  to  be  put  in  a  good  bed,  and 
returned  his  money  and  revolver  to  him.  He  met  his 
brother  John  the  next  day ;  and  there  soon  happened  to 
them  another  adventure,  which  is  related  by  the  elder 
brother,  and  is  a  good  example  of  the  fear  inspired  by 
John  Brown:  — 

"  The  day  after  we  were  taken  to  Paola,  a  proelavery  man  from  near 
Stanton  brought  in  and  gave  to  the  Missourians  and  Buford's  men 
who  held  our  little  company  as  prisoners  a  scrap  of  paper  containing 
only  these  words  :  '  I  am  aware  that  you  hold  my  two  sons,  John 
and  Jason,  prisoners.  —  John  Brown.'  The  bearer  of  the  paper  said 
he  brought  it  under  the  assurance  that  his  own  life  depended  on  its 
delivery.  Brother  Jason  and  I  occupied  a  room  which  contained  a 
bed  and  a  small  lamp-stand  or  table.  Two  others  also  occupied  the 
room  as  guards.  The  early  part  of  the  night  of  this  day  had  been 
spent  by  our  guards  at  card-playing  at  the  little  table.  Jason,  with 
out  removing  his  clothes,  had  lain  down  on  the  front  side  of  the  bed, 
and  was  in  deep  sleep.  Occupying  in  like  manner  the  side  of  the 
bed  next  the  wall,  at  about  midnight,  as  near  as  I  can  judge,  I  was 
awakened  by  the  sudden  opening  of  the  outside  door  and  the  rushing 
in  of  a  number  of  men  with  drawn  bowie-knives.  Seizing  the  can 
dle,  and  saying,  *  Which  are  they  ? '  they  crowded  around  our  bed 
with  uplifted  knives.  Believing  that  our  time  had  come,  and  wish 
ing  to  save  Jason,  still  asleep,  from  prolonged  suffering,  I  opened 
the  bosom  of  his  shirt,  and  pointing  to  the  region  of  his  heart,  said, 
*  Strike  here  ! '  At  this  moment  the  sudden  and  loud  barking  of 
dogs  outside  and  a  hurrying  of  steps  on  the  porch  caused  a  most 
lively  stampede  of  our  assailants  within,  and  this  attack  was  ended 
without  a  blow.  From  the  hour  at  Pottawatomie,  father  had 
become  to  slaveholders  and  their  allies  in  Kansas  an  omnipresent 
dread,  filling  them  with  forebodings  of  evil  by  day  and  the  spec 
tre  of  their  imaginings  at  night.  Owing  to  that  fear,  our  lives 
were  saved.' 


1856.]  THE   POTTAWATOMIE   EXECUTIONS.  279 

The  next  day  they  were  placed  in  custody  of  Captain 
Walker,  of  the  United  States  cavalry,  a  Southerner,  who 
himself  tied  John's  arms  back  in  such  a  manner  as  to  pro 
duce  the  most  intense  suffering,  with  one  end  of  a  long  rope, 
of  which  he  gave  the  other  end  to  a  sergeant ;  the  captive 
was  then  placed  a  little  in  advance  of  the  column  headed  by 
Captain  Walker,  and  to  avoid  being  trampled  by  the  horses 
which  had  been  ordered  to  trot,  he  was  driven  at  this  pace 
in  the  hot  sun  to  Osawatomie,  a  distance  of  nine  miles. 
The  rope  had  been  tied  so  tight  as  to  stop  circulation.  In 
stead  of  loosening  it  at  camp,  a  mile  south  of  Osawatomie, 
no  change  was  made  in  it  through  that  day,  all  the  follow 
ing  night,  nor  until  about  noon  the  next  day.  By  that  time 
the  poor  man's  arms  and  hands  had  swollen  to  nearly  double 
their  size,  and  turned  black  as  if  mortified.  On  removing 
the  rope,  a  ring  of  the  skin  came  off;  and  the  scar  of  this, 
which  he  calls  "  slavery's  bracelet,"  is  still  visible  on  Mr. 
Brown's  arms.  Such  treatment,  of  course,  increased  his 
insanity,  throwing  him  into  a  kind  of  fever,  and  for  some 
time  his  recovery  was  doubtful.  During  this  period  he  was 
sometimes  chained  with  a  common  trace-chain,  —  which  his 
father  afterward  obtained,  and  occasionally  exhibited  in 
his  journeys  through  the  North,  "to  show  his  hearers  what 
slavery  could  do  for  white  men  in  Kansas. 

John  Brown,  meanwhile,  was  pursuing  the  course  de 
scribed  by  him  in  the  long  letter  of  June,  1856,  printed  in 
the  last  chapter.  His  fame  was  wonderfully  increased  by 
the  bloody  deed  of  Pottawatomie,  which  rumor  instantly 
ascribed  to  him,  and  which  was  not  doubted  to  be  his  act  at 
the  time,  in  Kansas  or  Missouri.  '  He  had  counted,  most 
likely,  on  this  very  result,  and  profited  in  his  campaign  by 
the  terror  and  rage  it  inspired.  The  two  or  three  weeks 
that  intervened  between  the  attack  on  Lawrence  and  the 
successful  skirmishes  of  Brown  in  June,  were  the  critical 
period  of  the  contest  for  the  Free-State  men.  Had  he  not 
held  up  the  standard  then,  and  checked  the  insolence  of  the 
slaveholders,  Kansas  would  have  been  given  up  to  them, 
and  the  immigration  of  Northern  men  prevented.  This 
opinion  has  been  expressed  to  me  by  many  of  the  Kansas 


280  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

people;  while  others,  who  do  not  go  so  far,  admit  that 
Brown's  course  was  very  useful  to  the  cause.  Colonel 
Walker,  of  Lawrence,  in  quoting  to  me  Brown's  saying  in 
August,  1882,  —  "  the  Pottawatomie  execution  was  a  just 
act,  and  did  good,'7  —  added,  "I  must  say  he  told  the  truth. 
It  did  a  great  deal  of  good  by  terrifying  the  Missourians.  I 
^  heard  Governor  Robinson  say  this  himself  in  his  speech  at 
Osawatomie  in  1877  ;  he  said  he  rejoiced  in  it  then,  though 
it  put  his  own  life  in  danger,  —  for  he  [Robinson]  was  a 
prisoner  at  Lecompton,  when  Brown  killed  the  men  at 
Pottawatomie." 

This  also  was  the  deliberate  and  often-expressed  opinion 
of  Judge.  Hanway,  who  lived  near  the  scene  of  the  execu 
tions,  and  who  knew  all  the  circumstances.  This  worthy 
man  published  the  following  statement  in  December,  1879, 
in  addition  to  what  I  have  already  quoted  :  — 

"  I  was  informed  by  one  of  the  party  of  eight  who  left  our  camp  on 
Ottawa  Creek,  May  22,  1856,  to  visit  the  Pottawatomie,  what  their 
object  and  purposes  were.  I  protested,  and  begged  them  to  desist. 
Of  course  my  plea  availed  nothing.  After  the  dreadful  affair  had 
taken  place,  and  after  a  full  investigation  of  the  whole  matter,  I,  like 
many  others,  modified  my  opinion.  Good  men  and  kind-hearted 
women  in  1856  differed  in  regard  to  this  affair  in  which  John  Brown 
and  his  party  were  the  leading  actors.  John  Brown  justified  it,  and 
thought  it  a  necessity  j  others  differed  from  him  then,  as  they  do 
now.  I  have  had  an  excellent  opportunity  to  investigate  the  matter, 
and  like  others  of  the  early  settlers  was  finally  forced  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  the  Pottawatomie  i  massacre,'  as  it  is  called,  prevented  the 
ruffian  hordes  from  carrying  out  their  programme  of  expelling  the 
Free-State  men  from  this  portion  of  the  Territory  of  Kansas.  It 
was  this  view  of  the  case  which  reconciled  the  minds  of  the  settlers 
on  the  Pottawatomie.  They  would  whisper  one  to  the  other  :  '  It 
was  fortunate  for  us ;  for  God  only  knows  what  our  fate  and  condition 
would  have  been,  if  old  John  Brown  had  not  driven  terror  and  con 
sternation  into  the  ranks  of  the  proslavery  party.' " 

Upon  this  result,  as  well  as  upon  the  ground  first  named 
in  this  chapter,  —  that  Brown  believed  himself  to  be,  and 
in  fact  was,  divinely  inspired  to  make  a  slavish  peace  in 
Kansas  impossible,  —  must  rest  his  justification  for  the 
bloody  act  I  have  described.  Men  will  continue  to  doubt 


1859.]  THE  POTTAWATOMIE  EXECUTIONS.  281 

whether  his  justification  is  ample  ;  but  such  he  held  it  to 
be,  and  was  willing  to  rest  his  cause  with  God,  and  with  pos 
terity.  A  few  men  who  now  denounce  him  for  this  deed  long 
upheld  it,  and  have  profited  by  its  good  consequences,  — 
among  them  Charles  Robinson,  whose  emphatic  approval 
in  1878  has  already  been  cited.1  With  the  excuses  of  such 
men  for  their  change  of  tone,  history  has  nothing  to  do. 
During  the  period  when  they  must  have  best  known  the 
circumstances  attending  Brown's  act,  —  its  provocations, 
its  timeliness,  and  its  results,  —  they  publicly  excused  it, 
and  honored  him.  Their  voice  in  accusation  and  mali 
cious  interpretation  of  Brown  will  now  be  judged  at  its 
true  value.  Those  of  us  who  long  refused  to  believe  that 
Brown  participated  in  these  executions  would  not  perhaps 


1  At  a  public  meeting  held  in  Lawrence,  Dec.  19,  1859  (according  to 
the  newspaper  reports  at  the  time),  the  citizens  passed  resolutions  concern 
ing  the  Pottawatomie  executions,  declaring  "  that  according  to  the  ordinary 
rules  of  war  said  transaction  was  not  unjustifiable,  but  that  it  was  per 
formed  from  the  sad  necessity  which  existed  at  that  time  to  defend  the 
lives  and  liberties  of  the  settlers  in  that  region."  This  resolution  was 
supported  by  Charles  Robinson,  who  said  that  he  had  always  believed 
that  John  Brown  was  connected  with  that  movement.  Indeed,  he  believed 
Brown  had  told  him  so,  or  to  that  effect  ;  and  when  he  first  heard  of  the 
massacre,  he  thought  it  was  about  right.  A  war  of  extermination  was  in 
prospect,  and  it  was  as  well  for  Free-State  men  to  kill  proslavery  men,  as 
for  proslavery  men  to  kill  Free-State  men.  All  he  wanted  to  know  was,, 
that  these  men  were  put  out  of  the  world  decently,  not  hacked  and  cut  to 
pieces,  as  was  R.  P.  Brown.  G.  W.  Brown  believed  the  murder  of  those 
men  on  Pottawatomie  Creek  was  not  justifiable  ;  but  he  (Robinson)  thought 
it  was.  Mr.  Adair,  a  nephew  of  John  Brown,  remarking  that  he  had 
heard  his  uncle  say  he  was  present  and  approved  of  the  deed,  but  that  he 
did  not  raise  a  finger  himself  to  injure  the  men,  —  that  his  .skirts  were  clear 
of  blood,  —  Robinson  said  it  made  no  difference  whether  he  raised  his  hand 
or  otherwise.  John  Brown  was  present,  aiding  and  advising  ;  he  did  not 
attempt  to  stop  the  bloodshed,  and  is  of  course  responsible,  though  justi 
fiable  according  to  Robinson's  understanding  of  the  matter.  He  added 
that  while  the  war  in  Kansas  continued,  he  was  pleased  with  the  co-oper 
ation  of  John  Brown  ;  but  after  peace  was  restored,  and  the  offices  passed 
into  Free-State  hands,  he  thought  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties  should 
have  been  called  upon  to  preserve  the  peace.  With  them  the  responsibility 
should  have  rested,  not  with  the  unauthorized  individuals,  —  old  John 
Brown  or  anybody  else  ;  and  any  interference  of  Brown  subsequent  to 
the  troubles  in  1856  he  repudiated. 


282  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

have  honored  or  trusted  him  less  had  we  known  the  whole 
truth.  I  for  one  should  not ;  though  I  should  have  deeply 
regretted  the  necessity  for  such  deeds  of  dark  and  provi 
dential  justice. 

"  Not  yet  the  wise  of  heart  would  cease 
To  hold  his  hope  through  shame  and  guilt, 
Aud,  with  his  hand  against  the  hilt, 
Would  pace  the  troubled  land  like  Peace  ; 
Would  love  the  gleams  of  good  that  broke 
From  either  side,  nor  veil  his  eyes  ; 
And  if  some  dreadful  need  should  rise, 
Would  strike,  and  firmly,  and  one  stroke." 


1856.1  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  283 


CHAPTER   X. 
THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED. 

'"PHE  events  already  chronicled  are  but  a  small  part  of 
-*•  those  which  took  place  in  Kansas  while  John  Brown 
maintained  his  connection  with  the  friends  of  freedom  there. 
It  was  more  than  three  years  from  his  first  arrival  at  Osa- 
watomie  before  he  finally  withdrew  (late  in  January,  1859) 
from  the  Territory,  whose  admission  as  a  free  State  was 
then  secure,  although  the  date  was  delayed.  But  he  spent 
less  than  half  those  three  years  in  Kansas.  His  first  sum 
mer  there,  in  1856,  was  the  most  eventful  portion  of  that 
period ;  and  this  has  been  in  part  described.  But  much 
remains  to  be  told,  although  the  incidents  of  that  sum 
mer,  which  then  se'emed  so  momentous,  have  shrunk  almost 
into  insignificance  in  comparison  with  the  campaigns  of 
the  Civil  War  that  so  soon  followed.  What  we  used  to 
call  "  battles  "  in  Kansas,  if  the  whole  sum  of  them  were 
thrown  together,  would  hardly  equal  in  their  numbers  or 
tangible  results  a  single  heavy  skirmish  along  the  front 
of  Grant's  army.  The  total  loss  of  life  on  both  sides 
during  1856,  by  the  casualties  of  war,  did  not  exceed  a 
hundred  men,  and  the  property  destroyed  was  hardly  so 
much  as  a  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Yet  though  this  com 
putation  makes  the  struggle  appear  trivial,  it  was  not  so 
in  fact ;  while  in  the  qualities  of  mind  which  it  developed 
it.  became  all-important.  In  Kansas,  first  of  all,  the  patient 
and  too  submissive  citizen  of  the  North  learned  to  stand 
firm  against  Southern  arrogance  and  assumption ;  for  that 
scantily  settled  prairie  exhibited  more  courage  to  the  square 
mile  than  the  most  populous  Northern  States  had  before 
displayed.  John  Brown  alone  was  worth  all  the  trouble 
that  Kansas  gave  the  nation,  and  his  significance  atones  for 
the  littleness  of  the  affair,  even  as  we  now  view  it. 


284          '  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

Yet,  in  truth,  the  creation  of  a  free  State,  colonized  by 
the  best  yeomanry  of  the  North,  on  the  western  frontier  of 
the  slaveholding  South,  was  in  itself  a  great  event ;  and  the 
possibility  of  success  in  the  enterprise  aroused  an  interest 
throughout  the  country  that  nothing  else  had  excited.  The 
attempt  was  made,  too,  on  the  eve  of  one  of  our  periodic 
political  contests,  —  the  election  of  President ;  and  this 
issue  became  inevitably  connected  with  the  canvass.  It  was 
the  fear  of  losing  the  presidential  vote  of  Pennsylvania  for 
James  Buchanan  in  1856  that  inspired  the  recall  of  the 
worst  Territorial  governors  of  Kansas,  —  Shannon  and  Wood- 
son,  —  and  the  appointment,  just  before  the  decisive  October 
election,  of  that  upright  Pennsylvania  Democrat  Governor 
Geary.  His  private  instructions  were  said  to  be,  "Quiet 
the  Territory  at  any  cost ;  for  if  the  warfare  continues  in 
Kansas,  Pennsylvania  will  vote  for  Fremont."  This,  as  the 
other  States  then  stood,  would  have  defeated  Buchanan. 
Just  before  Geary's  appointment,  Jefferson  Davis  (of  all 
men  in  the  world),  who  was  then  Secretary  of  War,  had 
directed  General  Persifor  Smith,  who  commanded  the  United 
States  forces  at  Leavenworth,  to  put  down  the  a  open  rebel 
lion  "  of  the  freemen  of  Kansas.1  But  more  patriotic  and 
peaceful  counsels  prevailed ;  Governor  Geary  quieted  the 
Territory,  and  Buchanan  was  elected  President. 

The  occasion  for  this  manifesto  from  Jefferson  Davis  was 
the  lively  campaign,  offensive  as  well  as  defensive,  which  had 
been  carried  on  by  John  Brown,  General  Lane,  Major  Abbott, 
Captain  Walker,  and  others,  during  the  three  months  be 
tween  the  Pottawatomie  executions  and  the  burning  of  Osa- 
watomie  at  the  end  of  August.  Having  already  published 

1  Davis  wrote  to  General  Smith  :  "The  President  has  directed  me  to 
say  to  you  that  you  are  authorized  from  time  to  time  to  make  requisitions 
upon  the  Governor  [of  Kansas]  for  such  militia  force  as  you  may  require  to 
enable  you  to  suppress  the  insurrection  against  the  government  of  the  Ter 
ritory  of  Kansas.  Should  you  not  be  able  to  derive  from  the  military  of 
Kansas  an  adequate  force  for  the  purpose,  you  will  derive  such  additional 
number  of  militia  as  may  'be  necessary  from  the  States  of  Illinois  and 
Kentucky.  .  .  .  The  position  of  the  insurgents  is  that  of  open  rebellion 
against  the  laws  and  constitutional  authorities,  with  such  manifestation  of 
purpose  to  spread  devastation  over  the  land  as  no  longer  justifies  further 
hesitation  or  indulgence." 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  285 

John  Brown's  report  to  his  family  of  the  fight  at  Black 
Jack,  near  Palmyra,  early  in  June,  I  will  next  quote  from 
other  authorities,  and  finally  from  Brown  himself,  some  his 
torical  notes  of  this  disturbed  summer.  One  of  his  soldiers, 
Luke  F.  Parsons,  has  within  a  few  years  made  this  statement 
respecting  his  own  conduct  in  the  Kansas  feud :  — 

RECOLLECTIONS    OF    L.    F.    PARSONS. 

"  At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  June,  1856,  Major  Hoyt 
and  I  galloped  to  Black  Jack,  where  I  tendered  my  services  to 
Captain  Brown,  and  was  immediately  put  on  guard;  and  I  was  the 
only  post  sentinel  who  challenged  Colonel  Sumner  when  he  came  to 
release  our  prisoners.  Again,  sometime  in  the  latter  part  of  August 
I  met  John  Brown  in  Lawrence  ;  he  told  me  he  came  to  get  help  to 
defend  Osawatomie.  I  told  him  to  try  the  '  Stubs '  (which  was  a 
Lawrence  Sharpe's  rifle  company  to  which  I  belonged).  He  replied 
that  he  had,  but  they  would  not  leave  Lawrence.  I  told  him  I 
would  get  my  rifle  and  go  with  him.  He  said  he  would  surely  show 
me  how  to  fight,  if  the  rascals  would  give  him  a  chance.  When  I 
went  for  my  gun  Lieutenant  Cutler  asked  what  I  was  going  to  do. 
I  told  him,  and  he  said,  '  The  guns  belong  to  the  company,  and  shall 
not  be  taken  away.'  Brown  borrowed  a  Sharpe's  rifle  of  Captain 
Harvey  for  me,  and  I  went  with  him  to  his  camp  near  Osawatomie. 

"Aug.  30,  J856,  we  were  camped  a  half-mile  east  of  that  town, 
at  Mr.  Crane's  place.  While  we  were  cooking  breakfast,  before 
sunrise,  a  man  dashed  into  camp,  saying  the  Border  Ruffians  were 
coming  from  the  west,  and  had  just  killed  Fred  Brown  and  David 
Garrison  near  Mr.  Adair's.  Brown  started  right  off.  and  said,  *  Men, 
come  on! '  He  did  not  say  go.  I  started  with  him,  and  it  was  some 
minutes  before  any  overtook  us.  While  we  were  hurrying  on  by 
ourselves,  Brown  said,  '  Parsons,  were  you  ever  under  fire  f  '  I  re 
plied,  '  No;  but  I  will  obey  orders.  Tell  me  what  you  want  me  to 
do.'  He  said,  '  Take  more  care  ro  end  life  well  than  to  live  long.' 

"  When  we  reached  the  blockhouse  in  the  village  he  motioned  to 
several  to  go  in,  myself  with  the  rest.  He  then  said  to  me,  '  Hold 
your  position  as  long  as  possible,  and  hurt  them  all  you  can ;  while 
we  will  go  into  the  timber  and  annoy  them  from  that  side.'  I  fast 
ened  the  door  with  a  large  bar,  and  thought  all  secure.  Soon  firing 
commenced  up  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  where  Brown  had  gone. 
There  was  a  second  floor  in  the  blockhouse,  and  part  of  the  boys  had 
gone  up  there.  While  we  all  selected  our  port-hole,  Brown  had  drawn 
their  attention,  so  that  we  were  not  molested.  After  some  twenty 


286  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF  JOHN   BROWN.  [1856. 

minutes  or  so,  some  one  on  the  second  floor  called  out :  '  They  have 
cannon,  and  will  blow  us  all  to  pieces  in  here.  I  am  going  to  get 
out  of  this.'  I  said:  l  No,  you  must  stay.'  Old  man  Austin  said, 
'  Stay  here,  and  let  them  blow  us  to  hell  and  back  again  ! '  I  went 
upstairs  to  get  a  better  view  of  the  enemy,  and  before  I  knew  it  the 
door  was  opened  and  most  of  the  men  gone.  I  don't  know  even 
where  they  went.  Austin  and  I,  and  I  think  two  others,  —  four  in 
all,  —  then  went  up  the  Marais  des  Cygnes  River,  in  the  timber,  and 
joined  Brown  at  the  fight,  on  his  left.  Cline  had  gone  before  this. 
We  had  not  been  there  long  when  we  all  fell  back  across  the  river. 
Partridge  was  shot  while  in  the  river. 

"  At  this  place  the  water  was  deep,  and  I  said  to  Austin,  '  I  cannot 
swim  with  my  gun,'  which  I  soon  threw  into  the  river.  So  we  both 
ran  down  the  river.  The  bank  was  high,  so  we  were  most  of  the 
time  out  of  sight.  I  ran  too  fast  for  the  old  man  [Austin],  and 
he  called  to  me  not  to  leave  him.  As  we  approached  the  old  saw 
mill  the  bank  became  lower,  and  we  were  seen  by  the  ruffians, 
three  of  whom  were  after  us.  I  told  Austin  that  as  I  could  see  the 
bottom,  I  would  cross.  He  replied,  '  I  won't  run  another  inch ;  ' 
and  dropped  down  behind  a  large  log.  I  waded  through  j  but  the 
opposite  bank  was  steep  and  high ;  and  as  I  was  clinging  to  brush 
and  scrambling  up,  I  heard  the  words  *  Halt !  halt !  halt ! '  in  rapid 
succession,  and  immediately  several  guns  were  fired,  and  the  dirt  torn 
up  by  my  side.  I  was  on  the  bank  in  a  twinkle,  and  returned  their 
salute  as  well  as  I  could.  Two  were  putting  spurs  to  their  horses  the 
best  they  could.  One  horse  bore  an  empty  saddle,  and  one  man  was 
kicking  his  last  kick ;  and  Austin  jumped  up  and  came  over  to  me. 
As  we  went  up  the  river  he  told  me  that  they  did  not  see  him,  but 
passed  rather  in  front  of  him,  and  all  shot  at  me ;  while  he  shot  one 
in  the  back  just  at  the  very  moment  they  shot  at  me.  In  an  hour  or 
so  after  this  we  got  together  at  a  log- house  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river.  Dr.  Updegraff  was  then  in  the  house,  shot  in  the"  thigh. 
Brown  was  with  him.  But  before  we  got  together  the  smoke  of  the 
burning  town  was  seen.  They  burned  twenty-nine  houses. 

u  The  next  day  we  moved  to  the  south  side,  to  a  Mr.  Hauser's. 
We  commenced  to  fell  timber  round  a  place  selected  by  Brown  as  pos 
sessing  natural  advantages  for  defence.  We  felled  the  tree- tops  out, 
and  trimmed  them  with  sharp  points.  Most  of  the  men  became  sick 
with  the  ague,  and  work  was  suspended.  Soon  after  this,  I  too  was 
taken  with  fever,  and  Brown  hauled  me  to  Lawrence.  I  was  very 
sick.  Brown  asked  me  if  he  should  take  me  to  the  hospital.  I  told 
him  that  I  would  rather  go  to  Mrs.  Killum's  (a  boarding-house 
where  I  had  previously  lodged),  if  she  would  take  care  of  me.  He 
went  and  found  her,  and  returned  saying,  '  Mrs.  Killurn  says, 


1856.J  THE   KANSAS  STKUGGLE   CONTINUED.  287 

"  Bring  him  here :  I  would  do  as  much  for  Luke  Parsons  as  for  my 
own  son."  ;  Under  her  care  I  recovered  so  that  I  was  again  under 
Brown's  command.  I  shouldered  my  gun  and  marched  out  to  meet 
the  twenty-eight  hundred  men  who  came  up  from  Missouri-  in 
September.  If  I  remember  aright,  in  about  a  year  after  this  I  went 
with  John  E.  Cook  to  Tabor,  Iowa,  where  I  next  saw  Brown,  and 
from  Tabor  went  on  to  Springdale. 

u  I  also  take  pride  in  saying  that  I  was  under  arms  in  Topeka,  on 
July  4,  1856,  when  Colonel  Sumner  dispersed  the  Legislature.  I 
was  with  Captain  Walker  in  the  capture  of  Colonel  Titus,  near 
Lecompton.  I  claim  to  be  the  man  who  shot  Colonel  Titus. 

"I  was  near  our  Captain  Sbombre  when  he  was  struck  by  the 
fatal  ball.  I  received  a  very  sore  but  slight  wound  there.  It  was  on 
my  shin,  made  by  a  very  small  ball  or  a  buck-shot. 

tl  Kansas  was  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1861,  with  every  inch  free 
soil,  and  still  the  object  for  which  Brown  fought  was  not  entirely 
accomplished.  I  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  and  fought  for  nearly 
four  years,  until  that  object  was  fully  attained,  and  there  was 
nowhere  to  be  found  a  i  slave  to  clank  his  chains  by  the  graves  of 
Moriticello  or  the  shades  of  Mt.  Vernon.'  " 

The  name  of  this  soldier  of  Brown's  company  appears  in 
the  "Articles  of  Enlistment  and  By-Laws  of  the  Kansas 
Regulars,  made  and  established  by  the  commander,  A.  D. 
1856,  in  whose  handwriting  it  is,"  —  as  Brown  described  the 
book  to  me  when  he  gave  me  a  copy  in  April,  1857.  Here 
are  its  contents,  given,  as  to  spelling  and  punctuation,  in 
exact  accordance  with,  the  original :  — 

KANSAS  TERRITORY,  A.  D.  1856. 
1.    The  Covenant. 

We  whose  names  are  found  on  these  and  the  next  following  pages 
do  hereby  enlist  ourselves  to  serve  in  the  Free-State  cause  under 
John  Brown  as  Commander :  during  the  full  period  of  time  affixed 
to  our  names  respectively  and  we  severally  pledge  our  word  and  our 
sacred  honor  to  said  Commander ;  and  to  each  other,  that  during  the 
time  for  which  we  have  enlisted  we  will  faithfully  and  punctually 
perform  our  duty  (in  such  capacity  or  place  as  may  be  assigned  to  us 
by  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  of  those  associated  with  us  :  or  of 
the  companies  to  which  we  may  belong  as  the  case  may  be)  as  a 
regular  volunteer  force  for  the  maintainance  of  the  rights  &  liberties 
of  the  Free- State  Citizens  of  Kansas  :  and  we  further  agree  ;  that  as 


288  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1856. 

individuals  we  will  conform  to  the  Ity  Laics  of  this  Organization  & 
that  we  will  insist  on  their  regular  &  punctual  enforcement  as  a  first 
&  last  duty :  &  in  short  that  we  will  observe  &  maintain  a  strict  & 
thorough  Military  discipline  at  all  times  untill  our  term  of  service 
expires. 

Names,  date  of  enlistment,  and  term  of  service  on  next  Pages. 
Term  of  service  omitted  for  want  of  room  (principally  for  the 
War). 

2.   Names  and  date  of  enlistment. 

Aug.  22.1  Win.  Patridge  (imprisoned),  John  Salathiel,  S.  Z. 
Brown,  John  Goodell,  L.  F.  Parsons,  N.  B.  Phelps,  Win.  B. 
Harris. 

Aug.  23.     Jason  Brown  (son  of  commander;  imprisoned). 

Aug.  24.     J.  Benjamin  (imprisoned). 

Aug.  25.  Cyrus  Taton,  R.  Reynolds  (imprisoned),  Noah  Frazee 
(1st  Lieut,),  Win.  Miller,  John  P.  Glenn,  Wm.  Quick,  M.  D.  Lane, 
Amos  Alderman,  August  Bondie,  Charles  Kaiser  (murdered  Aug. 
30),  Freeman  Austin  (aged  57  years),  Samuel  Hereson,  John  W. 
Troy,  Jas.  H.  Holmes  (Capt.). 

Aug.  26.  Geo.  Patridge  (killed  Aug.  30),  Wm.  A.  Sears. 

Aug.  27.  S.  H.  Wright, 

Aug.  29.  B.  Darrach  (Surgeon),  Saml.  Farrar. 

Sept.  8.     Timothy  Kelly,  Jas.  Andrews. 

Sept.  9.     W.  H.  Leman,  Charles  Oliver,  D.  H.  Hurd. 

Sept.  15.  Wm.  F.  Haniel. 

Sept.  16.  Saml.  Geer  (Commissary). 

3.   Bylaws  of  the  Free- State  regular  Volunteers  of  Kansas  enlisted 
under  John  Brown. 

Art.  I.  Those  who  agree  to  be  governed  by  the  following  articles 
&  whose  names  are  appended  will  be  known  as  the  Kansas 
Regulars. 

Art.  II.  Every  officer  connected  with  organization  (except  the 
Commander  already  named)  shall  be  elected  by  a  majority  of  the 
members  */  above  a  Captain  ;  &  if  a  Captain  ;  or  under  a  Captain, 
by  a  majority  of  the  company  to  which  they  belong. 

Art.  III.  All  vacancies  shall  be  filled  by  vote  of  the  majority  of 
members  or  companies  as  the  case  may  be,  &  all  members  shall  be 
alike  eligible  to  the  highest  office. 

Art.  IV.  All  trials  for  misconduct  of  Officers;  or  privates;  shall 
be  by  a  jury  of  Twelve;  chosen  by  a  majority  of  Company,  or 

1 1856. 


1856.]  THE  KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  289 

companies  as  the  case  may  be.     Each  Company  shall  try  its  own 
members. 

Art.  V.  All  valuable  property  taken  by  honorable  warfare  from 
the  enemy,  shall  be  held  as  the  property  of  the  whole  company,  or 
companies,  as  the  case  may  be  :  equally,  without  distinction  ;  to  be 
used  for  the  common  benefit  or  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  responsible 
agents  for  sale :  the  proceeds  to  be  divided  as  nearly  equally  amongst 
the  company  :  or  companies  capturing  it  as  may  be  :  except  that  no 
person  shall  be  entitled  to  any  dividend  from  property  taken  before 
he  entered  the  service  j  and  any  person  guilty  of  desertion,  or 
convicted  of  gross  violation  of  his  obligations  to  those  with  whom 
he  should  act,  whether  officer  or  private :  shall  forfeit  his  interest  in 
all  dividends  made  after  such  misconduct  has  occurred. 

Art.  VI.  All  property  captured  shall  be  delivered  to  the  receiver 
of  the  force,  or  company  as  the  case  may  be ;  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  make  a  full  inventory  of  the  same  (assisted  by  such  person,  or 
persons  as  may  be  chosen  for  that  purpose),  a  coppy  of  which  shall 
be  made  into  the  Books  of  this  organization;  &  held  subject  to 
examination  by  any  member,  on  all  suitable  occasions. 

Art.  VII.  The  receiver  shall  give  his  receipts  in  a  Book  for  that 
purpose  for  all  moneys  &  other  property  of  the  regulars  placed  in  his 
hands ;  keep  an  inventory  of  the  same  &  make  copy  as  provided  in 
Article  VI. 

Art.  VIII.  Captured  articles  when  used  for  the  benefit  of  the 
members :  shall  be  receipted  for  by  the  Commissary,  the  same  as 
moneyes  placed  in  his  hands.  The  receiver  to  hold  said  receipts. 

Art.  IX.  A  disorderly  retreat  shall  not  be  suffered  at  any  time  & 
every  Officer  &  private  is  by  this  article  fully  empowered  to  prevent 
the  same  by  force  if  need  be,  &  any  attempt  at  leaving  the  ground 
during  a  fight  is  hereby  declared  disorderly  unless  the  consent  or  di 
rection  of  the  officer  then  in  command  have  authorized  the  same. 

Art.  X.  A  disorderly  attack  or  charge  ;  shall  not  be  suffered  at 
any  time. 

Art.  XI.  When  in  camp  a  thorough  wTatch  both  regular  and 
Piquet  shall  be  maintained  both  by  day,  &  by  Night :  and  visitors 
shall  not  be  suffered  to  pass  or  repass  without  leave  from  the 
Captain  of  the  guard  and  under  common  or  ordinary  circumstances  it 
is  expected  that  the  Officers  will  cheerfully  share  this  service  with 
the  privates  for  examples  sake. 

Art.  XII.  Keeping  up  Fires  or  lights  after  dark  ;  or  firing  of  Guns, 
Pistols  or  Caps  shall  not  be  allowed,  except  Fires  and  lights  when 
unavoidable. 

Art.  XIII.  When  in  Camp  neither  Officers  shall  be  allowed  to 
leave  without  consent  of  the  Officer  then  in  command. 

19 


290  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Art.  XIV.  All  uncivil  ungentlemanly  profane,  vulgar  talk  or 
conversation  shall  be  discountenanced. 

Art.  XV.  All  acts  of  petty  theft  needless  waste  of  the  property  of 
che  members  or  of  Citizens  is  hereby  declared  disorderly  :  together 
with  all  uncivil,  or  unkind  treatment  of  Citizens  or  of  prisoners. 

Art.  XVI.  In  all  cases  of  capturing  property,  a  sufficient  number 
of  men  shall  be  detailed  to  take  charge  of  the  same ;  all  others  shall 
keep  in  their  position. 

Art.  XVII.  It  shall  at  all  times  be  the  duty  of  the  quarter 
Master  to  select  ground  for  encampment  subject  however  to  the 
approbation  of  the  commanding  officer. 

Art.  XVIII.  The  Commissary  shall  give  his  receipts  in  a  Book  for 
that  purpose  for  all  moneys  provisions,  and  stores  put  into  his  hands. 

Art.  XIX.  The  Officers  of  companies  shall  see  that  the  arms  of 
the  same  are  in  constant  good  order  and  a  neglect  of  this  duty  shall 
be  deemed  disorderly. 

Art.  XX.  No  person  after  having  first  surrendered  himself  a 
prisoner  shall  be  put  to  death :  or  subjected  to  corporeal  punishment, 
without  first  having  had  the  benefit  of  an  impartial  trial. 

Art.  XXI.  A  Waggon  Master  and  an  Assistant  shall  be  chosen 
for  each  company  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  take  a  general  care  and 
oversight  *of  the  teams,  waggons,  harness  and  all  other  articles  or 
property  pertaining  thereto:  and  who  shall  both  be  exempt  from 
serving  on  guard. 

Art.  XXII.  The  ordinary  use  or  introduction  into  the  camp  of 
any  intoxicating  liquor,  as  a  beverage :  is  hereby  declared  disorderly. 

Art.  XXIII.  A  Majority  of  Two  Thirds  of  all  the  Members  may 
at  any  time  alter  or  amend  the  foregoing  articles. 

4.  List  of  Volunteers  either  engaged  or  guarding  Horses  during  the 
fight  of  Slack  Jack  or  Palmyra,  June  2,  1856. 

1.  Saml.  T.  Shore  (Captain).  2.  Silas  More.  3.  David  Hen- 
dricks  (Horse  Guard).  4.  Hiram  McAllister.  5.  Mr.  Parmely 
(wounded).  6.  Silvester  Han-is.  7.  0.  A.  Carpenter  (wounded). 
8.  Augustus  Shore.  9.  Mr.  Townsley  (of  Pottawatomie).  10. 
Win.  B.  Hayden.  11.  John  Mewhinnoy.  12.  Montgomery  Shore. 
13.  Elkana  Timmons.  14.  T.  Weiner.  15.  August  Bondy.  16. 
Hugh  Mewhinney.  17.  Charles  Kaiser.  18.  Elizur  Hill.  19. 
William  David.  20.  B.  L.  Cochran.  21.  Henry  Thompson 
(wounded).  22.  Elias  Businger.  23.  Owen  Brown.  24.  Fredk. 
Brown  (horse  guard ;  murdered  Aug.  30).  25.  Salmon  Brown. 
26.  Oliver  Brown.  27.  This  blank  may  be  filled  by  Capt.  Shore 
as  he  may  have  the  name.  JOHN  BROWN. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  291 

5.  List  of  names  of  the  wounded  in  the  Battle  of  Black  Jack  (or 
Palmyra)   and  also   of  the  Eight  who   held  out  to  receive  the 
surrender  of  Capt.  Pate  and  Twenty -Two  men  on  that  occasion. 
June  2,  1856. 

1.  Mr.  Parmely  wounded  in  Nose,  &  Ann  obliged  to  leave.  2. 
Henry  Thompson  dangerously  wounded  but  fought  for  nearly  one 
Hour  afterward.  3.  0.  A.  Carpenter  Badly  wounded  and  obliged  to 
leave.  4.  Charles  Kaiser,  murdered  Aug.  30.  5.  Elizur  Hill. 

6.  Win.  David.     7.    Hugh   Mewhinney   (17  yrs.    old).     8.    B.    L. 
Cochran.      9.     Owen    Brown,      10.     Salmon     Brown.       Seriously 
wounded  (soon  after  by  accident).     11.    Oliver  Brown — 17  years 
old. 

In  the  battle  of  Osawatomie  Capt.  (or  Dr.)  Updegraph  ;  and 
Two  others  whose  names  I  have  lost  were  severely  (one  of  them 
shockingly)  wounded  before  the  fight  began  Aug.  30,  1856. 

JOHN  BROWN. 

In  these,  lists  appear  a  few  of  the  men  who  afterward 
fought  under  Captain  Brown  at  Harper's  Ferry ;  but  only  a 
few,  for  most  of  them  seem  to  have  been  settlers  in  Kansas 
who  would  fight  to  protect  themselves,  but  not  to  attack 
slavery  at  a  distance.  The  dates  given  in  the  list,  when 
this  man  or  that  was  "murdered,'''  denote  the  day  on  which 
Brown's  most  famous  engagement  —  that  of  Osawatomie, 
Aug.  30,  1856  —  was  fought.  The  fight  at  Black  Jack,  or 
Palmyra,  on  the  2d  of  June,  1856,  was  more  remarkable, 
though  the  whole  force  engaged  on  both  sides  was  less  than 
eighty.  I  have  quoted  Brown's  report  of  it,  but  will  here 
describe  it  more  fully. 

Brown  had  taken  to  the  prairie  for  guerilla  warfare 
against  the  Missourians  and  other  Southern  invaders  of 
Kansas,  after  the  Pottawatomie  executions.  Among  their 
leaders  was  Captain  Pate,  a  Virginian.  Brown,  hearing  of 
the  capture  of  his  sons,  pursued  Pate,  and  came  up  with 
him  on  Monday,  the  2d  of  June,  at  his  camp  on  the  Black 
Jack  Creek  (so  called  from  the  black  oak  growing  on  its 
banks),  within  the  present  limits  of  Palmyra. 

In  the  interval  between  the  Pottawatomie  executions  and 
the  fight  at  Black  Jack,  during  which  the  sons  of  John 
Brown  were  captured  as  has  been  related,  many  important 
events  occurred ;  but  I  will  confine  my  narrative  chiefly  to 


292  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

those  in  which  the  Brown  family  were  directly  concerned. 
Several  witnesses  are  still  alive  who  took  part  in  them  ;  but 
my  chief  reliance  will  be  (besides  the  letters  of  John  Brown) 
the  detailed  statements  made  by  Owen  Brown  and  by 
August  Bondi  (the  German  citizen  of  Kansas  already  men 
tioned),  both  of  whom  were  in  .cam-p,  or  rather  in  hiding, 
with  John  Brown  while  the  Border  Ruffians  and  the  United 
States  dragoons  were  scouring  the  country  between  Law 
rence  and  Osawatomie  to  find  the  perpetrators  of  the  bloody 
deed  of  May  24.  Bondi  has  published  a  minute  report,  in 
which  he  says  that  he  rode,  with  nine  others,  on  the  morn 
ing  of  May  26,  to  the  claim  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  on  "  Vine 
Branch,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Middle  Creek  Bottom," 
where  they  halted,  and  were  joined  in  the  afternoon  by 
0.  A.  Carpenter,  a  Free-State  man  then  living  on  Ottawa 
Creek,  not  far  from  Prairie  City,  who  came  to  request  John 
Brown  in  the  name  of  the  settlers  there  that  he  would  come 
and  protect  them  against  the  Missourians.  This  little  vil 
lage  of  Prairie  City  (described  by  Eedpath  as  "  a  munici 
pality  consisting  of  two  log-cabins  and  a  well ")  is  a  part 
of  the  township  of  Palmyra,  and  now  figures  as  a  railroad 
station  on  the  route  from  Lawrence  to  the  Indian  Territory 
and  Texas.  It  has  been  eclipsed  by  Baldwin  City  in  the 
same  township,  which  is  the  nearest  station  (on  the  South 
ern  Kansas  Railway)  to  the  field  of  Black  Jack.  Baldwin 
City  had  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  inhabitants  in  1880 ; 
while  Prairie  City  has  disappeared  from  separate  enumera 
tion,  and  contributes  its  few  citizens  to  the  aggregate  popu 
lation  of  Palmyra  township,  —  about  twenty-five  hundred. 
These  places  are  in  the  southeastern  corner  of  Douglas 
County,  of  which  Lawrence  is  the  chief  town,  and  so  near 
the  Shawnee  Mission  and  the  Missouri  border  that  they 
were  peculiarly  exposed  to  raids  by  the  Ruffians.  Moreover 
they  lay  near  the  road  from  Lawrence  to  Osawatomie  (some 
forty  miles  apart),  and  the  protection  of  the  Free-State  men 
there  was  important  in  keeping  up  communications  between 
central  and  southern  Kansas,  as  those  terms  were  then  used. 
South  of  Palmyra,  in  Miami  County,  was  the  armed  colony 
of  Buford's  men,  and  eastward  were  the  Missouri  counties 
of  Cass  and  Jackson.  Carpenter's  mission  was,  then,  to 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  293 

secure  Brown's  small  band  as  a  protection  for  the  southern 
part  of  Douglas  County,  checking  the  thieving  raids  which 
were  then  so  frequent,  and,  if  necessary,  making  reprisals. 
Brown  accepted  the  duty,  and  at  dusk  on  the  26th  of  May, 
with  his  force  now  increased  to  nine  men  besides  himself,  set 
out  under  Carpenter's  guidance  towards  Prairie  City,  twenty 
miles  northeastward.  Bondi  says  :  — 

"  There  were  ten  of  us,  —  Captain  Brown,  Owen,  Frederick,  Sal 
mon,  and  Oliver  Brown;  Henry  Thompson,  Theodore  Wiener,  James 
Townsley,  Carpenter,  and  myself.  Our  armament  was  this :  Captain 
Brown  carried  a  sabre  and  a  heavy  seven -shooting  revolver  ;  all  his 
sons  and  his  son-in-law  were  armed  with  revolvers,  long  knives,  and 
the  common  *  squirrel  rifle  j '  Townsley  with  an  old  musket,  Wiener 
with  a  double-barrelled  gun,  I  with  an  old-fashioned  flint-lock  mus 
ket,  and  Carpenter  with  a  revolver.  The  three  youngest  men  — 
Salmon  Brown,  Oliver,  and  I  —  rode  without  saddles.  By  order  of 
Captain  Brown,  Fred  Brown  rode  first,  Owen  and  Carpenter  next ; 
ten  paces  behind  them,  old  Brown  :  and  the  rest  of  us  behind  him, 
two  and  two.  Our  way  from  Middle  Creek  to  Ottawa  Creek  was 
along  the  old  military  road  between  Fort  Scott  and  Fort  Leav- 
enworth.  When  we  had  nearly  reached  the  crossing  of  the  old 
California  road  at  the  ford  of  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  we  saw  by  the 
fading  watch-fires  of  a  camp,  hardly  a  hundred  and  fifty  steps  before 
us,  an  armed  sentinel  pacing.  While  Fred  Brown  rode  slowly  for 
ward,  Carpenter  turned  back  and  told  Captain  Brown  that  here  was 
probably  a  division  of  United  States  dragoons  who  were  acting  as 
posse  for  the  marshal.  Brown  thereupon  gave  Carpenter  his  in 
structions  in  a  few  words.  We  were  to  ride  forward  slowly  with  no 
indication  of  the  least  anxiety,  and  otherwise  to  imitate  his  example. 
The  sentry  let  Fred  Brown  and  Carpenter  approach  within  twenty- 
five  paces,  and  then  cried,  '  Who  goes  there  ? '  Fred  answered  just  as 
loud,  i  Free-State.7  The  sentry  called  the  officer  of  the  guard,  and 
while  he  was  coming  the  rest  of  us  rode,  by  Brown's  order,  within  five 
paces  of  where  Fred  and  Carpenter  were  halted,  forming  ourselves 
in  an  irregular  group.  When  the  officer  appeared,  Carpenter  spoke 
up  and  said  we  were  farmers,  living  not  far  from  Prairie  City,  who 
had  gone  to  Osawatomie  upon  invitation  of  the  settlers  to  protect 
them  against  an  expected  invasion  from  Missouri ;  had  been  there 
two  days,  seen  and  heard  nothing  of  the  Missourians,  and  so  had 
resolved  to  return  home.  Upon  this  Lieutenant  Mclntosh,  the  com 
manding  officer,  appeared,  and  Carpenter  repeated  what  he  had  said. 
None  of  the  rest  of  us  said  a  word ;  but  the  deputy  marshal  came 


294  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN  [1856. 

forward  and  requested  the  lieutenant  to  detain  us  till  daylight,  so  that 
he  might  make  further  inquiries.  Mclntosh  replied  sternly  :  i  I  have 
no  orders  to  stop  peaceable  travellers,  such  as  these  people  are;  they 
are  going  home  to  their  farms ;'  adding  to  Carpenter  and  the  rest  of 
us  :  *  Pass  on !  pass  on  ! '  We  defiled  slowly  through  the  camp, 
forded  the  stream,  and  when  the  soldiers  were  a  mile  behind  us  pushed 
on  rapidly.  About  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  May  27  we  reached 
the  secluded  spot  on  Ottawa  Creek  which  Carpenter  had  indicated  to 
us  as  a  safe  place  for  camping.  In  the  midst  of  a  primeval  wood, 
perhaps  half  a  mile  deep  before  you  come  to  the  creek,  we  pitched 
our  camp  beside  a  huge  fallen  oak,  and  tethered  our  horses  in  the  un 
derwood.  Old  Brown  inspected  the  region,  and  set  guards  j  Carpenter 
brought  corn  for  the  horses  and  coarse  flour  for  ourselves,  and  then 
Brown  began  to  get  breakfast." 

In  this  secure  retreat  they  remained  until  June  1,  when 
they  set  forth  to  find  the  enemy,  whom  they  defeated  at 
Black  Jack ;  and  it  was  here  that  James  Redpath  on  May 
30,  and  Colonel  Sunnier  on  June  5,  visited  Brown.  Red- 
path  was  at  that  time  a  Kansas  correspondent  of  the 
"New  York  Tribune"  and  other  Eastern  newspapers,  and 
was  spending  a  few  days  near  Prairie  City  to  watch  the 
movements  of  the  Missourians  and  the  dragoons,  and,  if 
possible,  to  give  some  aid  to  the  Free-State  men.  His 
horse  had  been  stolen  in  Palmyra  by  one  of  the  Border 
Ruffians,  and  he  was  arrested  himself  the  next  day  on 
suspicion  of  stealing  dragoon  horses,  but  soon  discharged. 
While  looking  about  on  Friday  for  an  old  preacher  who 
lived  near  Ottawa  Creek,  and  who  was  to  carry  his  New 
York  letter  for  mailing  to  Kansas  City,  some  twenty  miles 
off,  the  lively  newspaper  correspondent  stumbled  upon  the 
hiding-place  of  John  Brown,  whom  he  then  saw  for  the  first 
time.  Redpath's  description  of  the  adventure,  somewhat 
abridged,  is  this :  — 

u  The  creeks  of  Kansas  are  all  fringed  with  wood.  I  lost  my  way, 
or  got  off  the  path  that  crosses  Ottawa  Creek,  when  suddenly,  thirty 
paces  before  me,  I  saw  a  wild-looking  man,  of  fine  proportions,  with 
pistols  of  various  sizes  stuck  in  his  belt,  and  a  large  Arkansas  bowie- 
knife  prominent  among  them.  His  head  was  uncovered  ]  his  hair 
was  uncombed ;  his  face  had  not  been  shaven  for  many  months.  We 
were  similarly  dressed,  —  with  red-topped  boots  worn  over  the  pan- 


1856.1  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE  CONTINUED.  295 

taloons,  a  coarse  blue  shirt,  and  a  pistol-belt.     This  was  the  usual 
fashion  of  the  times. 

"  '  Hello  ! '  he  cried,  l  you  're  in  our  camp  ! ' 

"  He  had  nothing  in  his  right  hand,  —  he  carried  a  water-pail  in  his 
left ;  but  before  he  could  speak  again  I  had  drawn  and  cocked  my 
eight-inch  Colt.  I  only  answered  in  emphatic  tones  :  l  Halt !  or  I  '11 
fire  ! '  He  stopped,  and  said  that  he  knew  me  j  that  he  had  seen  me 
in  Lawrence,  and  that  I  was  true;  that  he  was  Frederick  Brown, 
the  son  of  old  John  Brown  j  and  that  I  was  now  within  the  limits  of 
their  camp.  After  a  parley  of  a  few  minutes  I  was  satisfied  that  I 
was  among  my  friends,  shook  hands  with  Frederick,  and  put  up  my 
pistol.  He  talked  wildly  as  he  walked  before  me,  turning  round 
every  minute  as  he  spoke  of  the  then  recent  affair  of  Pottawatomie. ' 
His  family,  he  said,  had  been  accused  of  it  f  he  denied  it  indignantly, 
with  the  wild  air  of  a  maniac.  His  excitement  was  so  great  that  he 
repeatedly  recrossed  the  creek,  until,  getting  anxious  to  reach  the 
camp,  I  refused  to  listen  to  him  until  he  took  me  to  his  father.  He 
then  quietly  filled  his  pail  with  water,  and  after  many  strange  turnings 
led  me  into  camp.  As  we  approached  it  we  were  twice  challenged 
by  sentries,  who  suddenly  appeared  before  trees,  and  as  suddenly 
disappeared  behind  them. 

"  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  scene  that  here  opened  to  my  view. 
Near  the  edge  of  the  creek  a  dozen  horses  were  tied,  all  ready  sad 
dled  for  a  ride  for  life,  or  a  hunt  after  Southern  invaders.  A  dozen 
rifles  and  sabres  were  stacked  against  the  trees.  In  an  open  space, 
amid  the  shady  and  lofty  woods,  there  was  a  great  blazing  fire  with 
a  pot  on  it ;  three  or  four  armed  men  were  lying  on  red  and  blue 
blankets  on  the  grass  j  and  two  fine-looking  youths  were  standing, 
leaning  on  their  arms,  near  by.  One  of  them  was  the  youngest  son 
of  old  Brown,  and  the  other  was  *  Charley,'  the  brave  Hungarian, 
who  was  subsequently  murdered  at  Osawatomie.  Old  Brown  himself 
stood  near  the  fire,  with  his  shirt-sleeves  rolled  up,  and  a  large  fork 
in  his  hand.  He  was  cooking  a  pig.  He  was  poorly  clad,  and  his 
toes  protruded  from  his  boots.  The  old  man  received  me  with  great 
cordiality,  and  the  little  band  gathered  about  me.  But  it  was  only 
for  a  moment,  for  the  Captain  ordered  them  to  renew  their  work. 
He  respectfully  but  firmly  forbade  conversation  on  the  Pottawatomie 
affair ;  and  said  that  if  I  desired  any  information  from  the  company 
in  relation  to  their  conduct  or  intentions,  he  as  their  captain  would 
answer  for  them  whatever  it  was  proper  to  communicate.  In  this 
camp  no  manner  of  profane  language  was  permitted  ;  no  man  of  im 
moral  character  was  allowed  to  stay,  except  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 

"  .  .  .  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  old  man  said  to  me :  '  I  would 
rather  have  the  small-pox,  yellow  fever,  and  cholera  all  together  in 


296  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

my  camp,  than  a  man  without  principles.  It's  a  mistake,  sir/  he 
continued,  '  that  our  people  make,  when  they  think  that  bullies  are 
the  best  fighters,  or  that  they  are  the  men  fit  to  oppose  these  South 
erners.  Give  me  men  of  good  principles ;  God-fearing  men  j  men 
who  respect  themselves,  —  and  with  .a  dozen  of  them,  I  will  op 
pose  any  hundred  such  men  as  these  Buford  ruffians.'  I  remained 
in  the  camp  about  an  hour.  Never  before  had  I  met  such  a  band 
of  men.  They  were  not  earnest,  but  earnestness  incarnate.  Six  of 
them  were  John  Brown's  sons." l 

Bondi  remembers  this  adventure  of  Kedpath,  and  relates 
some  other  conversation  that  then  took  place.  Their  chance 
visitor  told  them  it  looked  well  for  their  neighbors  that  in 
spite  of  the  great  rewards  already  offered  for  their  arrest, 
no  traitor  had  been  found  to  pilot  the  enemy  to  that  camp, 
although  many  in  the  neighborhood  had  by  that  time  come 
to  know  where  it  was.  He  told  them  further  that  on  their 
perseverance  might  depend  the  success  of  the  good  cause 
iu  Kansas  ;  that  when  he  should  go  back  to  Lawrence  he 
would  try  to  have  the  Lawrence  "  Stubs/'  a  small  military 
company,  join  them  ;  and  meantime  hoped  they  would  not 
forsake  Douglas  County,  as  Brown  had  threatened  to  do, 
unless  the  settlers  took  up  arms  to  aid  him  in  his  warfare. 
The  cheerful  counsel  of  the  young  correspondent  encouraged 
them,  and,  as  Bondi  says,  "  they  felt  as  if  they  were  the  ex 
treme  outpost  of  the  free  North  in  Kansas."  Doubtless 
they  were  ;  and  with  prophetic  insight  Brown  said  that  day, 
"  We  shall  stay  here,  young  man ;  we  will  not  disappoint 
the  hopes  of  our  friends."  2 

"  Charley,  the  brave  Hungarian,"  of  whom  Kedpath 
speaks,  was  Charles  Kaiser,  a  Bavarian,  who  had  settled 

1  In  fact,  there  were  but  four  of  Brown's  sons  here,  and  his  son-in-law 
Thompson.  In  some  other  points  the  account  is  exaggerated ;  but  in  the 
main  it  gives  a  true  picture  of  the  scene,  as  remembered  by  Bondi,  Owen 
Brown,  and  others.  At  this  time  John  and  Jason  Brown  were  prisoners, 
on  their  way  to  Lecompton.  Jason  was  soon  discharged  ;  but  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  remained  at  Lecompton  until  September  10,  when  he  was  released  on 
bail  and  went  to  Lawrence. 

r  2  According  to  Bondi,  Brown  had  suggested,  a  day  or  two  before,  that 
if  they  had  to  leave  Kansas  on  account  of  the  cowardice  or  indifference  of 
their  friends,  they  might  go  to  Louisiana  and  head  an  uprising  of  the  slaves 
there,  to  make  a  diversion  in  favor  of  Kansas. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  297 

in  Hungary  when  young,  and  in  1849  had  served  in  the 
Hungarian  revolutionary  army* as  a  hussar.  His  face,  says 
Bondi,  was  marked  with  lance  and  sabre-cuts ;  and  he  had 
a  taste  for  war.  He  was  living  on  a  claim  three  or  four 
miles  from  this  camp,  and  had  made  the  acquaintance  of 
Brown  in  the  "  Wakarusa  war  "  the  winter  before.  Recog 
nizing  in  Bondi  and  Wiener  fellow-countrymen  of  the 
same  political  opinions,  he  became  intimate  with  them  as 
soon  as  he  joined  Brown's  company  on  the  28th  of  May. 
The  same  day  they  had  been  joined  by  Ben  Cochrane,  a 
member  of  the  Pottawatomie  Rifles,  and  a  neighbor  of 
Bondi  and  Wiener,  who  told  them  how  their  houses  had 
been  burned,  their  cattle  driven  off,  and  their  goods  plun 
dered  a  day  or  two  before ;  while  the  United  States  dra 
goon  officer  refused  to  interfere  on  behalf  of  the  settlers 
on  the  Pottawatomie,  saying,  "  I  have  no  orders."  Bondi 
goes  on  to  say  :  — 

i 

"  The  next  day  (May  29),  Captain  Shore,  of  the  Prairie  City  Rifles, 
and  Dr.  Wcstfall,  a  neighbor  of  Carpenter,  came  to  our  camp  and 
told  us  that  many  horses  and  other  property  had  heen  stolen  near  Wil 
low  Springs,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  distant.  They  asked  Brown  '  what 
he  calculated  to  do  ?  '  Brown  replied,  '  Captain  Shore,  how  many 
men  can  you  furnish  me  f  Shore  answered  that  his  men  were  just 
now  very  unwilling  to  leave  home;  to  which  Brown  said,  '  Why  did 
you  send  Carpenter  after  us  ?  I  am  not  willing  to  sacrifice  my 
men,  without  having  some  hope  of  accomplishing  something.'  That 
evening  (May  29)  Shore  visited  us  again,  and  brought  some  flour, 
of  which  we  had  great  need,  as  a  present.  Brown  then  said  to  him 
that  if  his  neighbors  did  not  soon  take  the  offensive,  he  should  cer 
tainly  be  compelled  to  leave  that  region,  for  the  Missourians  would 
sooner  or  later  find  out  our  hiding-place.  Captain  Shore  asked  him 
to  delay  his  departure  a  few  days,  saying  that  he  knew  the  Missou 
rians  suspected  we  were  in  ambush  somewhere  near  Prairie  City,  and  - 
that  nothing  save  the  fear  of  us  had  protected  this  neighborhood  so  F 
long  against  attack  and  pillage  ;  but  should  Shannon's  militia  find 
out  that  we  were  away,  it  would  be  all  over  with  the  Free-State 
men.  Brown  gave  him  till  next  Sunday  to  gather  the  settlers,  so  that 
with  combined  forces  we  might  hunt  for  the  militia  and  offer  them 
battle  wherever  we  might  find  them;  Shore  promised  to  do  his  best, 
and  so  the  matter  stood  when  Redpath  visited  us.  The  day  after  his 
visit  (May  31)  Shore  came  to  tell  us  that  a  large  band  of  Shannon's 


298  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

militia  were  encamped  on  the  Santa  Fe  road,  by  Black  Jack  Spring, 
and  at  ten  o'clock  p.  M.  returned  with  Carpenter  and  Mewhinney 
bringing  serious  news.  They  said  that  three  men  from  the  Black 
Jack  camp  had  attacked  a  block  house  in  Palmyra,  three  miles  from 
Prairie  City,  where  several.neighbors'  families  were  visiting ;  that  the 
seven  Free-State  men  there,  though  well  armed,  had,  upon  a  simple 
demand,  given  up  to  the  three  Missouriaus  three  rifles,  three  revolv 
ers,  and  five  double-barrelled  guns.  Such  a  disgrace,  our  visitors 
thought,  could  not  be  endured  patiently  ;  and  Shore  said  he  had 
sent  word  to  all  the  settlers  to  muster  at  Prairie  City  by  ten  the  next 
morning  (Sunday),  where  he  would  expect  us  with  our  arms  and 
horses.  Captain  Brown  grasped  his  hand  and  said,  *  We  will  be 
with  you  ! '  and  our  friends  departed  about  midnight.  The  next  morn 
ing  Brown  had  breakfast  earlier  than  common,  and  when  Carpenter 
came  back  about  nine  o'clock,  to  escort  us  to  Prairie  City,  we  were 
ready  to  start.  Carpenter,  Kaiser,  and  Tovvnsley  assisted  Wiener 
to  empty  his  bottle.  Captain  Brown  called  out,  '  Ready,  Forward, 
March ! '  and  we  were  on  the  road  towards  the  enemy.  Our  appear 
ance  was  indescribable.  Except  Kaiser,  none  of  us  had  proper 
attire  j  for  our  clothes  readily  showed  the  effects  of  bush-whacking, 
continued  for  the  last  eight  days;  we  had  come  down  to  wearing 
ideas,  suspicions,  and  memories  of  what  had  once  been  boots  and 
hats.  Still  in  the  best  of  spirits,  and  with  our  appetite  still  better, 
just  whetted  by  our  scant  breakfast,  we  followed  Captain  Brown,  — 
he  alone  remaining  serious,  and  riding  silent  at  our  front."  1 

Prairie  City  is  half-way  between  Lawrence  and  Osa- 
watomie,  and  near  by  is  Hickory  Point,  where  Dow  was 
murdered  by  Coleman.  Pate  had  been  encamped  a  day  or 
two  among  the  "  black-jack  oaks,"  which  gave  an  uncouth 
name  to  the  stream,  and  though  Brown's  force  was  much 
the  smaller,  —  only  twenty-eight  men  including  Brown  him 
self,  —  he  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  at  once.  The  day  was 
Sunday,  and  Brown  had  attended  a  prayer-meeting  at  Prairie 
City ;  while  there,  three  men  who  had  been  at  the  sack  of 
Lawrence  rode  by  and  unconsciously  disclosed  Pate's  where 
abouts.  Brown  set  out  that  night,  and  at  four  o'clock  the 
next  morning  reached  a  patch  of  black  oaks  on  a  slope  to- 

1  I  have  abridged  this  account  from  the  letters  of  Bondi,  printed  both 
in  German  and  English  in  the  Kansas  newspapers  of  1883-84.  Occasion 
ally  the  English  version  varies  from  the  German,  and  I  follow  the  latter  in 
preference.  Prairie  City  is  about  five  miles  southwest  of  Black  Jack. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  299 

wards  the  north  near  Pate's  camp,  but  away  from  the  water. 
Leaving  the  horses  there  in  the  charge  of  his  son  Fred,  he 
inarched  his  other  twenty-six  men  in  double  file  until  he 
came  within  reach  of  the  enemy's  fire,  and  still  pushed  for 
ward  under  fire  until  lie  gained  a  place  of  shelter  in  sight 
of  Pate's  tents,  but  screened  by  the  slope  of  land,  where  he 
took  position  in  a  ravine  ten  feet  deep.  The  firing  began  a 
little  after  six  A.  M.,  and  lasted  until  one  or  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  During  this  time  many  of  the  men  on  both 
sides  deserted ;  but  Captain  Brown  crept  round  on  his  hands 
and  knees  behind  the  ridge,  and  persuaded  some  of  the  de 
serters  to  fire  on  the  horses  of  the  enemy.  At  this  point 
Fred  Brown  (who  "  was  a  little  flighty,"  as  his  brother 
Owen  says)  came  riding  up  on  Ned  Scarlet,  Owen's  colt, 
waving  his  sword,  and  shouting,  "  Hurrah  !  come  on,  boys  ! 
we  've  got  'em  surrounded ;  we  've  cut  off  all  communica 
tion."  He  could  be  heard  a  long  way  off ;  and  his  great  size 
and  odd  gestures  alarmed  the  enemy.  He  was  shot  at,  but 
not  hit,  and  the  firing  upon  Pate's  horses  was  kept  up  by  the 
stragglers.  Alarmed  at  all  this,  Captain  Pate  tied  a  white 
handkerchief  on  a  ramrod  as  a  flag  of  truce,  and  with  that 
came  forward  to  meet  Captain  Brown,  who  was  returning 
from  his  successful  ruse.1  He  first  met  Owen  Brown,  who 
commanded  in  his  father's  absence,  to  whom  he  said,  "  We 
are  government  officers."  Owen  replied,  "You  are  just 
the  kind  of  government  officers  we  want  to  fight."  Cap 
tain  Brown  came  as  Pate  was  saying  that  he  was  an 
officer  acting  under  orders  of  the  United  States  Marshal 
of  Kansas,  and  that  he  supposed  they  did  not  intend  to 
fight  against  the  United  States.  He  was  going  on  in  this 

1  Owen  Brown  adds  (April,  1885)  :  "When  my  brother  Frederick  rode 
'  Ned  Scarlet '  entirely  around  where  the  fight  was  going  on,  he  was  not  so 
flighty  but  he  knew  well  what  he  was  doing  ;  he  made  a  dashing  appear 
ance,  brandished  his  sword,  and  shouted  so  loud  that  all  could  distinctly 
hear,  '  Come  on,  boys,  we  've  got  them  surrounded,  and  have  cut  off  their 
communications.'  At  this  very  time  Pate's  horses  and  mules  were  tum 
bling  down  pretty  lively,  and  within  five  or  eight  minutes  Pate  came  out 
with  his  white  handkerchief  tied  to  a  ramrod,  and  with  him  a  Free-State 
prisoner.  I  think  Fred's  riding  around  there  as  he  did,  happened  just  at 
the  right  time,  and  had  a  most  excellent  effect."  Like  all  the  witnesses, 
Owen  praises  the  courage  of  Captain  Shore. 


300  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856 

way  when  Brown  stopped  him  by  saying,  "  I  understand 
exactly  what  you  are,  and  do  not  wish  to  hear  any  more 
about  it.  Have  you  any  proposition  to  make  me  ?  "  There 
being  no  definite  answer  to  this  query,  Brown  continued, 
11  Very  well ;  I  have  one  to  make  to  you  :  you  must  sur 
render  unconditionally."  Then,  taking  his  pistol  in  hand, 
Brown  returned  with  Captain  Pate  to  the  enemy's  line, 
leading  with  him  eight  of  his  own  men,  and  among  them 
Owen  Brown,  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  one-and-twenty 
men  who  were  left  under  Pate's  orders.  As  they  drew  near 
the  line,  where  Pate's  lieutenant  Brockett  was  in  command, 
Brown  called  upon  him  also  to  surrender.  He  hesitated;  and 
Captain  Pate,  to  whom  Brown  turned  requesting  that  he 
should  order  his  lieutenant  to  yield,  also  hesitated,  seeing 
the  great  apparent  superiority  of  his  force  over  Brown's. 
Quick  as  thought,  Brown  placed  his  pistol  at  Pate's  head, 
and  cried  in  a  terrible  voice,  "  Give  the  order  !  "  The  Vir 
ginian  yielded,  and  bade  his  men  lay  down  their  arms,  which 
they  sullenly  did.  Brown's  force  of  eight  unwounded  men 
then  took  the  guns  and  other  arms  of  the  discomfited  party, 
threw  them  into  wagons,  and  marched  off  the  twenty  odd 
prisoners  to  their  own  position.  Here  a  treaty  or  agree 
ment  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  John  Brown  and  Captain 
Shore  on  one  side,  and  Captain  Pate  and  Lieutenant  Brockett 
on  the  other. 

This  agreement  (or  rather  Pate's  copy  of  it)  seems  to  have 
been  folded  as  a  letter,  and  indorsed  or  addressed  on  the  back 
as  follows  :  "  United  States  Marshal  Hays,  Colonel  Coffey, 
General  Heiskell,  or  Judge  Cato,  or  friends  at  Baptiste  Pa- 
ola,  K.  T."  These  were  the  persons  into  whose  hands  Pate 
and  Brockett  hoped  the  paper  would  fall ;  and  it  did  appar 
ently  reach  William  A.  Heiskell,  of  Paola,  one  of  the  persons 
named,  whose  widow  a  few  years  since  sent  it  to  the  Kansas 
Historical  Society.1  The  agreement  was  not  carried  out,  for 

1  Two  copies  of  this  agreement  were  made,  one  of  which  Brown  kept, 
and  it  was  sent  by  his  widow,  long  after  his  death,  to  the  Kansas  Historical 
Society  at  Topeka,  where  it  has  been  for  six  or  eight  years.  Sometime 
after  this,  the  duplicate,  which  had  been  retained  by  Pate,  was  also  sent 
to  the  librarian  of  the  Historical  Society,  Mr.  F.  G.  Adams  ;  and  now 
the  two  papers,  torn  and  faded,  but  still  legible,  are  exhibited  side  by 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  301 

a  knowledge  of  the  capture  of  Pate  (communicated  to  his 
friends  perhaps  by  this  very  paper,  sent  to  Paola)  brought 
from  Missouri  a  large  force  under  General  Whittield  to  res 
cue  him.  Brown  also  was  presently  largely  reinforced  ;  and 
a  sanguinary  battle  seemed  imminent.  But  on  the  5th  of 
June  Colonel  Sumner  appeared  with  a  force  of  United 
States  troops  and  summoned  Captain  Brown  to  an  inter 
view,  which  resulted  in  his  prisoners  being  set  at  liberty. 
It  is  said  that  Pate  was  at  the  sacking  of  Osawatomie  two 
days  afterward,  while  John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  not  liberated 
till  the  10th  of  September  following. 

Brown's  report  of  his  men  after  the  fight,  made  to  a  com 
mittee  at  Lawrence,  was  much  the  same  as  the  list  already 
given  :  — 

(On  the  face  of  the  sheet.) 

List  of  names  of  men  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Palmyra  or  Black 
Jack  ;  also  of  eight  volunteers  who  maintained  their  position  during 
that  fight,  and  to  whom  the  surrender  was  made  June  2d,  1856. 

Herfry Thompson,   }  wounded  M1y>  Thompson  dangerously. 

Mr.  Parmely,  wounded  slightly  in  nose,  also  in  arm  so  that  he  had 

to  leave  the  ground. 
Charles  Keiser. 
Elizur  Hill. 
Wm.  David. 
Hugh  Mewhinney. 

Mr.  Coohran,  of  Pottawatomie  (B.  L.). 
Owen  Brown. 
Salmon  Brown,  accidentally  wounded  after  the  fight,  and  liable  to 

remain  a  cripple. 
Oliver  Brown. 

(Names  of  all  who  either  fought  or  guarded  the  horses  during  the 
fight  at  Palmyra,  June  2d,  1856,  will  be  found  on  other  side.) 

Respectfully  submitted  by  JOHN  BROWN. 

Messrs.  WHITMAN,  ELDRIGE,  and  others. 

side  in  Mr.  Adams's  invaluable  collection.  The  copy  printed  on  page 
240  was  obtained  by  Mr.  Robinson,  of  Paola,  from  Mrs.  Heiskell  of  the 
same  town,  which  in  the  address  is  termed  "  Baptiste  Paola."  The  form 
of  the  agreement  and  the  order  of  signatures  proves  that  Captain  Brown 
and  not  Captain  Shore  was  the  real  leader  at  Black  Jack,  —  a  fact  which 
some  have  questioned. 


302  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

(On  the  back  of  the  sheet.) 

List  of  volunteers,  either  engaged  or  guarding  horses  during  the  fight 
at  Palmyra  or  Black  Jack,  June  2d,  ]  856. 

Saml.  T.  Shore,  Captain.  0.  A.  Carpenter,  badly  wounded. 

Silas  More.  Augustus  Shore. 

David  Hendricks,  Horse  Guard.  Mr.  Townsley,  of  Pottawatomie. 

Hiram  McAllister.  Win.  B.  Hayden. 

Mr.  Parmely,  wounded.  John  Mewhinney. 

Silvester  Harris.  Montgomery  Shore. 

Elkanah  Timmons.  Henry  Thompson,  dangerously 

T.  Werner.  wounded. 

A.  Bondy.  Elias  Basinger. 

Hugh  Mewhinney.  Owen  Brown. 

Charles  Reiser.  Fred'k  Brown,  Horse  Guard. 

Elizur  Hill.  Salmon    Brown,    wounded    & 

Win.  David.  crippled. 

Mr.  Cochran,  of  Pottawatomie.  Oliver  Brown. 

(this  blank  to  be  filled). 

(Signed)  JOHN  BROWN. 

(Indorsed  in  Brown's  handwriting,  "  List  of  Volunteers,  etc.,  at 
Black  Jack.") 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Brown  omits  his  own  name  in 
these  lists,  except  as  signed  to  the  report ;  and  also  that  he 
puts  Captain  Shore  first,  as  being  next  himself  in  rank. 
Apparently  the  fight  would  not  have  ended  with  the  capture 
of  Pate  and  his  men  had  it  not  been  for  the  daring  of  Brown 
and  his  sons,  who  were  the  true  heroes  of  the  day ;  although 
others  did  well.  These  sons  were  all  worthy  of  their  father ; 
they  knew  as  little  how  to  give  way  or  to  fear  odds  as  he 
did.  Owen  Brown  once  said  to  me  of  his  brothers,  "  I  never 
could  discover  the  least  sign  of  cowardice  about  those  boys  ; " 
and  to  another  person  he  said,  "None  of  us  ever  made  much 
pretension  to  being  scared." 

Mrs.  Robinson,  wife  of  the  nominal  Free-State  governor 
of  Kansas,  whose  husband  had  been  under  arrest  for  some 
weeks  when  the  fight  at  Black  Jack  occurred,  returned  to 
Kansas  from  Massachusetts  two  days  after  this  fight,  and 
about  ten  days  after  the  Pottawatomie  executions.  She 
came  up  the  Missouri  River  from  St.  Louis  by  steamboat, 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  303 

and  reached  Kansas  City,  on  the  Missouri  side  of  the 
Kansas  border,  at  midnight  of  June  3,  1856.  She  says 
in  her  book:  — 

"  The  last  day  or  two  of  the  trip  on  the  Missouri  River  rumors  of 
war  became  more  frequent.  Inflammatory  extras  were  thrown  upon 
the  boats  at  different  landings.  People  at  Lexington  and  other 
points  along  the  river  were  much  excited  and  preparing  for  a  new 
invasion.  The  extras  stated  the  murder  of  eight  proslavery  men  by 
the  Abolitionists  and  the  cruel  mutilation  of  their  bodies,  the  death 
of  the  United  States  Marshal,  of  H.  C.  Pate,  and  J.  McGee.  Deeds 
of  blood  and  violence,  of  which  they  were  hourly  guilty,  were  charged 
upon  the  Free-State  men.  The  following  is  a  sample  of  the  incen 
diary  extras  which  flew  through  the  border  counties :  '  Murder  is 
the  watchword  and  midnight  deed  of  a  scattered  and  scouting  band  of 
Abolitionists,  who  had  courage  only  to  fly  from  the  face  of  a  wronged 
and  insulted  people  when  met  at  their  own  solicitation.  Men,  peace 
able  and  quiet,  cannot  travel  on  the  public  roads  of  Kansas  without 
being  caught,  searched,  imprisoned,  and  their  lives  perhaps  taken. 
No  Southerner  dare  venture  alone  and  unarmed  on  her  roads ! ? ' 

Concerning  the  fight  at  Black  Jack,  Mrs.  Kobinson  says : 

"  After  a  two  hours'  fire  Pate  sent  forward  one  of  his  men  with  a 
prisoner  and  a  white  flag,  and  surrendered  unconditionally.  A  few  of 
his  company  fled  into  Missouri ;  among  them  was  Coleman  the  mur 
derer.  Twenty-six  men  were  taken  prisoners  by  Captain  Brown,  and 
a  quantity  of  goods  stolen  from  Lawrence  was  found  in  their  wagons. 
The  delegate  to  Congress,  Whitfleld  (a  proslavery  man),  left  his  seat 
before  the  Congressional  Investigating  Committee,  June  2,  at  the 
head  of  a  large  body  of  armed  men,  his  stated  object  being  to  relieve 
Pate.  While  Governor  Shannon  in  every  instance  has  stationed 
troops  in  a  town  after  it  has  been  sacked,  he  now  saw  the  Free- State 
men  rallying  to  protect  themselves,  and  feared  the  slave-power  would 
lose  the  ground  gained  through  his  servility.  He  heard,  too,  of  aid 
coming  from  out  of  Kansas,  and  issued  a  proclamation  on  the  4th, 
'  commanding  all  persons  belonging  to  military  companies  unau 
thorized  by  law,  to  disperse,  otherwise  they  would  be  dispersed  by 
the  United  States  troops.'  The  President's  proclamation  of  Febru 
ary  11  was  appended,  and  Governor  Shannon  stated  that  it  would 
be  strictly  enforced.  A  requisition  was  also  made  upon  Colonel 
Sumner  for  a  force  sufficient  to  compel  obedience  to  the  proclama 
tion.  On  the  5th  of  June  Colonel  Sumner  broke  in  upon  the  Free- 
State  camp  and  released  Captain  Pate  and  his  fellow-prisoners. 


304  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Colonel  Sumner  ordered  the  Free-State  men  to  return  quietly  to 
their  homes;  and  then,  turning  to  Pate,  said :  '  What  business  have 
you  here  ? ' 

"  *  I  am  here  by  orders  of  Governor  Shannon.' 

"  1 1  saw  Governor  Shannon  yesterday,  and  your  case  was  specially 
considered ;  and  he  asserted  you  were  not  here  by  his  orders.'  He 
then  added :  i  You  are  Missourians,  all  of  you,  and  when  you  crossed 
your  State  line  you  trampled  on  State  sovereignty.  Now,  go,  sir, 
in  the  direction  whence  you  came ; '  and  as  he  closed  his  remarks 
Colonel  Sumner  waved  his  hand  for  Pate  and  his  party  to  leave.  So 
the  brave  Pate  returned  to  Westport1  and  Kansas  City.  He  ac 
knowledged  the  bravery  of  Brown,  for  he  said  Captain  Brown  rode 
about  them  sword  in  hand  and  commanded  a  surrender,  and  they 
were  obliged  to  make  it.  He  spoke  well  of  them  in  their  treatment 
of  him  while  a  prisoner." 

The  victory  of  Brown  at  Black  Jack  roused  the  proslavery 
men  in  Missouri  and  in  Kansas  to  new  fury,  while  it  stimu 
lated  the  freemen  of  Kansas  to  new  efforts.  Both  parties 
mustered  in  large  force  near  Palmyra ;  and  on  the  5th  of 
June  a  battle  seemed  unavoidable,  until  Colonel  Sumner,  as 
Mrs.  Robinson  mentions,  came  down  with  a  force  of  United 
States  cavalry  and  put  a  stop  to  hostilities.  He  also  sent 
for  Captain  Brown,  as  soon  as  he  heard  where  he  was,  desir- 

1  The  title  of  this  unfortunate  Captain  Pate,  who  was  an  editor  in 
"Westport,  was  derived  from  his  commanding  the  Westport  Sharpshoot 
ers,  —  a  Border  Ruffian  company,  which  seems  to  have  emulated  the  repu 
tation  of  the  Kickapoo  Rangers.  With  his  command  he  had  obeyed  the 
war  proclamation  of  Governor  Shannon,  been  mustered  in  as  a  part  of 
the  Kansas  militia,  though  living  in  Missouri,  and  in  that  capacity  had 
escorted  Gains  Jenkins  and  George  W.  Brown,  two  of  the  Lawrence  men 
arrested  for  treason,  from  Westport  to  a  point  near  Lecompton,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  19th  of  May.  He  was  present,  taking  part 
with  his  command,  at  the  sacking  of  Lawrence  ;  after  which  he  visited 
Lecompton,  where  he  learned  on  the  evening  of  the  25th  of  the  executions 
on  the  Pottawatomie.  As  a  United  States  deputy  marshal  he  resolved  to 
arrest  John  Brown  and  his  party  wherever  found.  "  Without  following 
his  steps  in  detail  to  Palmyra  and  Prairie  City,  and  noting  the  outrages 
which  Pate  perpetrated  at  these  places  and  in  their  vicinity,  —  enough  to 
cover  his  name  with  infamy,"  says  an  enemy  of  Brown,  —  "the  two  men 
came  in  contact  at  a  place  on  the  Santa  Fe  road  known  as  Black  Jack." 
What  resulted  from  that  contact  we  know  ;  the  would-be  captor  was  him 
self  captured,  held  a  prisoner  for  three  days  by  Brown,  and  then  released 
by  the  United  States,  only  to  engage  again  in  the  same  career. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  305 

ing  an  interview.  Brown  left  his  intrenched  camp  on  the 
Ottawa  and  went  into  the  camp  of  Colonel  Sumner,  who  at 
once  visited  Brown's  camp  and  came  to  terms  with  him, 
bidding  him  release  his  prisoners,  but  making  no  attempt  to 
arrest  or  punish  him,1  except  to  ask  the  civil  officer  who 
accompanied  him  if  he  had  not  some  warrants  to  serve. 
The  officer  declared  that  he  saw  no  one  whom  he  wished 
to  arrest;  and  Brown  with  his  men,  though  charged  with 
murder  at  the  Pottawatomie,  as  well  as  with  treason  and 
conspiracy  against  the  Territorial  laws,  was  allowed  to  go 
forth  unpunished  and  without  being  disarmed.  Captain 
Pate  and  his  men  were  chided  by  Colonel  Su inner,  as  Mrs. 
Bobinson'Says;  but  their  horses,  arms,  etc.,  were  restored 
to  them,  even  though  their  guns  might  have  been  stolen 
from  the  national  arsenal  in  Missouri,  as  was  done  a  few 
months  before.  Brown  felt  and  complained  of  this  injus 
tice,  but  to  no  avail.  He  and  his  little  band  dispersed  at 
Colonel  Sumner's  command;  but  they  soon  came  together 
again,  and  kept  up  their  organization  during  the  whole 
summer. 

John  Brown  himself  was  near  Topeka,  July  4,  when  the 
proslavery  usurpers  in  Kansas  had  determined  to  disperse 

1  All  this  is  concisely  described  by  John  Brown  in  his  letter  of  June, 
printed  in  a  former  chapter.  The  account  by  Mrs.  Robinson  varies  in 
some  points  from  that  of  Brown  ;  but  in  such  variations  Brown  is  almost 
always  correct.  The  dispersal  of  the  Free-State  legislature  at  Topeka  by 
Colonel  Suinner,  July  4,  is  described  by  William  A.  Phillips  in  the  "  Atlan 
tic  Monthly"  for  1879,  who  brings  in  Brown  as  present  and  advising  resist 
ance,  even  to  Federal  authority.  It  is  doubtless  true  that  Brown  did  more 
than  once,  while  in  Kansas,  declare  that  the  Federal  troops  might  properly 
be  resisted  when  they  upheld  the  usurping  rulers  of  the  Territory  ;  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  he  ever  sought  to  attack  them.  He  did  finally 
attack  an  arsenal  of  the  United  States  in  Virginia  ;  but  that  was  when  he 
had  fully  proved  the  complicity  of  the  national  Government  in  every  evil 
design  of  the  slave-power.  The  Government  which  he  would  have  resisted 
in  Kansas  had  Jefferson  Davis  for  one  of  its  ministers  ;  and  the  cabinet 
officer  controlling  the  arsenal  at  Harper's  Ferry  was  Floyd,  who  afterward 
put  government  arms  into  the  hands  of  rebels,  and  led  a  division  himself. 
I^In  fact,  the  Federal  authority  from  1856  to  1861  was  but  a  mask  for  the 
slave  oligarchy.  Colonel  Phillips  commanded  a  regiment  of  Indians  dur 
ing  the  Civil  War,  then  served  in  Congress,  and  now  lives  at  Washington. 
I  have  condensed  a  little  his  "  Atlantic  "  paper. 

20 


306  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

the  Free-State  legislature,  which  had  adjourned  to  meet 
there  on  that  day.  Mr.  W.  A.  Phillips  has  given  some  in 
teresting  details  of  this  period.  He  met  Brown  at  Law 
rence,  July  2,  and  rode  with  his  party  from  Mount  Oread, 
where  the  Kansas  University  now  stands,  along  the  Cali 
fornia  road,  by  Coon  Point,  and  within  four  miles  of 
Lecompton,  the  proslavery  capital  (where  Brown's  son  was 
a  prisoner),  until  they  reached  Big  Springs.  Mr.  Phillips 
says  :  — 

tl  There  we  left  the  road,  going  in  a  southwesterly  direction  for  a 
mile,  when  we  halted  on  a  hill,  and  the  horses  were  stripped  of  their 
saddles,  and  picketed  out  to  graze.  The  grass  was  wet  with  dew. 
The  men  ate  of  what  provision  they  had  with  them,  and  I  received  a 
portion  from  the  captain,  —  dry  beef  (which  was  not  so  bad),  and 
bread  made  from  corn  bruised  between  stones,  then  rolled  in  balls  and 
cooked  in  the  ashes  of  the  camp  fire.  Captain  Brown  observed  that 
I  nibbled  it  very  gingerly,  and  said,  1 1  am  afraid  you  will  be  hardly 
able  to  eat  a  soldier's  harsh  fare.' 

tl  We  next  placed  our  two  saddles  together,  so  that  our  heads  lay 
only  a  few  feet  apart.  Brown  spread  his  blanket  on  the  wet  grass, 
and,  when  we  lay  together  upon  it,  mine  was  spread  over  us.  It 
was  past  eleven  o'clock,  and  we  lay  there  until  two  in  the  morning, 
but  we  slept  none.  He  seemed  to  be  as  little  disposed  to  sleep  as  I 
was,  and  we  talked  ;  or  rather  he  did,  for  I  said  little.  I  found  that 
he  was  a  thorough  astronomer ;  he  pointed  out  the  different  constel 
lations  and  their  movements.  '  Now,'  he  said,  t  it  is  midnight,'  as 
he  pointed  to  the  finger-marks  of  his  great  clock  in  the  sky.  The 
whispering  of  the  wind  on  the  prairie  was  full  of  voices  to  him, 
and  the  stars  as  they  shone  in  the  firmament  of  God  seemed  to 
inspire  him.  t  How  admirable  is  the  symmetry  of  the  heavens  ; 
how  grand  and  beautiful !  Everything  moves  in  sublime  harmony  in 
the  government  of  God.  Not  so  with  us  poor  creatures.  If  one 
star  is  more  brilliant  than  others,  it  is  continually  shooting  in  some 
erratic  way  into  space.' 

"  He  criticised  both  parties  in  Kansas.  Of  the  proslavery  men  he 
said  that  slavery  besotted  everything,  and  made  men  more  brutal  and 
coarse ;  nor  did  the  Free- State  men  escape  his  sharp  censure.  He 
said  that  we  had  many  noble  and  true  men,  but  too  many  broken- 
down  politicians  from  the  older  States,  who  would  rather  pass  reso 
lutions  than  act,  and  who  criticised  all  who  did  real  work.  A  profes 
sional  politician,  he  went  on,  you  never  could  trust ;  for  even  if  he  had 
convictions,  he  was  always  ready  to  sacrifice  his  principles  for  his 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  307 

advantage.1  One  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  his  conversa 
tion  that  night,  and  one  that  marked  him  as  a  theorist,  was  his  treat 
ment  of  our  forms  of  social  and  political  life.  He  thought  society 
ought  to  be  organized  on  a  less  selfish  basis  ;  for  while  material 
interests  gained  something  by  the  deification  of  pure  selfishness,  men 
and  women  lost  much  by  it.  He  said  that  all  great  reforms,  like  the 
Christian  religion,  were  based  on  broad,  generous,  self-sacrificing 
principles.  He  condemned  the  sale  of  land  as  a  chattel,  and  thought 
that  there  was  an  infinite  number  of  wrongs  to  right  before  society 
would  be  what  it  should  be,  but  that  in  our  country  slavery  was  the 
'  sum  of  all  villanies,'  and  its  abolition  the  first  essential  work.  If 
the  American  people  did  not  take  courage  and  end  it  speedily,  human 
freedom  and  republican  liberty  would  soon  be  empty  names  in  these 
United  States. 

u  He  ran  on  during  these  midnight  hours  in  a  conversation  I  can 
never  forget.  The  stars  grew  sharper  and  clearer,  and  seemed  to  be 
looking  down  like  watchers  on  that  sleeping  camp.  My  companion 
paused  for  a  short  time,  and  I  thought  he  was  going  to  sleep,  when 
he  said :  '  It  is  nearly  two  o'clock,  and  it  must  be  nine  or  ten  miles 
to  Topeka ;  it  is  time  we  were  marching,'  — and  he  again  drew  my 
attention  to  his  index  marks  in  the  sky.  He  rose  and  called  his  men, 
who  responded  with  alacrity.  In  less  than  ten  minutes  the  company 
had  saddled,  packed,  and  mounted,  and  was  again  on  the  march. 
He  declined  following  the  road  any  farther,  but  insisted  on  taking  a 
straight  course  over  the  country,  guided  by  the  stars.  It  was  in  vain 
that  I  expostulated  with  him,  and  told  him  that  three  or  four  creeks 
were  in  the  way,  and  the  country  rough  and  broken,  so  that  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  our  way  in  the  dark.  We  had  a  rough  time  of  it 
that  night,  and  day  broke  while  we  were  floundering  in  the  thickets 
of  a  creek-bottom  some  miles  from  Topeka.  As  soon  as  daylight 
came  and  we  could  see  our  way,  we  rode  more  rapidly  ;  but  the  sun 
had  risen  above  the  horizon  before  we  rode  down  the  slopes.  Across 
the  creek  and  nearly  two  miles  to  the  right  we  saw  the  tents,  and  in 
the  morning  stillness  could  hear  the  bugles  blow  in  Colonel  Stunner's 
camp.  Brown  would  not  go  into  Topeka,  but  halted  in  the  timber 
of  the  creek,  sending  one  of  his  men  with  me  as  a  messenger  to  bring 
him  word  when  his  company  was  needed.  He  had  his  horse  picketed, 
and  walked  down  by  the  side  of  my  horse  to  the  place  where  I  crossed 
the  creek.  He  sent  messages  to  one  or  two  gentlemen  in  town, 
and,  as  he  wrung  my  hand  at  parting,  urged  that  we  should  have 

1  In  a  later  conversation  with  Phillips,  speaking  of  a  Kansas  politician, 
he  took  out  his  pocket  compass,  uncovered  it,  and  said  :  "  You  see  that 
needle  :  it  wobbles  about,  and  is  mighty  unstead}r ;  but  it  wants  to  point  to 
the  North.  Is  your  friend  like  that  needle  ? " 


308  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

the  Legislature  meet,  resist  all  who  should  interfere  with  it,  and 
fight,  if  necessary,  .even  the  United  States  troops.  He  had  told  me 
the  night  before  of  his  visit  to  many  of  the  fortifications  in  Europe, 
and  criticised  them  sbarply,  holding  that  modern  warfare  did  away 
with  them,  and  that  a  well-armed  brave  soldier  was  the  best  fortifica 
tion.  He  criticised  all  the  arms  then  in  use,  and  showed  me  a  fine 
repeatiug-rifie  which  he  said  would  carry  eight  hundred  yards ;  but, 
he  added,  'the  way  to  fight  is  to  press  to  close  quarters.'" 

In  August  Brown  joined  the  forces  of  General  James_H. 
Lane  in  northern  Kansas,  having  first  carried  his  wounded 
son-in-law,  Henry  Thompson,  into  Iowa  to  be  taken  care  of. 
Eeturning  about  the  10th  of  August  with  General  Lane, 
he  proceeded  with  him  to  Lawrence  and  to  Franklin,  where 
there  was  some  skirmishing ;  and  from  the  middle  of  August 
to  the  20th  of  September  he  was  in  the  field  with  his  com 
pany,  fighting  the  Missourian  invaders.  The  following  de 
spatch  invited  him  to  join  Lane  (under  the  name  of  Cook) 
in  an  expedition  :  — 

MR.  BROWN,  —  General  Joe  Cook  wants  you  to  come  to  Law 
rence  this  night,  for  we  expect  to  have  a  fight  on  Washington 
Creek.  Come  to  Topeka  as  soon  as  possible,  and  I  will  pilot  you 
to  the  place.  Yours  in  haste, 

H.  STRATTON. 

TOPEKA,  7  o'clock,  p.  M.,  Aug.  12,  1856. 

Concerning  this  affair  Mr.  Stratton  (who  now  lives  in 
Colorado)  writes  me  in  these  words :  — 

"  John  Brown  was  with  us  when  'Fort  Saunders,'  on  Wakarusa 
Creek  (I  think),  was  destroyed,  and  commanded  the  cavalry.  A 
few  days  before  this  event  Major  Hoyt  had  been  murdered  at  Fort 
Saunders,  where  he  had  gone  trusting  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
Free  Mason  ;  but  he  was  murdered,  and  partially  buried  out  on  the 
prairie.  General  Lane  sent  ont  an  expedition  under  Captain  Shom- 
bre,1  who  was  afterwards  shot  in  the  groin  at  Lecompton,  and  died 
from  the  wound.  I  was  second  in  command  of  the  expedition.  We 
discovered  Major  Hoyt's  remains,  and  removed  them  to  our  camp, 
which  I  believe  was  on  the  Wakarusa,  west  of  Lawrence.  The 
next  day  we  marched  on  Fort  Saunders.  General  Lane  drew  up  his 
forces  in  front  of  the  fort,  Captain  Brown  occupying  the  right  wing 

1  Or  Chambree. 


1856.J  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  309 

with  his  cavalry.     A  charge  was  ordered,  and  the  fort  taken  ;  but 
the  murderers  had  fled  into  the  timber  and  escaped. 

"  Large  stores  of  bacon,  sugar,  flour,  etc.,  were  captured  and  loaded 
into  our  train- wagons.  The  diuner  was  left  untasted  on  the  tables 
by  the  ruffians,  so  precipitate  had  been  their  flight.  Captain  Brown, 
with  his  men,  was  among  the  first  to  reach  the  fort,  which  was 
surrounded  by  a  high  rail  fence,  inside  of  which  heavy  earth-works 
hud  been  thrown  up.  I  was  acting  as  Aid  to  General  Lane,  and 
that  night  piloted  him  to  Topeka.  This  is  the  only  time  I  can 
call  to  mind  when  I  was  with  Captain  Brown  on  any  expedition, 
though  I  used  to  meet  him  often  at  different  points.  I  am  not 
certain  about  Captain  Brown  being  with  our  party  when  we  came 
in  from  Nebraska,  but  think  he  was.  While  with  General  Lane  I 
was  charged  with  his  personal  safety,  as  a  price  had  been  offered  for 
his  head.  If  I  could  sit  down  with  some  one  who  was  an  active 
participant  during  the  border  war,  I  presume  in  talking  over  old 
times  I  could  recall  many  incidents  that  have  now  escaped  me." 

By  this  time  Brown's  name  had  become  such,  a  terror, 
that  wherever  the  enemy  were  attacked  they  believed  he 
was  in  command.  In  an  appeal  to  the  citizens  of  Lafay 
ette  County,  Missouri,  urging  them  to  take  horses  and  guns 
and  march  into  Kansas,  General  Atchison  wrote  thus,  under 
date  of  Aug.  17,  1856  :  —  x 

"  On  the  6th  of  August  the  notorious  Brown,  with  a  party  of  three 
hundred  abolitionists,  made  an  attack  upon  a  colony  of  Georgians,1 
murdering  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  souls,  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  of  whom  were  women,  children,  and  slaves.  Their 
houses  were  burned  to  the  ground,  all  their  property  stolen,  —  horses, 
cattle,  clothing,  money,  provisions,  all  taken  away  from  them,  and 
their  plows  burned  to  ashes.  August  12,  at  night,  three  hundred 
abolitionists,  under  this  same  Brown,  attacked  the  town  of  Franklin, 
robbed,  plundered,  and  burned,  took  all  the  arms  in  town,  broke 
open  and  destroyed  the  post-office,  captured  the  old  cannon  '  Sacra 
mento,'  which  our  gallant  Missourians  captured  in  Mexico,  and  are 
now  turning  its  mouth  against  our  friends.  August  15  Brown,  with 
four  hundred  abolitionists,  mostly  Lane's  men,  mounted  and  armed, 
attacked  Treadwell's  Settlement,  in  Douglas  County,  numbering 
about  thirty  men.  They  planted  the  old  cannon  '  Sacramento ' 
towards  the  colony,  and  surrounded  them." 

1  At  Baptisteville,  ten  miles  northeast  of  Osawatomie,  on  an  Indian 
reservation.  "  Preacher  Stewart  "  really  commanded  the  Free-State  men. 


310  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

It  is  not  necessary  (nor  was  it  in  1856)  to  believe  all  the 
stories  of  battles  and  sieges  which  were  related  on  one  side 
or  the  other  during  this  Kansas  imbroglio.  Even  when 
there  was  a  desire  to  tell  the  truth,  circumstances  often 
proved  too  strong  for  the  narrator.  But  the  great  reputa 
tion  of  Brown  as  a  partisan  leader  is  as  fully  proved  by 
these  fictions  as  by  the  authentic  reports. 

The  following  letters  from  John  Brown,  Jr.,  in  prison  at 
Lecoinpton,  seem  to  be  in  reply  to  a  suggestion  from  his 
father  that  he  might  be  visited  and  rescued  :  — 

"  From  John  Brown,  Jr.,  to  his  Father. 

LECOMPTON,  Aug.  14,  1856. 

You  can,  at  any  time  you  think  it  best,  come  to  camp  and  see  me, 
especially  at  evening,  without  observation.  Come  to  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Wesley,  about  fifty  rods  east  from  the  camp,  and  she  will  send 
up  her  boy  to  let  me  know  that  a  man  wants  to  see  me.  You  could 
no  doubt  find  a  temporary  stopping-place  either  at  Captain  Thome's 
or  at  Mr.  Lewis's,  about  a  mile  south  of  our  camp,  near  the  Cali 
fornia  road.  In  coming  here  you  will  notice  two  camps  ;  ours  is  the 
more  easterly.  If  you  wish  to  see  me,  come  at  evening,  early,  to  the 
captain's  tent,  and  say  that  you  wish  to  see  the  prisoners,  and  you 
will  be  admitted,  without  a  doubt.  The  captain  is  very  accommo 
dating  ;  you  can  come  and  go  incog.  The  captain  of  Company  I 
says  he  has  been  after  you  more  than  two  months.  Don't  let  them 
get  you.  I  very  much  want  to  see  you,  but  don't  run  any  great  risk 
on  this  account.  At  any  time  you  wish  to  write  me,  direct  to 
X.  Y.  Z.,  and  enclose  in  an  envelope  to  C.  W.  Babeock,  Lawrence. 

Aug.  16,  1856. 

The  prospect  now  appears  so  favorable  for  us  that  it  does  seem  as 
though  I  had  better  not  try  to  meet  you  just  now.  The  prospect  is 
that  there  will  be  either  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus  issued,  or  a  change 
of  venue,  which  will  in  either  case  take  us  into  the  States  for  trial. 
Have  sent  you  several  letters  lately  by  persons  going  to  Topeka,  and 
I  enclose  one  which  I  wrote  on  the  13th.  1  The  bearer  of  it,  not 
seeing  you  there,  has  returned  it.  I  was  in  hearing  of  the  attack  on 
Colonel  Titus  this  morning.  A  messenger  has  just  come  in,  stating 
that  he  (Titus)  and  several  others  were  taken  prisoners ;  Titus 
wounded.  He  also  reports  that  a  Free-State  man  was  either  killed 

1  Not  extant. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  311 

yesterday  or  last  night,  as  he  was  found  at  Titus's  stiff  and  cold.  I 
saw  the  fire  of  Titus's  house.  Well,  it  seems  that  Heaven  is 
smiling  on  our  arms.  The  case  may  be  that  within  a  few  days  I 
shall  think  it  altogether  best  to  try  to  meet  you.  A  very  few  days 
will  determine;  All  well.  May  God  bless  you !  Good-by. 

I  should  be  very  glad  to  see  you,  if  you  think  it  prudent  to  visit 
me.  There  is  nothing  here,  that  I  know  of,  in  the  way.  If  you 
come  just  at  edge  of  evening,  no  one  need  know  it  is  you ;  but  don't^,, 
risk  yourself  if  you  are  aware  of  danger.  There  are  spies  around. 
In  view  of  present  prospects,  the  prisoners  think  best  that  no  at 
tempt  should  be  made  at  present  to  release  them.  We  are  all  well 
treated  here.  Captain  Sackett  is  a  noble  man.  Should  be  very 
glad  to  know  where  I  could  communicate  with  you  from  time  to 
time.  J.  B.,  JR.,  in  prison. 

Indorsed  by  John  Brown. 

The  allusion  to  the  attack  on  "  Titus,"  in  the  above  letter, 
will  be  made  more  clear  by  a  longer  letter  to  Jason  Brown, 
written  in  part  on  the  same  day,  but  apparently  begun  ear 
lier  in  the  day.  The  same  letter  contains  some  notice  of 
what  had  been  happening  in  Kansas  since  the  middle  of 
July.  These  chronicles  are  not  wholly  exact ;  but  it  was 
not  possible  then  to  obtain  precise  information  in  Kansas, 
and  the  news  sent  to  the  prisoners  was  likely  to  come  from 
both  sides.  They  were  not  held  in  strict  confinement,  and, 
after  a  while  at  first,  did  not  suffer  much  hardship.  Indeed, 
they  might  easily  have  escaped,  as  will  soon  appear. 

From  John  Brown,  Jr. 

CAMP  OF  U.  S.  CAVALRY,  NEAR  LECOMPTON,  KANSAS, 
Aug.  16,  1856. 

DEAR  BROTHER  JASON  AND  OTHERS,  —  Agreeably  with  my 
promise  to  write  often,  I  have  sent  you  lately  not  less  than  four 
letters,  — one  or  two  by  private  hands,  the  others  by  mail.  Events 
of  the  most  stirring  character  are  now  passing  within  hearing 
distance.  I  should  think  more  than  two  hundred  shots  have  been 
fired  within  the  past  half  hour,  arid  within  a  mile  of  our  camp. 
Have  just  learned  that  some  eighty  of  our  Free-State  men  have 
11  pitched  into  "  a  proslavery  camp  this  side  of  Lecompton,  which 
was  commanded  by  a  notorious  proslavery  scoundrel  named  Titus, 
one  of  the  Buford  party  from  Alabama.  A  dense  volume  of  smoke 


312  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

is  now  rising  in  the  vicinity  of  bis  bouse.  The  firing  has  ceased, 
and  we  are  most  impatient  to  learn  the  result. 

During  the  past  month  the  Ruffians  have  been  actively  at  work, 
and  have  made  not  less  than  five  intrenched  camps,  where  they  have 
in  different  parts  of  the  Territory  established  themselves  in  armed 
bauds,  well  provided  with  provisions,  arms,  and  ammunition.  From 
these  camps  they  sally  out,  steal  horses,  and  rob  Free-State  settlers 
(in  several  cases  murdering  them),  and  then  slip  back  into  their 
camp  with  their  plunder.  Last  week  a  body  of  our  men  made  a 
descent  upon  Franklin,1  and  after  a  skirmishing  fight  of  about  three 
hours  took  their  barracks,  and  recovered  some  sixty  guns  and  a 
cannon,  of  which  our  men  had  been  robbed  some  months  since,  on 
the  road  from  Westport.  Our  loss  was  one  man  killed  and  two 
severely  wounded,  but  it  is  thought  they  will  recover.  The  enemy 
were  in  a  log  building,  from  which  they  kept  up  a  sharp  fire,  while 
they  themselves  were  quite  unexposed.  Our  men  then  had  recourse 
to  a  system  of  tactics  not  laid  down  in  Scott.  They  procured  a 
wagon  loaded  with  hay,  and  running  it  down  against  the  building 
set  it  on  fire,  when  the  rascals  immediately  surrendered.  Yesterday 
our  men  had  invested  another  of  their  fortified  camps  on  Washington 
Creek,  a  south  branch  of  the  Wakarusa  ;  and  it  was  expected  that 
an  attack  would  be  made  upon  it  last  night. 

Hurrah  for  our  side  !  A  messenger  has  just  come  in,  stating  that 
on  the  approach  of  our  men,  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three 
hundred  in  number,  at  Washington  Creek  yesterday,  towards  even 
ing,  the  enemy  broke  and  fled,  leaving  behind,  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  our  men,  a  lot  of  provisions  and  a  hundred  stand  of  arms.  But 
this  is  not  all.  The  notorious  Colonel  Titus,  who  only  a  day  or  two 
since  was  heard  to  declare  that  u  Free-State  men  had  only  two 
weeks  longer  to  remain  in  Kansas/'  went  out  last  night  on  a 
marauding  expedition,  in  which  he  took  six  prisoners  and  a  lot  of 
horses.  This  morning  our  men  followed  him  closely  and  fell  upon 
his  camp,  killed  two  of  his  men,  liberated  the  prisoners  he  had 
taken,  took  him  and  ten  other  prisoners,  set  fire  to  his  house,  and 
with  a  lot  of  arms,  tents,  provisions,  etc.,  returned,  having  in  the 
fight  had  only  one  of  our  men  seriously  wounded. 

August  19. 

The  affair  last  mentioned  was  conducted  with  such  expedition  that 
the  United  States  troops,  located  about  a  mile  off,  had  not  time  to 
reach  the  scene  before  it  was  all  over  and  our  men  on  their  return, 
marching  in  good  order.  Our  men  numbered  four  hundred,  and  had 

1  Four  miles  south  of  Lawrence.  The  fights  that  followed  are  those 
mentioned  by  Atchison  on  page  309. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  313 

the  cannon  which  they  had  taken  at  Franklin.  With  this  they  fired 
six  balls,  out  of  seven  shots,  through  Colonel  Titus's  house  before 
his  gang  surrendered.  This  series  of  victories  has  caused  the  greatest 
fear  among  the  proslavery  men.  While  the  firing  was  going  on,  the 
citizens  at  Lecompton  fled  across  the  river  in  the  greatest  consterna 
tion.  Great  numbers  are  leaving  for  Missouri.  Colonel  Titus  was 
seriously  wounded  by  a  Sharpe's-rifle  ball  passing  through  his  hand, 
and  lodging  in  his  shoulder  too  deep  to  be  reached.  It  is  thought 
the  wound  will  prove  fatal. 

Day  before  yesterday  Governor  Shannon  and  Major  Sedgwick  of 
the  army  went  to  Lawrence  to  obtain  the  prisoners  our  men  had 
taken  ;  but  our  men  would  consent  to  give  them  up  only  on  condition 
that  they  on  the  other  side  should  give  up  the  prisoners  that  had  been 
taken  on  warrants  at  Franklin,  the  next  day  after  the  battle  there, 
for  participating  in  it ;  and,  as  a  further  condition,  that  they  should 
give  up  the  cannon  which  had  been  taken  from  Lawrence  at  the  time 
it  was  sacked  ;  and  still  further  agree  to  do  all  in  their  power  to 
break  up  the  camps  of  armed  desperadoes,  as  well  as  to  prevent  their 
coining  in  from  Missouri.  These  terms  were  complied  with ;  and 
yesterday  the  prisoners  were  exchanged  and  the  cannon  at  Lecompton 
given  up  to  our  men,  and  it  is  now  once  more  in  Lawrence.  Thus 
you  see  they  have  themselves  set  their  own  laws  at  nought  by  that 
exchange  of  prisoners  whom  they  had  taken  on  warrants  for  those 
we  had  taken  by  the  might  of  the  people.  Lane's  men  were  on  hand 
and  did  good  service.  The  Chicago  company  that  had  been  turned 
back  on  the  Missouri  River  were  on  hand  and  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fight.  Some  say  Colonel  Lane  was  in  it  himself.  Father  returned 
with  the  overland  emigrants,  leaving  in  Nebraska  Henry  Thompson, 
Owen,  Salmon,  Frederick,  and  Oliver,  much  improved  in  health. 
He  was  in  the  fight  at  Franklin,  and  also  aided  in  routing  the  gang 
on  Washington  Creek,  as  well  as  in  the  capture  of  Titus  and  his 
crew.  By  this  time  he  is  in  Iowa,  or  some  other  distant  region. 
He  is  an  omnipresent  dread  to  the  ruffians.  I  see  by  the  Missouri 
papers  that  they  regard  him  as  the  most  terrible  foe  they  have  to 
encounter.  He  stands  very  high  with  the  Free- State  men  who  will 
fight ;  and  the  great  majority  of  these  have  made  up  their  minds  that 
nothing  short  of  war  to  the  death  can  save  us  from  extermination. 
Say  to  the  men  of  Osawatomie  to  become  thoroughly  prepared,  for 
at  any  time  their  lives  may  depend  upon  their  efficiency  and  vigi 
lance  ;  that  military  organization  is  needed  for  something  else  than 
amusement.  Don't  fail  to  urge  the  enrolment  of  every  able-bodied 
Free-State  man,  and  place  yourselves  in  a  position  to  act  both  offen 
sively  and  defensively  in  the  most  efficient  manner.  Stringfellow 
and  Atchison  are  said  to  be  again  raising  a  force  to  come  in  from 


314  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Missouri  and  carry  out  their  "long-cherished  plan  to  drive  out  or  ex 
terminate  our  people.  If  our  men  are  wide  awake  we  shall  gain  the 
day.  The  prospect  for  Kansas  becoming  a  free  State  never  looked 
brighter.  Now  is  the  time  to  prepare,  and  continue  prepared. 

Have  not  yet  learned  of  any  definite  action  of  Congress  in  regard 
to  us  prisoners,  but  we  doubtless  shall  in  a  few  days.     Wealthy  con 
tinues  to  have  the  chills  and  fever  every  few  days.     Write  often. 
Ever  your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN. 

The  last  fight  at  Osawatoinie,  which  for  some  reason  or 
other  was  more  celebrated  than  any  of  the  encounters  in 
which  Brown  engaged  during  1856,  was  the  third  skirmish 
that  had  taken  place  at  or  near  that  historic  village.  The 
first  was  on  June  2,  and  is  mentioned  by  Brown  in  his  letter 
of  June  24 ;  the  second  was  early  in  August,  and  is  probably 
the  same  as  the  attack  on  Buford's  men  about  Middle  Creek, 
soon  to  be  spoken  of,  which  occurred  August  5 ; 1  the  third 
was  on  the  30th  of  August,  and  was  provoked  by  the  defeat 
of  Buford's  men.  In  both  these  August  encounters  John 
Brown  had  some  share. 

A  Boston  clergyman  (Rev.  J.  W.  Winkley),  who  was  in 
Kansas  as  a  young  man  in  1856,  has  described  to  me  with 
some  detail  John  Brown  on  the  war-path,  as  he  saw  him 
during  the  fights  of  August.  Mr.  Winkley  was  then  liv 
ing  on  the  South  Pottawatomie,  twenty  miles  above  Osawa 
toinie,  and  had  enlisted  to  join  Brown  there,  with  twenty 
others,  upon  the  news  of  an  invasion  of  Missourians.  They 
travelled  all  night,  reached  Osawatoinie  in  the  morning, 
breakfasted  there,  and  then  went  with  Captains  Cline  and 
Shore  (seventy  men  in  all)  to  attack  the  enemy,  whom  they 
surprised  and  defeated  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  or 
more.  Soon  after,  Brown  came  up  from  Osawatomie  and 
congratulated  the  men  on  their  victory,  at  which  he  had  not 
been  present.  A  Missourian,  mortally  wounded,  wished 
greatly  to  see  Brown  before  he  died.  The  old  hero  rode  up 
to  the  wagon  where  the  wounded  man  was,  and  said  with 
some  sternness  :  "  You  wish  to  see  me  ;  here  I  am.  Take 
a  good  look  at  me,  and  tell  your  friends  when  you  get  back 
to  Missouri  what  sort  of  man  you  saw."  Then  in  a  gentler 

1  This  is  one  of  the  battles  reported  by  Atchison. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE  CONTINUED.  315 

tone  he  added :  "We  wish  no  harm  to  you  or  your  compan 
ions.  Stay  at  home,  let  us  alone,  and  we  shall  be  friends. 
I  wish  you  well."  Meantime  the  wounded  man  had  with 
an  effort  raised  himself  up,  viewed  Brown  from  head  to 
foot,  as  if  feasting  his  eyes  on  the  greatest  curiosity,  and 
then  sank  back  exhausted,  saying :  "  I  don't  see  as  you  are 
so  bad ;  you  don't  look  or  talk  like  it."  Then,  reaching  out 
his  hand,  the  dying  Missourian  said :  "  I  thank  you."  Brown 
clasped  his  hand,  said  "  God  bless  you ! "  and  rode  away 
with  tears  in  his  eyes.  Mr.  Winkley  also  describes  an  onset 
made  by  Brown  upon  some  of  his  own  men,  supposing  them 
to  be  the  enemy,  the  next  morning.  He  had  taken  volun 
teers  the  day  before,  after  the  fight,  and  ridden  away  on 
some  excursion,  bidding  the  rest  go  home  to  their  farms. 
They  went  back  and  camped  where  they  had  met  the  enemy 
that  morning.  While  at  breakfast  Brown  came  upon  them 
suddenly,  supposed  them  to  be  foes,  and  in  a  moment  went 
charging  down  upon  them  at  the  head  of  his  little  band  of 
thirty  men.  Before  he  attacked  he  discovered  who  they, 
were  ;  but  had  they  been  Missourians  he  would  have  put 
them  to  rout  by  his  ready  courage. 

The  condition  of  matters  in  Kansas  and  Missouri  was  such 
at  this  time  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  obtain  correct 
information  of  what  was  going  on,  even  from  eye-witnesses. 
Owen  Brown,  who  had  been  badly  injured  after  the  campaign 
of  June,  and  afterward  very  ill  in  Iowa,  whither  he  had  gone 
to  regain  his  health,  wrote  just  before  the  fight  at  Osawato- 
mie  the  following  letter  to  his  mother  in  the  Adirondacs, 
which  illustrates  the  exaggerations  then  everywhere  current ; 
while  it  gives  some  true  touches  concerning  men  and  things  : 

Owen  Broivn  to  his  Mother  at  North  Elba. 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Aug.  27,  1856. 
DEAR  MOTHER, — The  last  news  we  had  from  Kansas,  father 
was  at  Lawrence,  and  had  charge  of  a  company,  — the  bravest  men 
the  Territory  could  afford.  Those  who  come  through  here  from  the 
Territory  say  that  father  is  the  most  daring,  courageous  man  in 
Kansas.  You  have  no  doubt  heard  that  the  Free-State  men  have 
taken  two  forts,  or  blockhouses,  with  a  fine  lot  of  arms,  several 
prisoners,  and  two  cannon.  Shannon  was  obliged  to  flee  for  his  life  ; 


316  LIFE  AND  LETTEKS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

afterwards  came  to  Lane  to  negotiate  for  peace.  He  proposed  that 
the  Free-State  men  should  give  up  the  prisoners  and  arms  they 
had  taken  ;  at  the  same  time  they  (the  enemy)  should  still  hold 
our  men  as  prisoners,  and  keep  all  the  arms  they  had  taken  from 
the  Free-State  men.  But  Lane  would  not  consent  to  that ;  he 
required  Shannon  to  deliver  up  the  howitzer  they  had  taken  at 
Lawrence,  release  some  prisoners,  disarm  the  proslavery  men  in 
the  Territory,  and  do  all  in  his  power  to  remove  the  enemy  from 
the  Territory.  With  fear  and  trembling,  Shannon  consented  to 
all  of  Lane's  demands. 

There  is  now  at  this  place  a  company  of  volunteers  from  Maine, 
Massachusetts,  and  Michigan,  —  ahout  eighty  in  all.  We  hear  lately 
that  about  three  thousand  Missourians  have  crossed  at  St.  Joe  and 
other  places,  and  have  gone  armed  into  the  Territory;  that  Gov 
ernor  Woodson  has  sent  four  hundred  mounted  men  on  to  the  fron 
tier  to  intercept  our  volunteers  and  prevent  them  from  carrying  in 
provisions  and  ammunition,  which  are  much  needed  now  in  Kansas. 
The  last  information  comes  from  reliable  sources,  and  is  probably 
true,  —  a  portion  of  it.  We  also  learn  that  the  Free-State  men 
have  melted  up  all  the  old  lead-pipe  they  can  get  hold  of  for  ammu 
nition;  and  now  the  news  comes  from  reliable  sources  that  Lane  is 
about  to  enter  Leavenworth  with  two  thousand  men  ;  that  he  lias 
sent  word  to  the  citizens  of  Leavenworth,  requiring  them  to  deliver 
up  a  few  prisoners  they  had  taken,  with  some  wagons  and  other 
property,  or  he  will  destroy  the  town  forthwith.  Colonel  Smith,  of 
Leavenworth,  commander  of  Government  troops,  refuses  to  protect 
the  proslavery  men  of  the  Territory,  replying  that  Lane  is  able  to 
dress  them  all  out,  troops  and  all.  Shannon  made  a  speech  to  them, 
urging  them  to  cease  hostilities,  —  that  he  could  not  defend  them 
(that  is,  our  enemies).  At  present  our  enemies  and  the  Missourians 
are  trembling  in  their  boots,  if  reports  are  true. 

I  have  gained  strength  quite  fast,  and  am  now  determined  to  go 
back  into  the  Territory,  and  try  the  elephant  another  pull.  We 
hope  that  men  will  volunteer  by  the  thousands  from  the  States,  well 
armed,  with  plenty  of  money  to  buy  provisions  with,  vrhich  are 
scarce  in  Kansas  Territory.  There  are  probably  several  thousand 
acres  less  of  corn  in  Kansas  than  there  would  have  been  had  it  not 
been  for  the  war.  We  look  hard  for  help  :  now  comes  the  tug  of 
war.  We  have  sent  on  men  to  learn  the  state  of  affairs  on  the 
frontier,  and  will  move  on  into  the  Territory  shortly.  We  are  now 
waiting  for  one  other  company,  which  is  within  a  few  days'  drive 
of  here.  For  the  want  of  time  I  leave  out  many  particulars  in 
connection  with  the  taking  of  those  forts,  which  would  be  quite 
interesting,  and  show  Yankee  skill  and  strategy,  at  least.  If  any 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  317 

of  our  folks  write  to  us,  or  to  me  (I  assume  another  name,  George 
Lyman),  direct  to  George  Lyrnan,  Tabor,  Fremont  County,  Iowa, 
care  Jonas  Jones,  Esq.  Mr.  Jones  will  take  them  out  of  the  office 
here  and  send  them  on  by  private  conveyance.  We  cannot  hear 
from  you  in  any  other  way.  Perhaps  you  know  of  a  different  way, 
but  I  do  not. 

Your  affectionate  sou, 

OWEN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  Have  not  heard  from  Fred  since  Oliver  and  William 
Thompson  took  him  into  the  camp  ;  nor  have  I  heard  from  Henry, 
Salmon,  William,  and  Oliver  since  they  left  this  place  to  go  home. 

"  Fred  "  was  John  Brown's  son  Frederick,  who  three  days 
after  this  letter  was  written  was  shot  down  by  Missourians 
near  his  uncle  Adair's  house  in  Osawatomie,  the  morning 
of  the  fight  there.  William  Thompson  was  the  brother  of 
Henry,  and  had  just  come  from  North  Elba. 

John  Brown  made  two  written  reports  of  the  Osawato- 
mie  engagement  of  August  30.  The  more  concise  is  that 
sent  to  his  family  ten  days  after.  A  longer  report  of  the 
same  date,  which  he  published  in  the  newspapers,  follows 
it  immediately  :  — 

John  Broiun  to  his  Family. 

LAWRENCE,  KANSAS  TERRITORY,  Sept.  7,  1856. 
DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  have  one  moment 
to  write  to  you,  to  say  that  I  am  yet  alive,  that  Jason  and  family 
were  well  yesterday;  John  and  family,  I  hear,  are  well  (he  being 
yet  a  prisoner).  On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  August  an  attack 
was  made  by  the  Kuffians  on  Osawatomie,  numbering  some  four 
hundred,  by  whose  scouts  our  dear  Frederick  was  shot  dead  without 
warning,  —he  supposing  them  to  be  Free-State  men,  as  near  as  we 
can  learn.  One  other  man,  a  cousin  of  Mr.  Adair,  was  murdered  by 
them  about  the  same  time  that  Frederick  was  killed,  and  one  badly 
wounded  at  the  same  time.  At  this  time  I  was  about  three  miles 
off,  where  I  had  some  fourteen  or  fifteen  men  over  night  that  I  had 
just  enlisted  to  serve  under  me  as  regulars.  These  I  collected  as 
well  as  I  could,  with  some  twelve  or  fifteen  more ;  and  in  about 
three  quarters  of  an  hour  I  attacked  them  from  a  wood  with  thick 
undergrowth.  With  this  force  we  threw  them  into  confusion  for 
about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  during  which  time  we  killed  or 
wounded  from  seventy  to  eighty  of  the  enemy,  —  as  they  say,  —  and 


318  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

then  we  escaped  as  well  as  we  could,  with  one  killed  while  escaping, 
two  or  three  wounded,  and  as  many  more  missing.  Four  or  five 
Free-State  men  were  butchered  during  the  day  in  all.  Jason  fought 
bravely  by  my  side  during  the  fight,  and  escaped  with  me,  he  being 
unhurt.  I  was  struck  by  a  partly-spent  grape,  canister,  or  rifle  shot, 
which  bruised  me  some,  but  did  not  injure  me  seriously.  "  Hitherto 
the  Lord  has  helped  me,"  notwithstanding  my  afflictions.  Things 
seem  rather  quiet  just  now,  but  what  another  hour  will  bring  I  can 
not  say.  I  have  seen  three  or  four  letters  from  Ruth,  and  one  from 
Watson,  of  July  or  August,  which  are  all  I  have  seen  since  in  June. 
I  was  very  glad  to  hear  once  more  from  you,  and  hope  that  you  will 
continue  to  write  to  some  of  the  friends,  so  that  I  may  hear  from  you. 
I  am  utterly  unable  to  write  you  for  most  of  the  time.  May  the  God 
of  our  fathers  bless  and  save  you  all  ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Monday  morning,  Sept.  8,  1856. 

Jason  has  just  come  in ;  left  all  well  as  usual.  John's  trial  is  to 
come  off  or  commence  to-day.  Yours  ever, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

THE    FIGHT    OF    OSAWATOMIE. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  August  the  enemy's  scouts 
approached  to  within  one  mile  and  a  half  of  the  western  boundary  of 
the  town  of  Osawatomie.  At  this  place  my  son  Frederick  (who  was 
not  attached  to  my  force)  had  lodged,  with  some  four  other  young 
men  from  Lawrence,  and  a  young  man  named  Garrison,  from  Middle 
Creek.  The  scouts,  led  by  a  proslavery  preacher  named  White, 
shot  my  son  dead  in  the  road,  while  he  —  as  I  have  since  ascer 
tained  —  supposed  them  to  be  friendly.  At  the  same  time  they 
butchered  Mr.  Garrison,  and  badly  mangled  one  of  the  young  men 
from  Lawrence,  who  came  with  my  son,  leaving  him  for  dead. 
This  was  not  far  from  sunrise.  I  had  stopped  during  the  night 
about  two  and  one  half  miles  from  them,  and  nearly  one  mile  from 
Osawatomie.  I  had  no  organized  force,  but  only  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  new  recruits,  who  were  ordered  to  leave  their  preparations  for 
breakfast  and  follow  me  into  the  town,  as  soon  as  this  news  was 
brought  to  me. 

As  I  had  no  means  of  learning  correctly  the  force  of  the  enemy, 
I  placed  twelve  of  the  recruits  in  a  log-house,  hoping  we  might  be 
able  to  defend  the  town.  I  then  gathered  some  fifteen  more  men 
together,  whom  we  armed  with  guns;  and  we  started  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  enemy.  After  going  a  few  rods  we  could  see  them 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  319 

approaching  the  town  in  line  of  battle,  about  half  a  mile  off,  upon 
a  hill  west  of  the  village.  I  then  gave  up  all  idea  of  doing  more 
than  to  annoy,  from  the  timber  near  the  town,  into  which  we 
were  all  retreated,  and  which  was  filled  with  a  thick  growth  of 
underbrush  ;  but  I  had  no  time  to  recall  the  twelve  men  in  the  log- 
house,  and  so  lost  their  assistance  in  the  fight.  At  the  point  above 
named  I  met  with  Captain  Cline,  a  very  active  young  man,  who 
had  writh  him  some  twelve  or  fifteen  mounted  men,  and  persuaded 
him  to  go  with  us  into  the  timber,  on  the  southern  shore  of  the 
Osage,  or  Marais  des  Cygnes,  a  little  to  the  northwest  from  the 
village.  Here  the  men,  numbering  not  more  than  thirty  in  all, 
were  directed  to  scatter  and  secrete  themselves  as  well  as  they  could, 
and  await  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  This  was  done  in  full  view 
of  them  (who  must  have  seen  the  whole  movement),  and  had  to  be 
done  in  the  utmost  haste.  I  believe  Captain  Cline  and  some  of  his 
men  were  not  even  dismounted  in  the  fight,  but  cannot  assert  posi 
tively.  When  the  left  wing  of  the  enemy  had  approached  to  within 
common  rifle-shot,  we  commenced  firing,  and  very  soon  threw  the 
northern  branch  of  the  enemy's  line  into  disorder.  This  continued 
some  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  which  gave  us  an  uncommon  oppor 
tunity  to  annoy  them.  Captain  Cline  and  his  men  soon  got  out  of 
ammunition,  and  retired  across  the  river. 

After  the  enemy  rallied  we  kept  up  our  fire,  until,  by  the  leaving 
of  one  and  another,  we  had  but  six  or  seven  left.  We  then  retired 
across  the  river.  We  had  one  man  killed  —  a  Mr.  Powers,  from 
Captain  Cline's  company —  in  the  fight.  One  of  my  men,  a  Mr. 
Partridge,  was  shot  in  crossing  the  river.  Two  or  three  of  the 
party  who  took  part  in  the  fight  are  yet  missing,  and  may  be  lost  or 
taken  prisoners.  Two  were  wounded  ;  namely,  Dr.  Updegraff  and  a 
Mr.  Collis.  I  cannot  speak  in  too  high  terms  of  them,  and  of  many 
others  I  have  not  now  time  to  mention. 

One  of  my  best  men,  together  with  myself,  was  struck  by  a  par 
tially  spent  ball  from  the  enemy,  in  the  commencement  of  the  fight, 
but  we  were  only  bruised.  The  loss  I  refer  to  is  one  of  my  missing 
men.  The  loss  of  the  enemy,  as  we  learn  by  the  different  state 
ments  of  our  own  as  well  as  their  people,  was  some  thirty-one  or 
two  killed,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  wounded.  After  burning  the 
town  to  ashes  and  killing  a  Mr.  Williams  they  had  taken,  whom 
neither  party  claimed,  they  took  a  hasty  leave,  carrying  their  dead 
and  wounded  with  them.  .They  did  not  attempt  to  cross  the  river, 
nor  to  search  for  us,  and  have  not  since  returned  to  look  over  their 
work. 

I  give  this  in  great  haste,  in  the  midst  of  constant  interruptions. 
My  second  son  was  with  me  in  the  fight,  and  escaped  unharmed. 


320  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

This  I  mention  for  the  benefit  of  his  friends.     Old  Preacher  White, 
I  hear,  boasts  of  having  killed  my  son.     Of  course  he  is  a  lion. 

JOHN  BROWN. 
LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  Sept.  7,  1856. 

Jason  Brown  ("my  second  son"),  who  was  his  father's 
body-guard  in  this  fight,  relates  this  incident  of  the 
campaign  :  — 

"  Captain  Shore  is  a  good  and  brave  man,  but  I  cannot  learn  that 
he   claims  to  be  the  hero  of  Black  Jack.     I  care  nothing  for  the 
honors  of  war.     It  matters  but  little  whether  the  battles  of  Black 
Jack   and  Osawatomie  are  looked  upon  as  victories  or  defeats.     I 
was  at  the  latter  engagement,  but  I  do  not  know  whether  I  had  the 
honor  of  killing  (as  it  is  looked  upon  by  some  persons)  anybody  at 
Osawatomie  or  not.     If  I  did,  I  would  gladly  transfer  the  honor  of 
the  whole  slaughtering  part  of  it  to  the  Rev.  David  N.  Utter,  and  to 
his  brother  in  divinity,  Rev.  Martin  White.     The  only  real  comfort 
ing  recollection  of  my  part  in  it  is,  that  I  did  all  in  my  power  to 
alleviate  the  sufferings  of  a  young  and  very  intelligent  Mississippian 
named  Kline,  if  I  remember  correctly,  who  was  terribly  wounded, 
but  able  to  talk.     He  had  been  wounded  a  day  or  two  before,  in  an 
attack  by  Free-State  men  on  a  camp  of  Georgians,  seven  or  eight 
miles  southeast   of  Osawatomie.     The  weather  was   hot,  and   the 
wound  below  the  knee  of  the  right  leg,  which  was  terribly  shattered 
by  a  Sharpe's-rifle  ball,  was  filled  with  maggots.     How  it  was  that 
he  did  not  have  the  right  care  I  do  not  know.     All  about  the  house 
where  he  was  lying  was  excitement  and  hurry,  to  be  ready  to  meet 
the  enemy  we  expected  soon  to  attack  us.     I  got  help,  cleansed  his 
wound   of  the   vermin,    dressed  it,    bathed    him,  and  changed  his 
clothes.     While  this  was  being  done  he  asked  my  name.     I  told 
him.     He  said,  '  I  thought  the  Abolitionists  were  savages  before  I 
was  brought  here.'     As  he  lay  there,  pale  and  exhausted  from  loss  of 
blood  and  suffering,  he  spoke  of  his  home  and  friends  in  Mississippi, 
and  how  he  wished  he  had  never  come  to  Kansas.     He  said  he  would 
soon  be  at  rest.     He  asked  me  if  I  would  not  take  care  of  him  for 
the  few  hours  he  had  to  live.     I  told  him  I  would.     As  I  was  sitting 
by  his  bed  and  saw  the  tears  flowing  from  a  heart  full  of  sorrow  and 
trouble,  alone  among  strangers,  and  far  from  home,  I  thought  this : 
If  these  are  some  of  the  things  which  make  war  glorious  and  honor 
able,  deliver  me  from  the  honors  of  war.     In  a  moment  more  I  was 
suddenly  called  away  to  defend  my  own  life,  and  probably  to  do  more 
•of  such  work.     I  would  rather  have  the  real  good  it  did  me  then  to 
care  as  best  I  could  for  a  few  hours  for  a  misguided  dying  enemy, 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  321 

than  to  have  all  the  glory  ever  gained  by  the  proudest  and  most 
successful  warrior  that  ever  shook  the  earth  with  the  thunder  of  his 
guns  and  the  tread  of  his  mighty  armies  of  beasts  and  men,  since  the 
world  began.  I  heard  afterwards  that  this  young  man  was  rescued 
from  'the  abolition  fiends'  by  Reid's  army,  and  thrown  into  a 
wagon  with  other  wounded  men,  and  died  somewhere  on  the  way  to 
Missouri.  I  don't  know  that  this  is  true." 

A  contemporary  proslavery  account  of  this  fight  is  as 
follows,  copied  from  a  Missouri  newspaper  :  — 

"  The  attack  on  Osawatomie  was  by  part  of  an  army  of  eleven 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  of  whom  Atchisou  was  major-general.  Gen 
eral  Reid,  with  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  one  piece  of  artillery, 
moved  on  to  attack  Osawatomie ;  he  arrived  near  that  place,  and  was 
attacked  by  two  hundred  Abolitionists  under  the  command  of  the  no 
torious  John  Brown,  who  commenced  firing  upon  Reid  from  a  thick 
chaparral  four  hundred  yards  off.  General  Reid  made  a  successful 
charge,  killing  thirty-one,  and  took  seven  prisoners.  Among  the 
killed  was  Frederick  Brown.  The  notorious  John  Brown  was  also 
killed,  by  a  proslavery  man  named  White,  in  attempting  to  cross  the 
Marais  des  Cygnes.  The  proslavery  party  have  five  wounded.  On 
the  same  day  Captain  Hays,  with  forty  men,  attacked  the  house  of 
the  notorious  Ottawa  Jones,  burned  it,  and  killed  two  Abolitionists. 
Jones  fled  to  the  cornfield,  was  shot  at  by  Hays,  and  is  believed  to 
be  dead." 

The  Indian  missions  in  Kansas  were  little  centres  of  civi 
lization,  and  that  which  was  first  established  near  the  crossing 
of  the  Ottawa  Eiver,  near  what  is  now  Ottawa,  was  long  an 
oasis  in  the  desert.  There  the  Presbyterians  and  Baptists 
started  missions  ;  thither  the  Rev.  Joseph  Meeker,  in  1834, 
brought  the  first  printing-press,  and  there  the  first  Kansas 
book  was  printed ;  there  lived  the  famous  Indian  and  his 
excellent  white  missionary  wife,  John  Tecumseh  Jones 
(usually  called  "  Tawey  Jones,"  Ottawa  being  properly  pro 
nounced  Ot-taw;-wa).  There  John  Brown  and  his  friends 
were  always  welcome,  and  the  great  house  of  this  Christian 
Indian  was  "  long  the  hospitable  headquarters  of  Free-State 
men,"  as  Wilder  says,  with  whom  Horace  Greeley  made  this 
part  of  his  tour  in  Kansas  in  1859,  —  spending  a  night  at 
Jones's  house.  Brown  said  of  it  and  its  owner  in  1857  :  "  I 

21 


322  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

saw  while  it  was  standing,  and  afterwards  saw  the  ruins  of, 
a  most  valuable  house,  the  property  of  a  highly  civilized,  in 
telligent,  and  exemplary  Christian  Indian,  which  was  burned 
to  the  ground  by  the  Kuffians,  because  its  owner  was  sus 
pected  of  favoring  Free-State  men."  l  The  house  was  after 
wards  rebuilt.  Its  destruction  by  the  Missouri  invaders,  — 
a  detachment  from  the  force  that  burned  Osawatomie,  Au 
gust  30,  —  has  been  described  to  me  by  Jason  Brown  :  — 

"  On  the  29th  of  August  word  came  to  my  father,  who  was  posted 
a  mile  from  Osawatomie,  on  the  road  to  Paola  and  Westport,  on 
the  Missouri  side  of  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  near  where  the  State 
Insane  Asylum  now  stands,  that  the  Missourians  were  on  their  way 
from  Westport.  At  the  same  time  that  they  attacked  Osawatomie, 
they  sent  a  force  of  fifty  men  to  hum  the  house  of  our  friend  Jones, 
and  kill  him  if  possible.  He  was  a  tall  and  stout  Christian  Indian, 
who  had  married  a  Miss  Emery  from  Vermont ;  he  owned  much 
land,  had  two  or  three  hundred  head  of  cattle,  improved  breeds  of 
all  domestic  animals,  and  had  committed  no  offence,  except  being 
friendly  to  the  Free-State  men.  A  little  after  midnight  he  heard  a 
great  noise  among  his  dogs,  and  sprang  out  of  bed  ;  as  he  did  so,  he 
heard  the  scabbards  of  the  Missourians  strike  on  the  flag-stones  in 
front  of  his  house  as  they  dismounted  from  their  horses.  They  had 
let  down  his  cornfield  fences,  and  ridden  on  all  sides,  hoping  to 
find  a  force  of  Free-State  men  there  in  his  double  log-house,  — 
at  that  time  the  best  in  Kansas  ;  but  there  was  nobody  in  it  except 
Jones  and  his  wife,  an  Indian  boy,  and  a  i  neutral '  named  Parker 

1  Mr.  Adair  wrote  from  Osawatomie,  July  16,  1856,  to  "  Bro.  John 
Brown,"  by  Jason,  informing  him  that  of  $49.50  received  in  June  from 
"  Bro.  J.  R.  B.,"  he  had  assigned  $25  to  John  Brown,  Sr.,  and  his  unmar 
ried  sons  ;  $10  to  J.  B.,  Jr.  ;  $7.25  to  Jason,  and  $7.28  to  S.  L.  Adair. 
He  says  he  had  sent  him  $10  immediately,  —  but  it  had  come  back  to  him, 
and  he  had  now  sent  it  by  George  Partridge  to  "  you  or  some  of  your  sons  " 
at  Ottawa  Jones's  ;  $8  was  paid  to  Frederick  and  $7  to  Henry  Thompson, 
July  2,  at  Jones's.  This  shows  that  the  house  of  this  Indian  farmer  was  a 
rendezvous  for  Brown  and  his  party,  while  they  were  under  arms  in  that 
anxious  summer,  and  while  they  were  hunted  like  wolves  over  the  prairie. 
Sarah  Brown  says  :  "On  the  day  that  my  brother  Frederick  was  killed, 
near  Osawatomie,  my  father  lost  his  hat  in  fighting.  When  he  found  the 
body  of  his  son  he  was  forced  to  take  his  hat  to  cover  his  own  head.  After 
ward,  the  Indian  (Ottawa  Jones),  of  whom  he  often  spoke,  gave  him  a  cap. 
When  on  one  of  his  visits  home,  at  North  Elba,  he  brought  the  cap  with 
him,  and  said  he  wanted  it  kept  in  memory  of  Ottawa  Jones." 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  328 

from  Missouri.  The  Ruffians  shouted,  '  We  ?ve  got  you  now,  — 
come  out,  come  out ! '  Nobody  replying,  and  fearing  an  ambush, 
they  cried,  *  Fire  the  house  ! '  and  began  to  do  so,  setting  it  on  fire  in 
several  places.  Jones  had  seized  his  gun  and  stood  in  his  front  hall, 
thinking  what  he  could  do.  '  I  knew  we  must  shoot,7  he  told  me  ; 
1  we  must  fight,  or  make  our  escape  the  best  way  we  could.'  He 
opened  the  door  and  cocked  his  gun  ;  the  enemy  hearing  it  called 
out,  '  Don't  shoot ! '  whereupon  he  sprang  out  in  his  night-clothes, 
and  ran  as  far  as  he  could  into  a  thirty-acre  cornfield  close  by,  the 
enemy  shooting  at  him,  but  missing  him.  It  wras  a  wet  and  cold 
night  (August  29).  He  ran  through  his  corn,  and  far  beyond,  about 
two  miles  in  all;  looking  back,  he  saw  his  house  burning.  The 
guide  in  this  attack  was  Henry  Sherman,  of  Pottawatomie,  who  had 
worked  for  Jones  and  knew  the  house  well.  Mrs.  Jones,  in  the 
mean  time,  had  put  about  four  hundred  dollars  in  gold  and  silver 
into  a  bag,  and  tried  to  conceal  it  and  herself  in  the  house.  The 
captain  of  the  Ruffians,  looking  through  the  door,  saw  her  and  said  : 
*  Come  out !  we  won't  hurt  you,  —  you  have  been  kind  to  us.'  As 
she  went  out,  she  dropped  the  money  in  the  grass,  and  it  was  picked 
up  by  Sherman  or  some  of  the  band.  They  found  Parker,  the  Mis- 
sourian,  ill  in  bed ;  as  they  approached  him  with  their  weapons,  he 
said,  '  Don't  kill  me,  —  I'm  sick.'  '  We  always  find  a  good  many 
sick  men  when  we  come  round,'  was  the  reply,  —  and  with  that  they 
dragged  him  out  into  the  road,  knocked  him  on  the  head  and  cut  his 
throat,  but  did  not  sever  the  jugular  vein  ;  then  dragged  him  to  the 
bank  of  the  Ottawa  and  threw  him  in  among  some  brush.  I  found 
him  afterward  in  a  hospital  at  Lawrence,  able  to  tell  his  story ;  to 
which  he  added,  'I'm  not  a  neutral  anymore;  I 'm  a  Free-State 
man  now  ;  they  '11  never  take  me  alive  again.'  The  Ruffians  sacked 
the  house,  which  was  burned  to  the  ground,  as  described  by  my  father 
in  one  of  his  speeches." 

A  marble  monument  now  stands  at  Osawatomie,  erected 
in  1877  to  commemorate  the  battle  there,  and  bearing  on     •/x 
one  side  this  legend  :  — 

THIS  INSCRIPTION  IS  ALSO  IN  COMMEMORATION  OF  THE 
HEROISM  OF  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN,  WHO  COM 
MANDED  AT   THE  BATTLE  OF  OSAWATOMIE, 

AUG.   30,  1856,  WHO  DIED  AND  CON 
QUERED  AMERICAN  SLAVERY 
AT  CHARLESTON,  VA., 
DEC.  2,  1859, 


324  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

In  dedicating  this  monument  on  the  twenty-first  anni 
versary  of  the  fight  (Aug.  30,  1877),  Charles  Robinson,  of 
Lawrence,  who  presided,  said  among  other  thiDgs  :  — 

11  This  is  an  occasion  of  no  ordinary  merit,  being  for  no  less  an 
object  than  to  honor  and  keep  fresh  the  memory  of  those  who  freely 
offered  their  lives  for  their  fellow-men.  We  are  told  that  '  scarcely 
for  a  righteous  man  will  one  die,  yet  peradventure  for  a  good  man 
some  would  dare  to  die ; '  but  the  men  whose  death  we  commemorate 
this  day,  cheerfully  offered  themselves  a  sacrifice  for  strangers  and  a 
despised  race.  They  were  men  of  convictions,  though  death  stared 
them  in  the  face.  They  were  cordial  haters  of  oppression,  and  would 
fight  injustice  wherever  found ;  if  framed  into  law,  then  they  would 
fight  the  law  ;  if  upheld  and  enforced  by  government,  then  govern 
ment  must  be  resisted.  They  were  of  Revolutionary  stock,  and  held 
that  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  had  put  the  people  under  absolute 
despotism,  it  was  right  and  duty  to  throw  off  such  government  and 
provide  guards  for  future  security.  The  soul  of  John  Brown  was  the 
inspiration  of  the  Union  armies  in  the  emancipation  war,  and  it  will 
be  the  inspiration  of  all  men  in  the  present  and  distant  future  who 
may  revolt  against  tyranny  and  oppression ;  because  he  dared  to  be 
a  traitor  to  the  government  that  he  might  be  loyal  to  humanity.  To 
the  superficial  observer  John  Brown  was  a  failure.  So  was  Jesus 
of  Nazareth.1  Both  suffered  ignominious  death  as  traitors  to  the 

1  The  comparison  here  drawn  by  this  speaker  is  too  close  and  literal  to 
be  accepted  by  all  Christians,  but  it  was  designed  to  express  the  deepest 
reverence  for  John  Brown,  and  to  indicate  that  his  memory  is  immortal. 
In  fact,  this  Ohio  Puritan  is  the  best-known  name  in  Kansas  ;  not  that  the 
million  people,  —  white,  black,  and  red,  —  who  now  dwell  in  this  State,  all 
know  accurately  who  he  was  and  what  he  did  ;  but  they  have  all  heard  of 
him,  and  keep  his  memory  alive  by  tales  and  disputes.  And  in  the  districts 
where  he  moved  about,  armed  at  all  points,  the  air  is  full  of  legends  con 
cerning  him,  — some  true,  some  false,  and  most  of  them  neither  true  nor 
false,  but  a  mixture  of  both.  This  is  specially  the  case  in  the  region  around 
Osawatomie,  that  village  of  a  single  street  and  a  few  detached  houses,  in 
the  angle  where  those  two  romantic  rivers,  — the  Marais  des  Cygnes  (or  as 
Brown  spelled  it,  "  Merodezene  ")  and  the  Pottawatomie,  —  come  together 
and  form  the  Osage.  The  town  takes  its  name  from  the  first  three  letters 
of  "  Osage  "  prefixed  to  the  last  three  syllables  of  "  Pottawatomie."  This 
centaur-like  epithet  was  the  work  of  another  Brown,  who  early  settled  in 
this  spot,  but  who  is  now  quite  forgotten  in  the  greater  fame  of  his  name 
sake.  The  Marais  des  Cygnes  has  a  more  picturesque  name,  as  if  the  old 
French  voyageurs  who  gave  the  title  had  found  the  swan  swimming  there. 
They  never  did,  but  it  was  some  other  great  bird  to  which  they  gave  the 


1856  ]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  325 

government,  yet  one  is  now  hailed  as  the  savior  of  a  world  from  sin, 
and  the  other  of  a  race  from  bondage." 

On  the  8th  of  September,  after  hearing  the  particulars  of 
the  Osawatomie  fight,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  wrote  to  his  father 
at  Lawrence  thus  :  — 

MONDAY  MORNING,  Sept.  8,  1856. 

DEAR  FATHER  AND  BROTHER,  —  Colonel  Blood  has  just  handed 
me  your  letter,  for  which  I  am  most  grateful.  Having  before  heard 
of  Frederick's  death  and  that  you  were  missing,  my  anxiety  on  your 
account  has  been  most  intense.  Though  my  dear  brother  I  shall 
never  again  see  here,  yet  I  thank  God  you  and  Jason  still  live.  Poor 
Frederick  has  perished  in  a  good  cause,  the  success  of  which  cause  I 
trust  will  yet  bring  joy  to  millions. 

My  "  circumstances  and  prospects"  are  much  the  same  as  when  I 
last  wrote  you.  The  trial  of  Mr.  Williams  and  me  is  before  Cato,  in 
October,  —  I  believe  the  4th.  Don't  know  whether  or  not  the  others 
will  get  any  trial  here.  Judge  Lecompte  is  reported  sick,  and  as  no 
notice  of  the  names  of  the  jurors  and  witnesses  has  been  served  on 
them,  it  looks  as  if  the  intention  is  to  hold  them  over  to  another 
term. 

Wealthy  has  the  chills  and  fever  almost  every  day.  She  succeeds 
in  checking  it,  only  a  short  time.  It  would  afford  us  a  great  satisfac 
tion  to  see  you  and  Jason;  he,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you,  could  come 
up  with  some  one  without  any  risk.  If  Governor  Geary  should  not 
release  us,  I  still  think  of  going  with  you,  whenever  you  think  it  best, 
to  some  place  out  of  reach  of  a  re-arrest.  I  can,  I  have  no  doubt, 
succeed  in  making  my  escape  to  you  from  here,  where  W.  and  Johnny 

old  poetic  name  ;  and  here,  too,  on  this  "Marsh  of  the  Swans,"  the 
vulture  of  slavery  croaked  its  foulest  note  before  committing  suicide.  A 
long,  slow,  winding,  and  sombre  stream,  fringed  everywhere  with  dark 
woods,  it  creeps  through  the  counties  south  of  Lawrence,  where  the  worst 
ruffians  had  their  roosts,  and  where  the  darkest  deeds  were  done.  The 
annals  of  theft  and  murder  and  arson  on  the  Scotch  border,  around  which 
Walter  Scott  and  the  older  ballad-makers  cast  an  atmosphere  of  romance, 
were  repeated  in  ruder  ways  in  these  Missouri  Marches,  of  which  John 
Brown  and  James  Montgomery  carne  to  be  the  self-appointed  wardens. 
Montgomery  was  himself  a  Scotchman  by  descent,  whose  great-grandfather 
had  fought  for  the  young  Chevalier  at  Ctilloden  ;  but  Brown  was  of  the  un 
mixed  Puritan  breed,  and  inherited  from  deacons  and  captains  of  Connec 
ticut  "  the  sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon."  Montgomery's  widow  and 
sous  still  live  in  Kansas,  but  none  of  the  Browns  remain  there  alive. 


326  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

might  join  us.  There  is  some  talk  of  our  being  removed  to  Leaven- 
worth  soon.  If  we  are,  I  suppose  the  difficulty  of  escape  would  be 
very  much  increased.  I  am  anxious  to  see  you  both,  in  order  to  per 
fect  some  plan  of  escape  in  case  it  should  appear  best.  Come  up  if 
you  consistently  can. 

The  battle  of  Osawatomie  is  considered  here  as  the  great  fight  so 
far,  and,  considering  the  enemy's  loss,  it  is  certainly  a  great  victory 
for  us.  Certainly  a  very  dear  burning  of  the  town  for  them.  This 
has  proven  most  unmistakably  that  u  Yankees "  will  "fight." 
Every  one  I  hear  speaking  of  you  is  loud  in  your  praise.  The 
Missourians  in  this  region  show  signs  of  great  fear.  Colonel  Cook  l 
was  heard  to  say  that  if  our  party  were  prudent  in  view  of  their  suc 
cess,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  our  having  everything  our  own 
way. 

Hoping  to  see  you  both  soon,  I  am  as  ever 

.  Your  affectionate  son  and  brother. 

(Not  signed.) 

On  the  reverse,  "  Captain  J.  B ,  Lawrence." 

Near  the  above,  in  John  Brown's  handwriting,  is  "  J.  Brown,  Jr., 
in  prison." 

In  connection  with  this  fight,  I  may  quote  from  a  let 
ter  concerning  John  Brown  which  I  received  after  his 
death  from  Kichard  Mendenhall,  a  Quaker,  then  living 
near  Osawatomie.  He  said :  "  I  was  at  a  public  meeting 
held  in  the  spring  of  1856  at  Osawatomie,  for  the  purpose 
of  considering  what  course  should  be  pursued  relative  to 
submitting  to  the  '  bogus  laws ?  (of  Governor  Shannon's  Ter 
ritorial  Legislature),  more  especially  the  payment  of  taxes 
under  them.  I  was  very  unexpectedly  chosen  chairman  of 
the  meeting.  John  Brown  was  present,  and  made  a  very 
earnest,  decisive,  and  characteristic  speech.  For  the  action 
of  that  meeting  in  taking  a  bold  stand  against  the  'bogus 
laws '  we  were  all  indicted,  but  the  warrants  were  never 
served.  I  next  met  John  Brown  again  on  the  evening  before 
the  battle  of  Osawatomie.  He  with  a  number  of  others  was 
driving  a  herd  of  cattle  which  they  had  taken  from  proslavery 
men.  He  rode  out  of  the  company  to  speak  to  me,  when  I 
playfully  asked  him  where  he  got  those  cattle.  He  replied, 
with  a  characteristic  shake  of  the  head,  that  '  they  were  good 

1  Of  the  United  States  Army. 


1856.J  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE    CONTINUED.  327 

Free-State  cattle  now.'  In  the  tenth  month,  1858,  John 
Brown  and  two  others  —  one  of  them  Stevens  —  came  to  my 
house  and  stayed  several  days,  being  detained  by  high  water. 
I  found  him  capable  of  talking  interestingly  on  almost  every 
subject.  He  had  travelled  a  good  deal  in  Europe  on  account 
of  his  business,  and  he  imparted  to  me  some  valuable  hints 
on  different  branches  of  business.  I  once  heard  a  stranger 
ask  the  Rev.  S.  L.  Adair  if  he  knew  what  John  Brown's 
principles  were ;  and  he  replied  that  his  relation  to  John 
Brown  gave  him  \  right  to  know  that  Brown  had  an  idea 
impressed  upon  his  mind  from  childhood  that  he  was  an 
instrument  raised  up  by  Providence  to  break  the  jaws  of 
the  wicked  ;  and  his  feelings  becoming  enlisted  in  the  affairs 
of  Kansas,  he  thought  this  was  the  field  for  his  operations. 
Last  winter,  when  Brown  took  those  negroes  from  Missouri, 
he  sent  them  directly  to  me  ;  but  I  had  a  school  then  at  my 
house,  and  the  children  were  just  assembling  when  they 
came.  I  could  not  take  them  in,  and  was  glad  of  an  excuse, 
as  I  could  not  sanction  his  mode  of  procedure."  Neverthe 
less,  Richard  Mendenhall  added,  much  in  the  spirit  of  John 
A.  Andrew's  phrase  ("Brown  himself  was  right"),  "Men 
are  not  always  to  be  judged  so  much  by  their  actions  as  by 
their  motives.  I  believe  that  John  Brown  was  a  good  man, 
and  that  he  will  be  remembered  for  good  in  time  long  hence 
to  come." 

The  state  of  affairs  immediately  preceding  the  fight  was 
made  known  by  many  letters  such  as  the  following,  written 
by  a  Kansas  farmer,  Cyrus  Adams,  who  emigrated  from 
Massachusetts,  to  his  brother  at  home :  — 

LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  Aug.  24,  1856. 

DEAR  BROTHER,  — You  probably  learn  of  the  state  of  affairs  here 
in  Kansas  as  well  as  T  can  describe  them.  We  live  under  a  repub 
lican  form  of  government,  so  called,  — a  form  of  government  which 
allows  its  people  to  be  murdered  every  day,  and  lifts  no  hand  for 
their  protection  ;  and  so  we  are  all  of  us  liable  to  be  murdered  any 
day.  Every  little  while  we  are  set  upon  by  bands  of  ruffians  acting 
under  the  officers  of  the  General  Government ;  towns  are  sacked  and 
burned,  men  murdered,  and  property  destroyed.  Until  lately  the 
Free-State  folks  have  not  offered  much  resistance  to  these  outrages. 


328  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

It  was  known  that  bands  of  these  ruffians  encamped  in  the  vicinity, 
where  they  carried  on  their  trade  of  horse-stealing  and  robbery  ;  and 
murdered  a  man  with  whom  I  was  well  acquainted  :  he  was  riding 
by  near  one  of  these  camps,  and  was  shot  dead  by  some  of  the  guard. 
His  name  was  Major  Hoyt,  of  Deerfield,  Mass.  Another  man  was 
shot  near  the  same  place.  A  few  days  ago  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr. 
Nute,  whom  you  saw  in  Concord,  came  into  the  Territory.  He  in 
tended  to  stop  in  Leavenworth.  He  brought  his  wife,  and  left  her 
with  Mr.  Nute  until  he  could  go  back  .and  put  up  a  house.  When 
returniug,  and  within  two  miles  of  Leavenworth,  he  was  shot,  and, 
horrible  to  relate,  was  scalped  in  the  Indian  fashion.  A  man  —  or 
a  beast  —  took  his  scalp  and  carried  it  about  the  streets  of  Leaven- 
worth  on  a  long  pole,  saying  that  he  "  went  out  to  get  a  damned 
Abolition  scalp,  and  got  one."  Another  man  went  to  Kansas  City 
for  a  load  of  lumber ;  he  was  shot  and  scalped  in  the  same  way.  So 
you  may  judge  of  the  folks  we  have  to  deal  with.  If  they  catch  a 
man  alone  they  show  no  mercy. 

Two  weeks  after  the  date  of  this  letter,  Governor  Geary 
reached  Kansas  to  supersede  Shannon  and  his  proslavery 
secretary  Woodson,  who  was  acting  governor.  At  that 
time  Lawrence  was  a  military  camp.  All  the  roads  lead 
ing  thither  were  blockaded  by  armed  bodies  of  Southern 
marauders,  and  every  day  violence  was  offered  to  Free- 
State  citizens.  Guerilla  parties  of  Free-State  men  were 
also  abroad,  making  reprisals  on  proslavery  men.  Between 
these  bodies  there  was  little  safety  for  any  one.  Geary  at 
once  distributed  large  numbers  of  his  proclamations,  order 
ing  all  bodies  of  armed  men  to  lay  down  their  arms  and 
retire  to  their  homes  and  ordinary  occupations.  He  de 
clared  his  intention  to  protect  the  Territory  from  further 
violence,  and  this  promise  was  tolerably  well  kept.  When 
questioned  by  the  people  at  Lawrence  (which  he  visited 
for  the  first  time  September  12)  whether  it  would  be  safe 
for  them  to  go  to  their  homes  in  other  parts  of  the  Terri 
tory,  he  replied  :  "  You  had  better  stay  in  town  a  few  days 
longer,  for  mutual  protection  ;  but  be  careful  that  you  do 
nothing  in  violation  of  the  spirit  of  my  proclamation.  To 
defend  yourselves  against  an  attack  will  not  incur  my  dis 
pleasure."  At  this  time  there  were  some  eight  hundred 
Free-State  men  assembled  in  Lawrence,  but  a  few  days 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  329 

after  the  number  was  much  reduced.  Soon  after  Geary's 
removal  by  Buchanan,  he  wrote  a  "  Farewell  Address  to 
the  People  of  Kansas,"  dated  March  12,  1857,  in  which  he 
fully  describes  the  condition  of  things  on  his  first  arrival, 
—  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing.  He  says  :  "  I  reached 
Kansas,  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  my  official  duties 
in  the  most  gloomy  hour  of  her  history.  Desolation  and 
ruin  reigned  on  every  hand  ;  homes  and  firesides  were 
deserted ;  the  smoke  of  burning  dwellings  darkened  the 
atmosphere  ;  women  and  children,  driven  from  their  habi 
tations,  wandered  over  the  prairies  and  among  the  wood 
lands,  or  sought  refuge  and  protection  even  among  the 
Indian  tribes.  The  highways  were  infested  with  numerous 
predatory  bands,  and  the  towns  were  fortified  and  garrisoned 
by  armies  of  conflicting  partisans,  each  excited  almost  to 
frenzy,  and  determined  upon  mutual  extermination.  Such 
was,  without  exaggeration,  the  condition  of  the  Territory  at 
this  period." 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  scenes  that  the  Border  Ruf 
fians,  provoked  by  the  recent  successes  of  the  Kansas  farm 
ers,  raised  an  army  of  twenty-seven  hundred  men  for  their 
last  great  invasion  of  the  Territory,  and  what  they  meant 
should  be  a  final  attack  on  Lawrence,  where  John  Brown 
then  was.  While  this  force  was  mustering,  Charles  Robin 
son,  who  had  just  been  discharged  from  prison,  wrote  a  few 
letters  to  John  Brown,  of  which  the  first  is  as  follows :  — 

LAWRENCE,  Sept.  13,  1856. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Governor  Geary  has  been  here  and  talks  very  well. 
He  promises  to  protect  us,  etc.  There  will  be  no  attempt  to  arrest 
any  one  for  a  few  days,  and  I  think  no  attempt  to  arrest  you  is 
contemplated  by  him.  He  talks  of  letting  the  past  be  forgotten, 
so  far  as  may  be,  and  of  commencing  anew.  If  convenient,  can  you 
not  come  to  town  and  see  us  ? l  I  will  then  tell  you  all  that  the 
governor  said,  and  talk  of  some  other  matters. 
Very  respectfully, 

C.  ROBINSON. 

1  The  interview  solicited  by  Robinson  did  take  place  at  a  house  in 
Lawrence,  and  in  course  of  it,  according  to  John  Brown,  Jr.,  who  was 
present,  Robinson  not  only  did  not  censure  Brown  for  his  Pottawatomie 


330  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

On  the  same  sheet  of  letter-paper  is  a  longer  letter  to 
Brown  from  his  son  John,  written  the  same  day  :  — 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  to  his  Father. 

All  seem  to  be  pleased  with  Geary.  They  think  that  while  he 
must  talk  of  enforcing  the  Territorial  laws,  he  has  intended  to  let 
them  lie  a  dead  letter ;  says  no  Territorial  officer  or  court  shall  arrest 
or  try.  Although  he  says  in  his  proclamation  that  all  armed  men 
must  disband,  yet  he  says  our  men  better  hold  together  a  few  days 
until  he  can  clear  the  Territory  of  the  militia  ;  requests  our  men  to 
enroll  themselves,  choose  their  own  officers,  and  consider  him  as  chief 
and  themselves  as  his  guard.  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that  unless 
something  unusual  shall  turn  up  within  a  few  days,  you  had  better 
return  home,  as  I  have  no  doubt  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  arrest 
you,  as  well  as  Lane,  whom  Geary  says  he  is  under  obligations  to  ar 
rest.  His  plan,  no  doubt,  will  be  to  get  the  assistance  of  Free-State 
men  to  aid  in  making  arrests.  Don't  allow  yourself  to  be  trapped 
in  that  way.  Captain  Walker  thinks  of  going  East  via  Nebraska 
soon.  I  do  hope  you  will  go  with  him,  for  I  am  sure  that  you  will 
be  no  more  likely  to  be  let  alone  than  Lane.  Don't  go  into  that 
secret  military  refugee  plan  as  talked  of  by  Robinson,  I  beg  of  you. 
I  shall  go  into  Mr.  Whitman's  house,  about  two  and  a  half  miles  west 
of  Lawrence,  where  I  shall  make  arrangements  for  Jason  and  com 
mence  cutting  hay. 

Robinson  to  John  Brown. 

LAWRENCE,  Sept.  14,  1856. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  take  this  opportunity  to  express  to  you 
my  sincere  gratification  that  the  late  report  that  you  were  among 
the  killed  at  the  battle  of  Osawatomie  is  incorrect.  Your  course, 
so  far  as  I  have  been  informed,  has  been  such  as  to  merit  the 
highest  praise  from  every  patriot,  and  I  cheerfully  accord  to  you 
my  heartfelt  thanks  for  your  prompt,  efficient,  and  timely  action 
against  the  invaders  of  our  rights  and  the  murderers  of  our  citi 
zens.  History  will  give  your  name  a  proud  place  on  her  pages, 
and  posterity  will  pay  homage  to  your  heroism  in  the  cause  of  God 

executions,  but  urged  him  to  undertake  similar  work  elsewhere  ;  to  which 
Brown  replied,  "If  you  know  of  any  job  of  that  sort  that  needs  to  he  done, 
I  advise  you  to  do  it  yourself,"  or  words  to  that  effect.  Robinson  now 
denies  that  he  made  such  a  proposition. 


1856-1  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  331 

and  humanity.  Trusting  that  you  will  conclude  to  remain  in  Kan 
sas,  and  serve  u  during  the  war"  the  cause  you  have  done  so  much 
to  sustain,  and  with  earnest  prayers  for  your  health,  and  protection 
from  the  shafts  of  death  that  so  thickly  beset  your  path,  I  subscribe 
myself,  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

C.  ROBINSON. 

LAWRENCE,  Sept.  14,  1856. 

To  THE  SETTLERS  OF  KANSAS,  —  If  possible,  please  render 
Captain  John  Brown  all  the  assistance  he  may  require  in  defending 
Kansas  from  invaders  and  outlaws,  and  you  will  confer  a  favor  upon 
your  co-laborer  and  fellow-citizen, 

C.  ROBINSON. 

At  this  time,  as  these  letters  prove,  there  was  no  question 
among  the  Free-State  men  of  Kansas  concerning  the  ser 
vices  which  Brown  had  rendered.  The  feeling  against  him 
in  consequence  of  the  Pottawatomie  affair  had  subsided  ; 
nor  was  it  till  years  afterward  that  this  feeling  was  mali 
ciously  revived.  The  general  effect  of  Brown's  deadly  blow 
has  been  described ;  but  it  may  be  asked  what  were  its  im 
mediate  consequences  in  the  region  where  it  was  directly 
felt.  There  are  no  better  witnesses  to  this  than  the  two 
neighbors  of  the  men  that  suffered,  —  George  Grant  and 
James  Hanway,  —  already  quoted.  Grant  said  in  1880  : 
"  Both  parties  were  greatly  alarmed  at  first.  The  proslav- 
ery  settlers  almost  entirely  left  at  once,  and  the  Free-State 
people  were  constantly  fearful  of  vengeance.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  there  was  no  more  killing  on  either  side  in  that 
neighborhood.  Dutch  Henry,  —  Henry  Sherman,  —  was 
killed  in  the  spring  of  1857,  but  politics  had  nothing  to  do 
with  it."  Judge  Hanway,  who  died  in  1881,  said :  — 

"  It  was  thought  that  the  effect  of  the  Pottawatomie  affair  would 
be  disastrous  to  the  settlers  who  had  taken  up  their  quarters  in  this 
locality.1  For  a  few  weeks  it  looked  ominous.  I  spent  most  of  my 

1  As  to  the  wisdom  of  John  Brown's  general  policy  of  brave  resistance  and 
stern  retaliation,  the  sagacious  Judge  Hanway  says  :  "  In  the  early  Kansas 
troubles,  I  considered  the  extreme  measures  which  he  adopted  as  not  the 
best  under  the  circumstances..  We  were  weak  and  cut  off,  as  it  were,  from 
our  friends.  Our  most  bitter  enemies  received  their  support  from  an  ad 
joining  State.  We  were  not  in  a  condition  to  resist  by  force  the  power  of 


332  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

time  in  the  brush.  The  settlement  was  overrun  by  the  '  law  and 
order'  men,  who  took  every  man  prisoner  whom  they  came  across, 
1  jay-hawked  '  horses  and  saddles,  and  even,  in  several  cases,  work 
cattle  ;  but  after  these  raids  ceased,  the  proslavery  element  became 
willing  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  live  in  peace.  The  most  ultra  of 
those  who  had  been  leaders  left  the  Territory,  only  to  return  at 
periods  to  burn  the  house  of  some  obnoxious  Free-State  man.  The 
Pottawatomie  affair  sent  a  terror  into  the  proslavery  ranks,  and  those 
who  remained  on  the  creek  were  as  desirous  of  peace  as  any  class  of 
the  community." 

Brown's  only  autograph  account,  so  far  as  I  know,  of  the 
attack  on  Lawrence,  in  September,  1856,  is  the  following, 
written  in  January,  1857,  as  part  of  his  address  before  NQW 
England  audiences  :  — 

THE   LAWRENCE    FORAY. 

"  I  well  know,  that,  on  or  about  the  14th  of  September  last,  a  large 
force  of  Missourians  and  other  ruffians,  numbering  twenty-seven  hun 
dred  (as  stated  by  Governor  Geary),  invaded  the  Territory,  burned 
Franklin,  and  while  the  smoke  of  that  place  was  going  up  behind 
them,  they,  on  the  same  day,  made  their  appearance  in  full  view  of, 
and  within  about  a  mile  of,  Lawrence.  And  I  know  of  no  possible 
reason  why  they  did  not  attack  and  burn  that  place  except  that  about 
one  hundred  Free-State  men  volunteered  to  go  out  on  the  open  plain 
before  the  town  and  there  give  them  the  offer  of  a  light,  which  they  de 
clined,  after  getting  some  few  scattering  shots  from  our  men,  and  then 
retreated  back  towards  Franklin.  I  saw  that  whole  thing.  The 
government  troops  at  this  time  were  with  Governor  Geary  at  Lecomp- 
ton,  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  only  from  Lawrence,  and,  notwith 
standing  several  runners  had  been  to  advise  him  in  good  time  of  the 
approach  or  of  the  setting  out  of  the  enemy,  who  had  to  march  some 

the  Border  Ruffians,  backed  and  supported  as  they  were  by  the  administra 
tion  at  Washington.  Events  afterward  proved  that  the  most  desperate 
remedies,  as  in  the  Pottawatomie  affair,  were  best.  In  place  of  being 
the  forerunner  of  additional  strife  and  turmoil,  the  result  proved  it  was  a 
peace  measure."  Charles  Robinson,  in  an  article  written  for  the  "Kansas 
Magazine"  many  years  ago,  said  of  the  executions  by  Brown:  "They  had 
the  effect  of  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a  clear  sky.  The  slave  men  stood 
aghast.  The  officials  were  frightened  at  this  new  move  on  the  part  of 
the  supposed  subdued  free  men.  This  was  .a  warfare  they  were  not  pre 
pared  to  wage,  as  of  the  bcma  fide  settlers  there  were  four  free  men  to  one 
slave  man." 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  333 

forty  miles  to  reach  Lawrence,  he  did  not  on  that  memorable  occasion 
get  a  single  soldier  on  the  ground  until  after  the  enemy  had  retreated 
back  to  Franklin,  and  had  been  gone  for  more  than  five  hours.  He 
did  get  the  troops  there  about  midnight  afterwards;  and  that  is  the 
way  he  saved  Lawrence,  as  he  boasts  of  doing  in  his  message  to  the 
bogus  Legislature  ! 

"  This  was  just  the  kind  of  protection  the  administration  and  its 
tools  have  afforded  the  Free- State  settlers  of  Kansas  from  the  first. 
It  has  cost  the  United  States  more  than  half  a  million,  for  a  year 
past,  to  harass  poor  Free-State  settlers  in  Kansas,  and  to  violate  all 
law,  and  all  right,  moral  and  constitutional,  for  the  sole  and  only 
purpose  of  forcing  slavery  upon  that  Territory.  I  challenge  this 
whole  nation  to  prove  before  Grod  or  mankind  the  contrary.  Who 
paid  this  money  to  enslave  the  settlers  of  Kansas  and  worry  them 
out  ?  I  say  nothing  in  this  estimate  of  the  money  wasted  by  Con 
gress  in  the  management  of  this  horrible,  tyrannical,  and  damnable 
affair." 

In  what  Brown  here  says  of  Governor  Geary,  he  does 
some  injustice  to  that  officer,  who  proved  to  be  the  best 
governor  that  Kansas  had  during  the  reign  of  terror  in 
1855-56.  His  motives  were  political,  no  doubt ;  but  he  had 
the  heart  of  a  man  and  the  courage  of  a  soldier,  and  soon 
placed  himself,  in  effect,  on  the  Free-State  side.  He  might 
have  dispersed  the  invaders  about  Lawrence  more  speedily, 
but  he  was  not  then  wholly  master  of  the  situation,  or  did 
not  feel  himself  to  be.  As  the  course  of  events  at  Law 
rence,  September  14-15,  has  been  variously  represented,  I 
will  here  cite  the  evidence  of  eye-witnesses  and  contem 
porary  reporters.  H.  L.  Dunlop,  then  of  Lawrence,  but 
now  of  Topeka,  says  :  — 

"  I  was  at  that  time  a  member  of  John  Wright's  company.  What 
name  I  went  by  on  the  rolls  I  will  not  say.  Many  of  us  went  under 
fictitious  names.  My  next  younger  brother,  who  was  with  me  in  that 
command,  went  by  the  name  of  Henry  Preston.  You  will  find  his 
name  on  the  list  of  Lecompton  prisoners.  He  was  captured  at  Hick 
ory  Point  with  Colonel  Harvey.  On  the  day  preceding  the  attack  on 
Lawrence  (September  13),  I  went  east  of  Lawrence,  through  the 
town  of  Franklin,  with  a  detachment  of  Captain  Wright's  men,  on  a 
scout,  the  balance  of  Captain  Wright's  company  having  gone  with 
Colonel  Harvey.  We  found  a  large  body  of  men  crossing  at  the 
lower  ford  of  the  Wakarusa ;  they  camped  that  night  on  the  bottom. 


334  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

We  counted  their  tents  to  ascertain  about  how  many  there  were,  as 
near  as  possible.  The  next  morning  they  commenced  to  advance. 
We  fell  back  slowly  through  Franklin,  ducking  their  advance-guard 
occasionally.  They  fired  the  mill  at  Franklin  and  came  on,  and 
when  we  arrived  near  Lawrence  their  advance  was  pressing  us 
closely.  The  Stub  Rifles,  Captain  Walker's  men,  came  up  and 
deployed  on  our  right,  and  we  went  into  position  in  the  rifle  pits 
near  the  head  of  Massachusetts  Street.  John  Brown  was  there.  I 
think  he  had  on  a  reddish  plush  cap,  which  had  side  pieces  to  turn 
down.  I  heard  him  talk  to  some  of  the  boys  who  were  playing 
cards,  *  that  it  was  no  time  or  place  for  that,'  saying  that  the  pro- 
slavery  men  would  soon  be  there.  He  cautioned  them  to  fire  low, 
and  talked  quite  awhile.  At  this  time  Walker's  men  had  opened 
fire  on  the  proslavery  advance,  and  they  were  falling  back. 

"  Just  before  sunset  "John  Brown  pointed  out  to  me  a  stone  building 
that  stood  south  and  west  of  where  we  were,  and  asked  me  to  take  some 
men  and  hold  the  position  ready  for  the  morrow.  I  called  for  volun 
teers,  and  selected  ten  or  twelve  men.  They  were  mostly  Wright's 
men.  We  marched  to  the  spot.  The  building  was  not  completed ; 
no  floor  laid.  I  had  boards  laid  so  that  we  could  fire  from  the  window 
openings,  and  placed  some  videttes  out.  The  balance  went  to  sleep 
in  the  building.  During  the  night  I  heard  a  rattling  of  sabres  and  a 
command  to  halt.  I  went  to  one  of  the  sentinels,  who  was  on  the 
Santa  Fe  trail  leading  west  towards  Lecompton.  I  found  there  a 
detachment  of  United  States  troops,  and  conversed  with  the  officer  in 
command,  gave  him  a  detailed  account  of  the  day's  doings  arid  the 
positions  of  the  different  forces.  He  said  he  would  take  a  position 
between  us,  and  marched  his  men  past.  In  the  morning  the  regulars 
were  between  us  and  the  proslavery  men.  You,  no  doubt,  recollect 
that  on  the  disbandment  of  the  proslavery  men  it  was  proposed  that 
a  portion  of  them  should  cross  the  river  at  Lawrence,  whereupon 
several  of  us  notified  Governor  Geary  that  we  should  fire  on  them 
from  the  buildings,  and  the  order  was  changed,  and  they  crossed  at 
De  Soto." 

John  Brown,  who  was  in  Lawrence  September  8,  soon  after 
went  to  Topeka,  and  was  on  his  way  from  that  town  to  Osa- 
watomie,  when  the  Missourians  began  to  show  themselves 
about  Lawrence,  September  12  or  13.  The  latter  was  the 
date  of  an  expedition  sent  out  from  Lawrence  to  capture  a 
fort  of  the  Border  Ruffians  at  Hickory  Point.  On  the  14tb, 
while  many  of  the  armed  men  of  Lawrence  were  absent  on 
this  expedition,  the  people  of  the  town  were  alarmed  by  the 


1856.' 


THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  335 


news  "  that  twenty -eight  hundred  Missourians  were  march 
ing  down  upon  Lawrence,  with  drums  beating  and  with 
eagles  upon  their  banners."  The  actual  number  reported 
by  Governor  Geary,  who  visited  their  camp  at  Franklin  on 
Monday  the  15th,  was  twenty-seven  hundred,  and  their 
leaders  were  General  John  W.  Reid,  David  R.  Atchison,  B. 
F.  Stringfellow,  etc.,  —  the  same  who  had  led  an  invasion 
three  weeks  before.  The  whole  number  of  lighting-men  in 
Lawrence  that  Sunday  did  not  exceed  two  hundred,  and 
many  of  them  were  unarmed ;  but  Brown  was  there,  and 
soon  made  himself  known.  He  was  asked  to  take  command 
of  the  defences  of  the  town,  and  though  he  declined  this,  he 
did  his  whole  duty.  Between  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  he  assembled  the  people  in  the  main  street,  and, 
mounted  on  a  dry-goods  box  in  the  midst  of  them,  made 
this  speech,  which  is  reported  by  one  who  heard  him :  — 

11  GENTLEMEN,  —  It  is  said  there  are  twenty-five  hundred  Mis 
sourians  down  at  Franklin,  and  that  they  will  be  here  in  two  hours. 
You  can  see  for  yourselves  the  smoke  they  are  making  by  setting  fire 
to  the  houses  in  that  town.  Now  is  probably  the  last  opportunity 
you  will  have  of  seeing  a  fight,  so  that  you  had  better  do  your  best. 
If  they  should  corne  up  and  attack  us,  don't  yell  and  make  a  great 
noise,  but  remain  perfectly  silent  and  still.  Wait  till  they  get  within 
twenty-five  yards  of  you ;  get  a  good  object ;  be  sure  you  see  the 
hind  sight  of  your  gun,  —  then  fire.  A  great  deal  of  powder  and  lead 
and  very  precious  time  is  wasted  by  shooting  too  high.  You  had 
better  aim  at  their  legs  than  at  their  heads.  In  either  case,  be  sure 
of  the  hind  sights  of  your  guns.  It  is  from  the  neglect  of  this  that  I 
myself  have  so  many  times  escaped ;  for  if  all  the  bullets  that  have 
ever  been  aimed  at  me  had  hit,  I  should  have  been  as  full  of  holes  as 
a  riddle.7' 

After  this  exhortation,  which  reminds  one  of  John  Stark 
at  Bunker  Hill  and  Bennington,  Brown  sent  a  small  force 
to  the  few  defences  about  the  town,  and  others  ordered  all 
the  men  who  had  the  far-shooting  Sharpe's  rifle  —  then  a  new 
weapon — to  go  out  upon  the  prairie,  half  a  mile  south,  where 
by  this  time  the  invading  horsemen  could  be  seen,  two  miles 
off.  After  a  halt  for  reconnoitring  purposes,  the  enemy  made 
an  advance  upon  Brown's  left,  and  came  within  half  a  mile 
of  his  advance  guard,  just  as  the  sun  was  setting.  Under 


336  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

cover  of  the  dusk  some  approached  nearer ;  but  the  dis 
charge  of  a  few  Sharpe's  rifles  and  the  coming  of  a  brass 
cannon,  which  had  been  ordered  up  to  support  the  rifles, 
caused  the  enemy  (who  may  have  been  only  a  reconnoitring 
party)  to  turn  and  retreat;  and  no  further  attack  was 
made.  The  stone  building  which  Dunlop  mentions  was  a 
stone  church,  still  standing,  on  the  southwest  side  of  Law 
rence  ;  and  John  Brown,  Jr.,  was  one  of  thirty  or  forty 
men  sent  out  to  hold  that  position.  He  is  my  authority 
for  the  statement  that  Brown  placed  men  armed  with 
pitchforks  (for  want  of  better  weapons)  in  places  of  defence 
where  they  could  be  useful  with  such  arms.  He  heard  his 
father  make  the  speech  above  cited,  and  says  it  was  longer 
than  reported,  but  the  substance  of  it  was  caught  and 
printed.  Colonel  Walker,  of  Lawrence,  told  me  in  1882 
that  on  the  14th  of  September,  1856,  Brown  was  not  in 
command,  "  but  went  about  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder." 
In  Lane's  absence  on  an  expedition  the  chief  command  fell 
to  Captain  Abbott,  the  rescuer  of  Branson,  who  was  "  officer 
of  the  day."  There  was  little  fighting,  but  much  firing  on 
both  sides  at  long  range.  Walker  himself  went  out  toward 
Franklin  with  ten  or  fifteen  mounted  men,  to  reconnoitre ; 
saw  the  enemy, — two  or  three  thousand  in  number,  as  he 
judged,  —  and  fell  back  toward  Lawrence,  followed  by  two 
hundred  or  more  of  them.  When  these  men  came  near 
Lawrence  they  were  fired  at  by  the  few  men  who  were 
there,  but  there  was  no  engagement.  If  the  main  body  had 
come  up  then,  they  might  have  captured  Lawrence,  in 
Colonel  Walker's  opinion. 

During  his  excursion  northward,  early  in  August,  we  get 
a  glimpse  of  John  Brown  as  he  appeared  to  the  armed 
emigrants  from  Massachusetts  and  New  York.  A  brother 
of  Brown's  wounded  son-in-law,  on  learning  of  the  casual 
ties  at  Black  Jack,  at  once  left  North  Elba,  and  joined  the 
second  Massachusetts  company  of  emigrants  at  Buffalo. 
Brown  rode  into  their  camp  in  Nebraska,  inquiring  if 
William  Thompson  was  there,  found  him,  and  they  left  the 
camp  together.  "The  Captain  was  riding  a  splendid  horse, 
and  was  dressed  in  plain  white  summer  clothing.  He  wore 
a  large  straw  hat,  and  was  closely  shaven:  everything 


1856.J  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  337 

about  him  was  scrupulously  clean."  He  made  a  great  im 
pression  on  several  of  the  company,  who,  without  knowing 
him,  at  once  declared  that  he  must  be  a  distinguished  man 
in  disguise.  Brown  and  his  party  then  proceeded  to  Tabor, 
in  loVa,  left  the  wounded  man  and  his  brother  there,  and 
went  back  to  Kansas  in  company  with  General  Lane  and 
Colonel  Walker. 

Let  me  make  a  digression  here,  in  order  to  introduce 
some  anecdotes  which  I  heard  from  Colonel  Walker  con 
cerning  Captain  Brown  and  General  Lane,  the  two  Kansas 
men  who  were  always  ready  for  fighting.  Colonel  Walker 
was  a  Pennsylvania  Democrat  when  he  settled  in  Kansas,  a 
little  earlier  than  John  Brown  went  there.  He  has  always 
lived  there,  except  when  in  the  military  service ;  and  no 
man's  character  for  truth  and  courage  stands  higher.  He 
told  me  that  he  first  saw  Brown  when  he  came  with  his  sons 
in  a  wagon  from  Osawatomie  to  Lawrence,  to  help  defend 
it  from  the  Missourians  in  the  "  Wakarusa  War  "  of  1855. 
They  were  then  the  best-armed  men  he  had  seen  in  Kansas. 
There  was  no  fighting  then,  but  earthworks  were  thrown  up 
near  Governor  Robinson's  old  house  on  Mount  Oread,  where 
now  the  State  University  stands  ;  and  these  old  lines  are 
still  visible.  Walker  was  sent  by  Robinson  in  August, 
1856,  to  meet  General  Lane,  then  coming  on  with  a  party 
of  emigrants  who  had  crossed  Iowa  and  Nebraska,  and  to 
prevent  him  from  being  intercepted  by  General  Richardson 
and  the  Missourians  or  the  United  States  troops,  on  his 
way  into  Kansas  with  his  company  of  armed  emigrants. 
Wralker  rode  up  to  the  Nemaha  River,  and  found  what  he 
supposed  was  a  camp  of  Missourians,  but  which  turned  out 
to  be  John  Brown,  with  his  sick  son  Owen  and  a  few  men, 
working  their  way  along  northward  to  where  he  was  to 
leave  Owen  at  Tabor,  in  Iowa.  Brown  and  Walker  then 
went  northward  together  until  they  came  near  where  Lane 
was.  When  Walker  told  Lane  that  he  must  not  come  into 
Kansas  with  his  emigrants,  for  if  he  did  he  would  certainly 
be  arrested  by  the  United  States  troops.  Lane  said :  "  Then 
I  will  shoot  myself  to-night;  for  I  have  told  the  Kansas 
people  that  I  am  coming  back,  and  I  have  told  these  emi- 

22 


338  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

grants  that  I  am  going  in  with  them  ;  if  I  give  it  up  now  it 
will  be  said  that  I  deserted  them,  and  there  will  be  no  way 
of  disproving  it.  I  must  go  back  into  Kansas." 

Walker  then  told  Lane  that  he  must  disguise  himself. 
"  So  we  tried  nitrate  of  silver  on  his  face,  but  it  would  not 
change  him  j  and  then  we  tried  putting  old  clothes  on  him ; 
but  the  worse  clothes  we  put  on,  the  more  like  Jim  Lane 
he  looked."  Then  Walker  said  he  would  take  him  back 
under  escort,  with  Brown's  help ;  and  they  started  so,  with 
twenty  or  thirty  men,  and  Brown  among  them.  WThen 
they  camped  for  the  night,  Brown,  according  to  his  custom, 
went  away  to  sleep  by  himself  5  and  Walker  describes  him 
as  sitting  bolt  upright  on  his  saddle,  with  his  back  against 
a  tree,  his  horse  "  lariated  "  to  the  saddle-peak,  and  Brown 
asleep  with  his  rifle  across  his  knees.  At  early  dawn 
Walker  went  up  to  waken  Brown,  and  as  he  touched  him 
on  the  shoulder  Brown  sprang  up  "quick  as  a  cat,"  lev 
elled,  cocked,  and  discharged  his  piece,  which  Walker 
threw  up  with  his  hand  in  time  to  escape  death ;  but  the 
bullet  grazed  his  shoulder.  "That  shows  how  quick  he 
was ;  but  he  was  frightened  afterward,  when  he  saw  it  was 
I  he  had  fired  at."  Then,  said  Walker,  "  As  we  rode  along 
together,  Brown  was  in  a  sort  of  study ;  and  I  said  to  him, 
1  Captain  Brown,  I  would  n't  have  your  thoughts  for  any 
thing  in  the  world.'  Brown  said,  '  I  suppose  you  are  think 
ing  about  the  Pottawatomie  affair.'  Said  I,  <Yes.?  Then 
he  stopped  and  looked  at  me,  and  said,  '  Captain  Walker,  I 
saw  that  whole  thing,  but  I  did  not  strike  a  blow.  I  take 
the  responsibility  of  it ;  but  there  were  men  who  advised 
doing  it,  and  afterward  failed  to  justify  it,'"  —  meaning, 
as  Walker  supposed,  Lane  and  Robinson.  Walker  now 
believes  Brown,  and  cannot  think  that  Townsley's  state 
ment  about  Brown's  shooting  Doyle  through  the  head  is 
correct ;  "  for  Brown  would  never  tell  me  what  was  not 
true,  and  would  not  deny  to  me  anything  he  had  really 
done." 

In  respect  to  Governor  Geary's  friendly  feeling  toward 
Brown,  Walker  said  that  one  morning,  after  a  deed  of  Brown 
which  had  made  much  noise,  Geary  sent  a  note  to  Walker, 
as  he  was  drilling  his  men  out  on  the  field,  telling  him  to  get 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  339 

word  to  Brown  that  a  warrant  was  out  against  him,  which 
must  be  served,  and  that  Brown  must  get  away.  Walker  saw 
a  man  looking  on  whom  he  had  before  seen  in  Brown's  camp  ; 
he  took  him  one  side,  showed  him  Geary's  note,  and  told  him 
to  find  and  warn  Brown.  Not  long  after  came  an  orderly 
from  Governor  Geary  with  a  warrant  against  Brown,  which 
Walker  must  serve  with  his  posse.  "  Take  him  dead  or 
alive ;  and  for  this  I  shall  hold  you,  Captain  W^alker,  per 
sonally  responsible,"  was  the  order.  Walker  took  the  war 
rant  and  made  search  for  Brown ;  but  of  course  he  had 
gone.  At  that  time  Brown's  camp  was  on  the  Wakarusa, 
eight  or  ten  miles  from  Lawrence.  The  man  who  warned 
Brown,  Walker  afterwards  found,  was  James  Montgomery, 
who  succeeded  to  the  reputation  of  Brown  as  a  good  fighter 
in  southern  Kansas. 

Soon  after  Governor  Geary  came  to  Kansas,  he  persuaded 
Walker  to  become  a  deputy  marshal  of  the  United  States, 
and  to  summon  jurymen,  serve  processes,  and  make  arrests. 
At  first  Walker  refused,  saying  there  were  thirty-seven  in 
dictments  against  himself  found  by  the  proslavery  grand- 
jury  ;  and  he  feared  he  should  be  arrested  if  he  undertook 
to  serve  warrants  on  other  men.  It  was  finally  agreed  that 
the  District  Attorney  should  refuse  to  prosecute  (nol.  pros.) 
these  indictments,  and  then  Walker  should  be  sworn  in  as 
a  deputy  marshal  of  the  United  States,  and  should  use  his 
armed  band  of  Free-State  men  as  his  posse  in  making  arrests. 
Before  the  matter  was  thus  settled,  Governor  Geary  came 
to  Lawrence  from  Lecompton  one  day,  and  sent  word  that 
he  would  dine  at  Walker's  house ;  but,  as  it  happened,  that 
very  day  the  other  United  States  Marshal  with  a  posse  of 
mounted  proslavery  men  came  into  Lawrence  to  arrest 
Walker,  went  to  his  house,  and  was  fired  upon  there  by  the 
people  inside,  —  Walker  being  on  the  street  with  Governor 
Geary  at  the  time.  His  little  boy  came  running  up  to  him  in 
the  street,  and  said  before  the  Governor,  "  Mother  says  the 
Marshal  and  his  men  are  surrounding  the  house  and  firing ; 
and  you  must  not  come  home."  Geary  turned  white  with 
anger,  and  said,  "  You  're  mistaken,  boy ;  they  are  firing  at 
birds."  But  he  found  it  was  the  Marshal,  and  went  back  at 
'once  to  Lecompton  and  put  a  stop  to  such  proceedings.  Soon 


340  LITE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

after,  Walker  was  sworn  in ;  and  his  first  act  was  to  sum 
mon  a  jury  of  Free-State  men.  He  had  his  pocket  full  of 
warrants  against  Free-State  men,  some  of  which  he  served 
and  some  he  would  not  serve.  Several  were  against  John 
Ritchie,  with  whom  Walker  often  spent  the  night ;  when 
Kitchie,  who  was  a  brave  Free-State  soldier,  would  say  to 
him:  "Walker,  I  like  you  as  well  as  any  man  in  Kansas; 
but  if  you  try  to  serve  your  warrants  on  me,  by  God,  I  '11 
kill  you  ! "  "I  never  did  try,"  said  Walker ;  " but  by  and 
by  another  deputy  —  a  Free-State  man  —  had  the  warrants 
given  him  to  serve,  and  thought  he  must  try  it ;  he  did  so, 
and  Ritchie  shot  him." 

It  was  probably  upon  the  hint  which  Walker  gave  through 
Montgomery,  that  John  Brown  left  Kansas  in  1856,  pursued 
by  the  United  States  troops.  He  started  for  northern  Kan 
sas  before  the  20th  of  September,  journeying  with  his  four 
sons  and  with  a  fugitive  slave,  whom  he  picked  up  on  the 
way.  The  old  hero  was  sick,  as  he  often  was,  and  travelled 
slowly  :  appearing  to  be  a  land-surveyor  on  a  journey.  He 
had  a  light  wagon  in  which  he  rode,  with  his  surveyor's  in 
struments  ostentatiously  in  sight ;  and  inside,  covered  up  in 
a  blanket,  was  the  fugitive  slave.  Sometimes  he  pitched 
his  camp  at  night  near  the  dragoons  who  were  ordered  to 
arrest  him,  but  who  little  suspected  that  the  formidable 
fighter  was  so  near  them  in  the  guise  of  a  feeble  old  man. 
A  spy  had  notified  the  dragoons  that  Brown  was  on  the  road, 
and  they  were  on  the  watch  for  him,  —  five  hundred  mounted 
men,  as  one  of  his  sons  told  me,  with  four  cannon.  Early 
in  the  morning  two  of  the  sons,  John  and  Jason,  rose  early 
and  made  a  long  circuit  round  the  camp,  while  their  father, 
ill  and  weak,  followed  on  later  in  the  day.  It  was  proposed 
to  carry  him  along  this  dangerous  part  of  his  journey  con 
cealed  in  the  wagon,  as  his  fugitive  slave  was.  "No,"  said 
Brown,  who  scorned  to  hide  himself ;  "  I  may  as  well  die  by 
the  enemy  as  be  jolted  to  death  in  the  wagon."  At  Ply 
mouth,  not  far  from  the  Nebraska  border,  Redpath,  in  one 
of  his  journeys  through  the  Territory,  found  him  lying  ill 
in  a  log  hut,  while  his  four  sons  were  camped  near  by.  A 
few  hours  after,  the  dragoons,  hearing  he  was  so  near  them, 
came  up  to  arrest  him  ;  but  he  had  crossed  the  border  into 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  341 

Nebraska,  and  was  out  of  tlieir  reach.  He  went  forward 
till  he  came  to  Tabor  in  Iowa,  not  far  northeast  of  Nebraska 
City,  and  there  remained  among  friends  for  two  weeks  in 
early  October.  In  the  latter  part  of  that  month  he  reached 
Chicago,  and  made  himself  known  to  the  National  Kansas 
Committee,  which  then  had  headquarters  in  that  city.1  Af 
terward  he  travelled  eastward,  to  Ohio,  to  Peterboro',  N.  Y., 
where  he  visited  his  friend  Gerrit  Smith  ;  to  Albany  and 
Springfield,  and  finally  to  Boston,  where  I  first  saw  him  in 
the  early  part  of  January,  1857. 

That  Brown  was  in  Chicago  as  early  as  October  25  will 
be  seen  by  the  two  following  letters,  —  the  first  by  General 
J.  D.  Webster,  then  a  member  of  the  National  Kansas  Com 
mittee,  and  the  other  by  Mr.  Horace  White,  its  assistant 
secretary :  — 

NATIONAL  KANSAS  COMMITTEE  ROOMS, 
CHICAGO,  Oct.  25,  1856. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  We  have  requested  Captain  Brown  to  join  you  and 
give  you  the  benefit  of  his  counsel  in  reference  to  the  safe  transporta 
tion  of  your  freight.2  Colonel  Dickey  will  also  be  ahle  to  assist  you. 
We  hope  every  precaution  will  be  taken.  Captain  Brown  says  the 
immediate  introduction  of  the  supplies  is  not  of  much  consequence 
compared  to  the  danger  of  losing  them.  We  trust  your  foresight  and 

1  On  his  way  from  Kansas  to  Chicago  he  passed  one  of  his  sons,  who 
was  going  to  join  his  father  in  Kansas,  as  appears  by  this  letter  :  — 

ST.  CHARLES,  IOWA,  Oct.  30,  1856. 

DEAR  MOTHER,  BROTHERS,  AND  SISTERS,  —  I  sent  you  a  draft  for  thirty  dollars  a  few 
days  ago  in  a  sheet  of  paper  with  a  very  few  words  on  it,  —  they  being  all  I  had  time  to 
write  then.  We  are  well  and  in  fine  spirits,  besides  being  in  good  company.  We  are  in 
the  company  of  a  train  of  Kansas  teams  loaded  with  Sharpe's  rifles  and  cannon.  I  heard 
a  report  that  father  had  gone  East.  We  travel  very  slow  ;  you  can  write  to  us  at  Tabor. 
On  our  way  we  saw  Gerrit  Smith,  F.  Douglass,  and  other  old  friends.  We  have  each  a 
Sharpe's  rifle.  Oliver,  your  watch  was  all  that  saved  us.  I  want  you  to  write  and  let 
us  know  how  you  get  along.  No  more  now. 

Yours  truly,  WATSON  BROWN. 

From  this  it  would  seem  that  Oliver  Brown,  the  youngest  son,  had  gone 
back  to  North  Elba  in  advance  of  his  father.  Watson  also  turned  back 
and  joined  his  father  at  Chicago,  and  then  returned  home  to  the  Adiron- 
dacs,  where  I  saw  him  in  the  summer  of  1857. 

2  This  "  freight"  included  the  two  hundred  rifles  sent  forward  in  Sep 
tember  by  the  Massachusetts  Kansas  Committee,  and  afterward  carried  by 
Brown  to  Virginia  when  he  attacked  Harper's  Ferry. 


342  LITE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

discretion  will  prevent  any  loss,  and  be  of  essential  aid  to  the  good 
cause. 

Yours  truly,  J.  D.  WEBSTER. 

DR.  J.  P.  ROOT. 

OFFICE  NATIONAL  KANSAS  COMMITTEE, 

CHICAGO,  Oct.  26,  1856. 

CAPTAIN  BROWN,  —  We  expect  Mr.  Arny,  our  general  agent,  just 
from  Kansas,  to  be  in  to-morrow  morning.  He  has  been  in  the 
Territory  particularly  to  ascertain  the  condition  of  certain  affairs  for 
our  information.  I  know  he  will  very  much  regret  not  having  seen 
you.  If  it  is  not  absolutely  essential  for  you  to  go  on  to-night,  I 
would  recommend  you  to  wait  and  see  him.  I  shall  confer  with 
Colonel  Dickey  on  this  point.  Rev.  Theodore  Parker,  of  Boston,  is 
at  the  Briggs  House,  and  wishes  very  much  to  see  you. 
Yours  truly, 

HORACE  WHITE,  Assist.  Sec.,  etc. 

P.  S.  If  you  wish  one  or  two  of  those  rifles,1  please  call  at  our 
office  between  three  and  five  this  afternoon,  or  between  seven  and 
eight  this  evening. 

In  his  testimony  before  Senator  Mason's  investigating 
committee  in  January,  1860,  Mr.  White  thus  explained  the 
allusion  to  rifles  in  the  letter  just  cited :  "  Our  committee 
sent  John  Brown  twenty-five  navy  revolvers  of  Colt's  manu 
facture,  in  August,  1856,  by  Mr.  Arny,  our  agent ;  but  they 
never  reached  him.  They  were  sent  to  Lawrence  and  stored 
there  for  a  time,  subject  to  Brown's  order  ;  but  he  did  not 
come  forward  to  claim  them,  and  they  were  loaned  to  a  mili 
tary  company  in  Lawrence  called  the  '  Stubs ; '  but  Brown 
never  afterward  appeared  to  claim  them.  He  told  me  that 
the  reason  was,  he  had  had  so  much  trouble  and  fuss  and 
difficulty  with  the  people  of  Lawrence,  that  he  never  would 
go  there  again  to  claim  anything.  I  gave  no  other  arms  to 
Brown  himself,  but  gave  rifles  to  two  of  his  sons.  After  all 
the  arms  of  the  committee  had  been  distributed  in  Kansas, 
or  all  but  two  or  three,  Mr.  Brown  made  his  appearance  at 
the  committee-rooms  with  two  of  his  sons  in  October,  1856. 
One  of  them  was  Watson,  and  the  other,  I  think,  was  Owen 
Brown.  We  had  three  or  four  rifles  left,  and  I  gave  one  to 

1  These  were  perhaps  from  the  Massachusetts  stock  of  rifles,  but  most 
likely  belonged  to  another  lot  which  was  then  on  its  way  to  Kansas. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS  STRUGGLE   CONTINUED.  343 

each  of  those  sous  ;  and,  as  they  were  very  poorly  clad,  I 
went  down  to  a  fur  store  in  Chicago  and  purchased  each  of 
them  a  pair  of  fur  gloves  and  fur  overshoes  and  caps."  Mr. 
White  also  fitted  out  Captain  Brown  with  a  new  suit  of 
clothes,  in  which  he  made  his  visits  that  winter  to  his  New 
England  friends,  who  had  begun  to  take  a  strong  interest  in 
his  course,  as  the  following  note  from  the  Emigrant  Aid 
Office  in  Boston  sufficiently  indicates  :  — 

BOSTON,  Sept.  22,  1856. 

No.  3  Winter  Street. 
JOHN  BROWN,  ESQ.  » 

DEAR  SIR,  —  The  Messrs.  Chapin,  who  keep  the  Massasoit  House 
in  Springfield,  in  this  State,  wish  to  give  you  fifty  or  one  hundred 
dollars,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  admiration  of  your  brave  conduct 
during  the  war.  Will  you  write  to  them,  stating  how  they  can 
send  you  the  money  ?  Call  upon  Mr.  S.  N.  Simpson,  of  Lawrence. 
He  will  tell  you  who  I  am. 

Yours  truly, 

CHARLES  H.  BRANSCOMB. 

Indeed,  at  this  time  Brown  had  the  confidence  of  all 
lovers  of  liberty. 

NOTE.  —  While  these  events  were  occurring  in  Kansas,  Congress  was 
in  session  at  Washington,  adjourning  Aug.  30,  1856.  The  Senate  was 
controlled  by  Senator  Mason  and  his  slaveholding  associates,  who  were 
obediently  followed  by  Cass,  Douglass,  and  the  other  Northern  "  dough 
faces,"  as  John  Randolph  called  such  persons.  The  House,  under  the  lead 
of  the  Speaker,  —  General  Banks,  of  Massachusetts,  —  was  on  the  side  of 
freedom,  and  voted  that  the  Territorial  laws  of  Kansas  were  oppressive  ; 
it  also  refused  for  some  weeks  to  pass  the  Army  Bill,  except  with  a  clause 
forbidding  the  "dough-face"  President  Pierce  to  use  the  army  against 
the  freemen  of  Kansas.  Finally,  a  few  Northern  men  yielded,  and  the  bill 
passed  the  House  as  Mason  and  Douglass  forced  it  through  the  Senate  (Aug. 
30,  1856).  The  American  news  from  Kansas  and  Washington,  "through 
some  certain  strainers  well  refined,"  reached  London  in  a  damaged  state  ; 
for  Lord  Malmesbury  wrote  in  his  diary,  Sept.  6,  1856  :  "Civil  war  has 
broken  out  in  the  United  States  between  the  Abolitionists  and  the  proslav- 
ery  party,  and  a  great  deal  of  blood  has  been  already  shed.  The  Govern 
ment  refused  to  take  part  with  either  side,  upon  which  the  slave-party  in 
Congress  would  not  vote  the  supplies  for  the  army,  which  accordingly  must 
be  disbanded."  As  this  peer  had  been  Foreign  Secretary,  he  might  have 
been  supposed  to  know  something  about  America  ;  but  he  writes  in  1865, 
after  the  fighting  around  Richmond,  that  Grant  and  Sheridan  "  drove  Lee 
into  Pittsburg."  Such  is  English  material  for  American  history  ! 


344  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1854. 


CHAPTEK  XI. 
JOHN  BROWN  AND  THE  KANSAS  COMMITTEES. 


committees  appointed  from  1854  to  1859  to  attend 
to  Kansas  and  its  affairs  were  legion,  and  as  various  in 
kind  as  possible.  The  Boston  Emigrant  Aid  Company  was 
the  first  of  these  committees  ;  next  the  Free-State  men  of 
Lawrence  formed  a  singular  secret  committee  in  1855,  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  Border  Ruffians  ;  and  of  this 
the  chief  members  were  General  Lane  and  Charles  Robin 
son.  A  penitent  or  treacherous  member,  who  had  been 
admitted  to  this  secret  committee,  disclosed  what  he  said 
were  its  oaths  and  signs  ;  but  there  was  much  exaggeration 
in  what  Dr.  Francis  swore  to  before  the  next  Kansas  com 
mittee,  —  that  of  Congress,  sent  out  in  the  spring  of  1856. 
Some  parts  of  his  testimony  may  here  be  cited  to  show  what 
he  wished  to  have  us  believe  :  — 

THE    KANSAS    REGULATORS.1 

"  Offers  were  made  to  me  by  various  persons  to  introduce  me  to 
a  secret  political  organization.  The  only  name  I  ever  received  as 
a  member  of  the  lodge  was  Kansas  Regulators.  ...  I  went  with 

1  John  Brown,  Jr.,  says  :  I  belonged  to  this  secret  organization,  though 
I  cannot  say  it  had  this  name  :  it  seems  to  me  the  name  was  "  Kansas 
Defenders."  I  was  initiated  by  Lane  himself,  in  a  room  of  Garvey's  Hotel 
at  Topeka,  in  the  spring  of  1856,  at  the  time  of  the  first  assembling  of  the 
legislature  under  the  Topeka  Constitution.  The  oath,  as  stated  by  Dr. 
Francis,  is  the  same  substantially  as  administered  by  Lane  to  me.  I  do 
not  think  we  were  retpuired  by  our  oath  to  resist  United  States  authorities 
in  attempts  to  enforce  the  bogus  laws,  though  it  was  understood  by  us  that 
we  might  be  driven  to  do  so,  when  we  would  so  resist,  rather  than  tamely 
submit.  Our  badge  was  a  narrow  black  ribbon,  from  six  to  eight  inches 
long,  tied  in  the  button-hole  of  the  shirt  collar. 


1855.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  345 

Colonel  Lane  to  the  law-office  of  John  Hutchinson,  as  I  afterward 
found  out.  Governor  Reeder  did  not  go  into  the  room  where  I  was 
initiated.  Dr.  Robinson  was  standing  just  before  the  door  with  a 
lady,  I  should  think.  Colonel  Lane  asked  him  to  leave  the  lady  and 
go  into  the  office  with  us.  Robinson  rather  objected  at  first,  but 
finally  came  in  with  us,  and  said  he  would  explain  the  nature  of  the 
organization  he  was  about  to  initiate  me  into.  The  substance  of 
the  explanation  was,  that  Kansas  was  a  beautiful  country  and  well 
adapted  to  freedom,  and  the  best  Territory  in  the  world  for  the 
friends  of  freedom  to  operate  on,  —  more  especially  for  those  who  were 
engaged  in  the  free  white  State  cause.  After  proceeding  in  that 
strain  for  a  while,  he  asked  me  if  I  was  willing  to  pledge  my  word 
and  honor  that  I  would  keep  secret  what  I  saw  there,  and  whom  I 
saw  there,  provided  he  would  pledge  his  word  and  honor  that  there 
was  nothing  which  would  interfere  with  my  duties  as  a  citizen,  or  that 
was  disloyal  in  any  respect." 

The  oath  was  this  :  — 

"  I  furthermore  promise  and  swear  that  I  will  at  all  times  and 
under  all  circumstances  bear  upon  my  person  a  weapon  of  death ; 
that  I  will  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances  keep  in  my  house 
at  least  one  gun,  with  a  full  supply  of  ammunition  ;  that  I  will  at 
all  times  and  under  all  circumstances,  when  1  see  the  sign  of  distress 
given,  rush  to  the  assistance  of  the  person  giving  it,  where  there  is 
a  greater  probability  of  saving  his  life  than  of  losing  my  own.  I 
furthermore  promise  and  swear  that  I  will,  to  the  utmost  of  my 
power,  oppose  the  laws  of  the  so-called  Kansas  Legislature;  and 
that  when  I  hear  the  words  of  danger  given  I  will  repair  to  the  place 
where  the  danger  is.  ... 

"...  The  regalia  was  this:  The  private  members  wore  a  black 
ribbon  tied  upon  their  shirt- bosoms;  the  colonel  wore  a  red  sash; 
the  lieutenant-colonel  a  green  sash,  the  major  a  blue  sash,  the  adju 
tant  a  black  sash,  the  captains  white  sashes,  the  lieutenants  yellow 
sashes,  the  orderly  sergeant  a  very  broad  black  ribbon  upon  his 
shirt-bosom.  .  .  .  Colonel  Lane  wore  the  red  sash,  and  some  one 
else,  but  I  am  not  certain  who  it  was.  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  any 
body  with  a  green  sash.  Dr.  Robinson  had  a  beautiful  sash  on, 
looking  like  a  blue  and  red  one  joined  together,  trimmed  with  gold 
lace.  I  was  told  it  denoted  some  higher  office  than  colonel ;  but  I 
did  not  learn  what  it  was.  .  .  . 

"  In  regard  to  the  laws  which  were  to  be  resisted,  I  understood 
from  Dr.  Robinson  and  Colonel  Lane  that  they  were  the  laws  of 
the  late  Territorial  Legislature.  Colonel  Lane  said  :  '  We  will  not 


346  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1855. 

submit  to  any  laws  passed  by  that  Legislature  ;  and  we  are  mak 
ing  preparations  to  place  in  the  hands  of  every  Free-State  man  a 
Sharpe's  rifle  and  a  brace  of  Colt's  revolvers  j  and,  if  need  be,  we 
will  resist  even  the  United  States  troops  if  they  attempt  to  enforce 
those  laws.'  He  also  stated  at  the  same  time  that  an  attack  had 
been  anticipated  on  the  town  of  Lawrence  the  day  before,  and  that 
lie  saw  five  hundred  men  there,  at  their  business  in  the  streets, 
armed.  .  .  .  Dr.  Robinson  and  Col.  Lane  told  me  they  expected 
to  form  lodges  or  councils  in  every  county  in  the  Territory.  They 
proclaimed  me  a  Kansas  Regulator;  and  that  was  all  the  name 
I  learned  for  a  member  of  the  organization ;  and  they  gave  me 
authority  to  institute  lodges,  and  conferred  upon  me  a  sort  of  brevet 
rank  of  captain.  This  was  at  the  time  I  was  initiated.  During  the 
first  Lawrence  war  they  sent  me  a  commission  as  captain,  which  I 
never  used." 

A  Free-State  man,  Mr.  G.  P.  Lowrey,  testified  thus :  — 

11 .  .  .  I  have  no  distinct  recollection  of  all  the  oath,  but  I  know 
Dr.  Francis  testifies  to  matters  as  being  in  the  oath  which  were  not 
contained  in  it.  The  oath  required  us  to  keep  fire-arms  and  ammu 
nition  ;  to  use  all  lawful  and  honorable  means  to  make  Kansas  a  free 
State ;  to  wear  at  all  times  upon  our  persons  a  weapon  of  death ; 
and  I  think  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  a  brother  when  the  probability 
of  saving  his  life  was  greater  than  of  losing  our  own.  I  do  not 
recollect  anything  in  the  oath  which  required  us  to  deal  with  Free- 
State  men  in  preference  to  proslavery  men,  or  to  wear  upon  the  per 
son  at  all  times  the  insignia  of  the  order,  or  to  obey  at  all  times  the 
orders  of  superior  officers  even  unto  death." 

That  Brown  had  something  to  do  with  both  these  com 
mittees  is  probable,  —  almost  certain.  He  was  at  times  in 
close  relations  with  the  officers  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Com 
pany,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  was  a  small  stockholder  there 
in.  There  is  no  record  that  he  was  ever  initiated  in  the 
secret  order  of  Robinson  and  Lane  ;  but  it  has  been  asserted 
that  he  executed  the  five  men  on  the  24th  of  May  in  accord 
ance  with  a  decree  of  these  ft  Regulators."  I  have  seen  no 
good  evidence  of  this,  but  have  no  doubt  that  some  of  the 
"Regulators  "  counselled  such  acts  and  justified  them  when 
done.  The  committees  under  which  Brown  chiefly  acted 
however,  when  he  would  connect  himself  with  any  such 
organizations  at  all,  were  the  National  Kansas  Committee, 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  347 

which  was  formed  in  Buffalo  in.  the  summer  of  1856,  and 
the  State  Kansas  Committee  of  Massachusetts,  formed  about 
the  same  time,  but  continuing  much  longer  in  its  work. 
The  creation  of  such  unofficial  bodies  for  public  service  was 
natural  enough,  and  in  accord  with  a  national  custom.  The 
people  of  the  North  had  resolved  that  Kansas  should  be  con 
trolled  by  freemen,  and  that  slavery  should  never  be  toler 
ated  there.  In  pursuance  of  this  resolution,  they  formed 
these  societies  and  committees  to  colonize  Kansas  with 
Northern  men,  who  would  never  vote  to  establish  slavery ; 
and  by  one  of  these  organizations,  —  the  New  England 
Emigrant  Aid  Company,  —  a  portion  of  Kansas  was  in  fact 
colonized  during  the  years  1854  and  1855.  At  that  time  I 
was  in  college,  and  so  occupied  with  my  private  affairs  that, 
except  to  vote  and  read  the  newspapers,  I  took  little  inter 
est  in  those  of  the  public.  But  upon  leaving  college  and 
going  to  reside  in  Concord  in  1855,  I  became  more  actively 
concerned  in  regard  to  the  political  situation,  and  early  took 
up  the  opinion  that  the  battle  between  the  North  and  the 
South  was  first  to  be  fought  in  Kansas.  In  the  spring  of  1856 
one  of  my  brothers  became  a  Kansas  colonist.  Soon  after, 
the  outrages  of  the  Missouri  invaders  of  Kansas  grew  so  fre 
quent  and  alarming  that  the  indignation  of  Massachusetts 
and  of  the  whole  North  was  roused,  and  further  action  be 
gan  to  be  taken  in  this  form.  "  Kansas  committees  "  were 
organized  in  towns,  counties,  and  States,  and  very  soon  a 
national  committee,  among  the  members  of  which  were 
Abraham  Lincoln,  G-errit  Smith,  and  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe.  Mr. 
Lincoln  never  acted,  so  far  as  I  know ;  but  the  committee 
did  much  work  for  a  year,  and  raised  thousands  of  dollars 
to  colonize  towns  and  support  armed  colonists  in  Kansas. 
Between  May,  1856,  and  January,  1857,  I  passed  through 
all  the  grades  of  these  Kansas  committees,  —  beginning  in 
June,  1856,  as  secretary  of  the  Concord  town  committee ; 
then  in  July  helping  to  organize  a  county  committee  for 
Middlesex,  of  which  I  was  secretary ;  then  serving  as  secre 
tary  to  the  Massachusetts  State  Kansas  Committee,  from 
December,  1856,  until  the  committee  dissolved  in  1858-59 ; 
and  finally  serving  upon  the  National  Committee  at  its  last 
meeting,  in  January,  1857,  as  proxy  for  Dr.  Howe. 


348  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857- 

What  a  few  years  later  the  Sanitary  Commission  did  for 
the  Union  armies  as  a  whole,  these  committees  of  1856-57  did 
for  the  pioneers  of  Kansas.  Something  more  was  done,  too  ; 
for  they  supplied  rifles,  cartridges,  and  cannon  to  the  defend 
ers  of  freedom  in  Kansas,  —  a  work  which  the  Sanitary  Com 
mission  could  leave  to  the  National  Government.  The  first 
large  sum  of  money  raised  to  buy  arms  for  Kansas  was  that 
contributed  in  Boston  during  the  spring  of  1855,  —  some 
thousands  of  dollars,  which  were  expended  in  the  purchase 
of  Sharpe's  rifles.  The  Faneuil  Hall  Committee,  of  Bos 
ton,  organized  in  May,  1856,  pledged  itself  to  raise  money 
for  use  "  in  a  strictly  lawful  manner  "  in  Kansas ;  but  most 
of  the  other  committees  were  not  so  scrupulous,  and  gave 
their  money  freely  to  arm  the  colonists  who  went  out  to 
defend  the  Free-State  cause.  The  National  Kansas  Com 
mittee,  which  had  its  headquarters  at  Chicago,  had  received 
and  forwarded  many  of  these  arms  ;  but  some  members  of 
this  committee  soon  became  distrustful  of  Captain  Brown, 
who  was  too  radical  for  them.  A  general  meeting  of  this 
National  Committee,  which  was  made  up  of  one  or  more 
members  from  each  free  State,  assembled  in  New  York  on 
the  23d  of  January,  1857.  At  this  meeting,  which  took 
place  at  the  Astor  House,  and  remained  in  session  two  days, 
Captain  Brown  was  present,  urging  his  plan  to  organize  a 
company  of  mounted  rangers  for  service  in  Kansas  and  Mis 
souri.  I  was  there  as  a  delegate  from  Massachusetts,  and 
caused  a  resolution  to  be  introduced,  transferring  the  cus 
tody  of  two  hundred  Massachusetts  rifles  to  our  own  State 
committee.  This  was  passed  without  much  opposition  ; 
but  another  resolution,  introduced  I  think  by  Mr.  Newton, 
the  delegate  from  Vermont,  and  appropriating  five  thousand 
or  ten  thousand  dollars  to  Captain  Brown  for  his  special 
purposes,  was  vehemently  opposed  by  Mr.  Henry  B.  Hurd, 
of  Chicago,  and  a  few  others,  —  among  them  Mr.  Arny,  of 
Illinois,  who  had  taken  Abraham  Lincoln's  place  on  the 
committee.  The  reasons  given  by  these  gentlemen  were 
that  Captain  Brown  was  so  ultra  and  violent  that  he  would 
use  the  money,  if  voted,  in  ways  which  the  committee 
would  not  sanction ;  and  I  remember  that  Mr.  Hurd,  when 
Captain  Brown  had  withdrawn,  urged  this  argument  very 


1857.1  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  349 

earnestly.  The  views  of  the  more  radical  Eastern  members 
prevailed  however,  and  the  money  was  voted,  although  only 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  of  it  was  ever  paid  over  to 
Captain  Brown. 

The  friends  of  Kansas  in  Massachusetts,  and  particularly 
the  State  Kansas  Committee  (which  grew  out  of  the  Faneuil 
Hall  Committee  and  some  others  appointed  in  the  Massachu 
setts  counties),  had  no  hesitation  in  buying  rifles  and  ammu 
nition,  and  did,  in  fact,  buy  the  rifles  which  John  Brown 
carried  to  Harper's  Ferry.  This  State  committee,  and  its 
auxiliaries  in  the  towns  and  counties,  raised  throughout 
Massachusetts,  during  1856,  nearly  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  money  and  supplies,  which  were  sent  to  the  Kan 
sas  people.  Some  towns,  Concord  for  example,  raised  in 
proportion  to  their  population  much  more  than  this  ;  for  it 
was  estimated  that  if  all  Massachusetts  had  contributed  as 
freely  as  Concord,  the  amount  raised  in  the  State  would 
have  been  nearly  a  million  dollars.  Personally,  I  under 
took  to  canvass  Middlesex  County  that  summer  and  autumn, 
and  visited  more  than  half  the  towns  to  appoint  committees, 
hold  meetings,  or  solicit  subscriptions.  Enough  was  sub 
scribed,  in  Massachusetts  and  the  other  Northern  States,  to 
carry  our  colonists  in  Kansas  through  their  worst  year  ;  and 
but  for  these  supplies  of  money,  arms,  and  clothing,  it  is 
quite  possible  they  would  have  been  driven  out  or  con 
quered  by  the  Missourians,  the  United  States  troops,  and 
their  other  enemies.1 

1  The  records  of  the  Massachusetts  Kansas  Committee,  including  its 
large  correspondence,  were  in  my  possession  for  a  few  years  as  secretary. 
Before  the  attack  on  Harper's  Ferry,  or  soon  after,  I  transferred  them  to 
the  custody  of  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  George  L.  Stearns,  and 
some  of  them  have  since  been  destroyed.  They  contained  much  historical 
information  and  some  curious  revelations  concerning  political  movements  in 
those  years.  They  will  also  confirm  the  statements  made  in  the  "Atlantic 
Monthly  "  in  1872,  concerning  the  ownership  of  the  arms  carried  by  Brown 
to  Virginia.  The  Massachusetts  Committee  voted  them  to  John  Brown  as 
its  agent  in  1857,  and  though  they  were  nominally  reclaimed  in  1858,  they 
were  never  out  of  his  custody  till  captured  in  Maryland.  They  had  ceased 
to  be  the  property  of  the  committee,  except  in  name,  before  the  corres 
pondence  of  May,  1858  (printed  in  Senator  Mason's  Report  of  1860,  pp. 
176,  177),  in  which  Mr.  Stearns,  the  real  owner  of  the  arms,  warned 


850  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1856. 

Mr.  Stearns,  before  Senator  Mason's  committee  in  1860, 
gave  this  account  of  the  State  committee  :  — 

"  In  the  spring  of  1856  I  went  to  the  Boston  Committee  for  the 
relief  of  sufferers  in  Kansas,  and  offered  my  services.  I  worked  for 
them  until  June  of  that  year;  and  then  being  willing  to  devote  all  my 
time  to  the  cause,  I  was  made  chairman  of  the  Kansas  State  Com 
mittee  of  Massachusetts, , which  took  the  place  of  the  first-named  com 
mittee,  and  continued  the  work  throughout  the  State.  In  five  months, 
including  August  and  December  of  that  year  (1856),  I  raised,  through 
my  agents,  about  $48,000  in  money ;  and  in  the  same  time  my  wife 
commenced  the  formation  of  societies  for  contributions  of  clothing, 
which  resulted  in  sending  from  $20,000  to  $30,000  more,  in  supplies 
of  various  kinds.  In  January,  1857,  our  work  was  stopped,  by  ad 
vices  from  Kansas  that  no  more  contributions  were  needed  except 
for  defence.  If  we  had  not  been  thus  stopped,  our  arrangements 
then  made  would  have  enabled  us  to  have  collected  $100,000  in  the 
next  six  months.  Soon  after  our  State  committee  had  commenced 
work,  —  I  think  in  August,  1856,  —  a  messenger  from  Kansas, 
who  came  through  Iowa  (for  the  Missouri  liiver  was  then  closed  by 
the  Missouriaus  to  all  Free-State  travellers),  came  to  us  asking 
earnestly  for  arms  and  ammunition  for  defence  of  the  Free-State 
party.  Our  committee  met  the  next  day,  and  immediately  voted  to 
send  two  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles,  and  the  necessary  quantity  of  ammu 
nition,  —  which  was  procured  and  sent  to  the  National  Kansas  Com- 

Brown  not  to  use  them  for  any  other  purpose  than  the  defence  of  Kansas, 
"and  to  hold  them  subject  to  my  oyler  as  chairman  of  the  committee." 
On  the  20th  of  May,  1858,  Mr.  Stearns  wrote  thus  to  Colonel  Higginson, 
then  cognizant  of  Brown's  designs,  but  not  a  member  of  the  Kansas  Com 
mittee  :  "I  have  felt  obliged,  for  reasons  that  cannot  be  written,  to  recall 

the  arms  committed  to  B 's  custody.    We  are  all  agreed  on  that  point; 

and  if  you  come  to  Boston,  I  think  we  can  convince  you  that  it  is  for  the 
best."  That  this  recall  was  only  nominal  appears  from  a  memorandum 
made  by  Higginson  when  he  did  "  come  to  Boston  "  early  in  June.  "  I 
found,"  he  says,  "  that  the  Kansas  Committee  had  put  some  five  hundred 
dollars  in  gold  into  Brown's  hands,  and  all  the  arms,  with  only  the  under 
standing  that  he  should  go  to  Kansas,  and  then  be  left  to  his  own  discre 
tion."  In  fact,  no  member  of  the  committee  who  was  consulted  ever 
suggested  the  actual  recall  of  the  arms  from  Brown,  well  knowing  that  he 
would  not  give  them  up  unless  he  pleased.  Nor,  according  to  my  recol 
lection,  did  any  member  who  gave  advice  (probably  only  Mr.  Stearns,  Dr. 
Howe,  and  myself,  who  had  long  been  the  three  acting  members  of  a  com 
mittee  practically  defunct,  were  consulted)  desire  to  have  Brown  surrender 
them. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  351 

rnittee  at  Chicago,  to  be  by  them  forwarded  through  Iowa  to  Kansas. 
From  some  cause,  which  I  have  never  heard  explained,  these  arms 
were  delayed  in  Iowa ;  and  in  November  or  December  of  that  year 
we  directed  an  agent  to  proceed  to  Iowa  at  our  charge,  and  take 
possession  of  them  as  our  property.  Early  in  January,  1857,  John 
Brown,  of  whom  I  had  heard,  but  had  not  seen,  came  to  Boston  and 
was  introduced  to  me  by  one  of  our  Kansas  agents  ;  and  after  repeated 
conferences  with  him,  being  strongly  impressed  with  his  sagacity, 
courage,  and  stern  integrity,  I,  through  a  vote  of  our  committee, 
made  him  our  agent  to  receive  and  hold  these  arms  and  the  ammu 
nition,  for  the  defence  of  Kansas,  appropriating  $500  to  pay  his 
expenses.  Subsequently,  in  April  of  that  year,  we  authorized  him 
to  sell  one  hundred  rifles,  if  expedient,  and  voted  $500  more  to 
enable  him  to  proceed  to  Kansas  with  his  armament.  About  this 
time,  on  his  representing  that  the  force  to  be  organized  in  Kansas 
ought  to  be  provided  with  revolvers,  I  authorized  him  to  purchase 
two  hundred  from  the  Massachusetts  Arms  Company,  and  when  they 
were  delivered  to  him  in  Iowa,  paid  for  them  from  my  own  funds ; 
the  amount  was  $1,300.  At  the  same  time  I  gave  him,  by  a  letter 
of  credit,  authority  to  draw  on  me  at  sight  for  $7,000  in  sums  as 
it  might  be  wanted,  for  the  subsistence  of  one  hundred  men,  pro 
vided  that  it  should  be  necessary  at  any  time  to  call  that  num 
ber  into  the  field  for  active  service  in  the  defence  of  Kansas,  in 
1857.  As  the  exigency  contemplated  did  not  occur,  no  money  was 
drawn  under  it,  and  the  letter  was  subsequently  returned  to  me. 
Besides  these  transactions,  which  were  for  specific  purposes,  I  have 
given  him  money  from  time  to  time,  —  how  much  I  do  not  know,  as  I 
never  keep  any  account  of  my  personal  expenses,  or  of  money  I  give 
to  others  ;  it  is  all  charged  to  my  private  account  as  paid  me.  I 
should  think  it  might  amount  to,  say,  from  $1,500  to  $2,000.  In 
addition  to  what  I  have  before  stated,  I  raised  money  and  sent  an 
agent  to  Kansas  to  aid  the  Free- State  party  in  the  Lecompton 
election,  and  again  for  the  election  of  1858. 

"  Question.  Was  it  at  Brown's  request  that  you  put  him  in  pos 
session  of  those  arms  in  January,  1857  ? 

li  Answer.  No,  sir ;  but  because  we  needed  an  agent  to  secure 
them.  They  were  left  in  Iowa,  and  under  circumstances  that  made 
it  doubtful  whether  they  would  not  be  lost  entirely  ;  and  we  put  them 
into  his  hands  because  it  was  necessary  to  have  some  agent  to  pro 
ceed  there  and  reclaim  them  from  the  hands  they  were  in,  and  take 
proper  care  of  them." 

The  operations  of  the  National  Kansas  Committee  (to 
which  Gerrit  Smith  contributed  one  thousand  dollars  a 


352  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

month  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1856)  were  active 
and  efficient  for  a  time.1 

This  committee,  through  its  assistant-secretary  Horace 
White,  reported,  Jan.  25,  1857,  at  New  York,  as  follows : 

"  There  have  been  forwarded  by  this  committee  about  two  thousand 
emigrants.  These  have  gone  exclusively  by  the  land  route  of  Iowa, 
and  Nebraska.  The  committee  have  expended  between  $20,000  and 
830,000  in  provisions  and  groceries  for  the  needy  settlers.  These  sup 
plies  have  been  purchased  mostly  in  Western  Missouri,  where  food 
is  cheap  and  abundant.  There  were  also  forwarded  prior  to  the  1st 
of  December  about  four  hundred  boxes  of  clothing,  valued  at  $(JO,000. 
The  receipts  in  money  have  been  as  follows,  classified  by  States  : 

Massachusetts'.     .     .     .     .     .     .     ."./.'.     .  $26,107.17 

New  York *     •     .  33,707.39 

Illinois 8,882.00 

Ohio     .     .     .     ...     ....'.     .    .     .     ,'  2,709.41 

Connecticut 3,182.13 

Wisconsin .  3,054.35 

Michigan. .     .  2,519.15 

Pennsylvania 1,380.19 

Indiana 1,349.20 

Vermont 956.25 

Rhode  Island 643.37 

New  Hampshire 138.00 

Iowa 313.85 

Minnesota 10.00 

New  Jersey 254.00 

The  Slave  States 10.00 

Unknown 10.00 

1  The  following  were  the  names  of  its  members  :  — 

Dr.  Samuel  Cabot,  Jr.,  )  Boston,  S.  S.  Barnard,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,  /Mass.  J.  H.  Tweedy,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

B.  B.  Newton,  St.  Albans,  Vt.  W.  Penn  Clark,  Iowa  City,  Iowa. 
Governor  W.  W.  Hoppin,  Providence,  B.  I.   F.  A.  Hunt,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

W.  H.  Russell,  New  Haven,  Conn.  A.  H.  Reeder,  Kansas. 

Thaddeus  Hyatt,  New  York  City.  S.  W.  Eldridge,  Kansas. 

Alexander  Gordon,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  J.D.Webster,     \ 

W.  H.  Stanley,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  H.  B.  Hurd,          1    p.  . 

John  W.  Wright,  Logansport,  Ind.  G.  W.  Dole,  [ 

W.  F.  M.  Arny,  Bloomington,  111.  J.  Y.  Scammon,  / 

OFFICERS. 

Thaddeus  Hyatt,  President,  N.  Y.  City.         Eli  Thayer,  Agent  for  Organization  of  States, 
J.  D.  Webster,  Vice-President,  Chicago.  Worcester,  Mass. 

H.  B.  Hurd,  Secretary,  Chicago.  Edward  Daniels,  Agent  of  Emigration,  Chi- 

Horace  White,  Assistant  Secretary,  Chicago.      cago. 

Q.  W.  Dole,  Treasurer,  Chicago.  E.  B.  Whitman,  General  Agent,  Lawrence, 

Kansas. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  353 

"The  New  York  '  Tribune'  Fund  and  Gerrit  Smith's  donations 
are  included  in  the  amount  from  New  York.  Gerrit  Smith  has  paid 
in  $10,000.  These  accounts  do  not  indicate  the  entire  amount  con 
tributed  for  the  Free-State  cause  by  the  various  Northern  States. 
Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  Ohio  have  given  liberally  through 
State  organizations.  Massachusetts  has  been  the  recipient  of  dona 
tions  from  other  States,  and  has  herself  contributed  largely  without 
the  intervention  of  the  National  Committee. 

"  Of  clothing,  our  committee  have  received  seven  hundred  and 
sixty-three  packages*  valued  at  $110,000,  and  have  incurred  an 
expense  on  the  same,  up  to  the  present  date,  of  $4,108.79. 

"  I  have  prepared  a  schedule  exhibiting  the  receipts  of  clothing 
from  eacht  of  the  States  by  towns.  The  following  are  the  totals  re 
ceived  from  each  of  the  States  in  the  order  of  their  precedence  :  — 

Packages. 

Massachusetts 310 

New  York 134 

Illinois 96 

Ohio "... 51 

Michigan 26 

Wisconsin 25 

New  Hampshire 8 

Connecticut -       6 

Pennsylvania 6 

Rhode  Island 5 

Vermont 4 

Indiana 2 

Unknown 89 

Total 762 

"  It  is  proper  to  state  that  contributions  from  some  of  the  New 
England  States  were  forwarded  to  the  Boston  and  Massachusetts 
State  Relief  committees,  and  by  them  forwarded  to  us  at  Chicago, 
and  also,  without  our  intervention,  to  the  Territory  direct.  Thus,  for 
example,  —  Maine,  which  has  very  liberally  contributed,  her  popu 
lation  and  resources  considered,  does  not  appear  on  my  list,  her 
donations  being  included  in  the  list  of  packages  forwarded  by  Dr. 
Cabot.  The  State  of  Iowa  should  also  receive  credit  for  large  con 
tributions  in  clothing,  grain,  provisions,  and  money  presented  to  the 
conductors  of  our  different  overland  companies  of  emigrants." 

Mr.  Red  path,  who  reported  this  meeting  of  the  committee 
at  New  York,  said  at  the  time  :  "  At  least  $250,000,  in  cash 
and  clothing,  have  been  contributed  by  the  Republicans  of 


354  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

the  North  in  various  ways  for  the  relief  and  protection 
of  their  brethren  in  Kansas."  Of  this  sum,  not  less  than 
$100,000  came  from  the  single  State  of  Massachusetts  ; l  and 
the  whole  amount  of  money  alone  raised  there  was  more 
than  $60,000,  of  which  at  least  $20,000  was  paid  for  the 
purchase  and  forwarding  of  arms  to  the  Free-State  men. 
Yet  of  all  these  supplies  only  a  few  rifles  and  a  few  hun 
dred  dollars  in  money  went  into  the  hands  of  John  Brown 
and  his  men  in  1856.  He  sought  to  obtain  a  greater  share 
in  1857,  when,  during  the  winter  and  spring,  he  was  busily 
engaged  in  efforts  to  raise  money  enough  to  arm  and  equip 
a  hundred  mounted  men  for  service  in  Kansas  and  Missouri, 
but  without  much  success.  Although  the  National  Com 
mittee  at  its  Astor  House  meeting  voted  him  an  appropria 
tion  of  five  thousand  dollars,  he  received  nothing  under  this 
vote  except  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  that  not  until 
the  summer  of  1857.  The  money  voted  him  by  the  Massa 
chusetts  Committee  about  the  same  time  was  soon  exhausted, 
and  so  were  the  small  collections  he  had  made  in  New  Eng 
land  from  January  to  April,  1857.  The  efforts  made  for 
legislative  appropriations  in  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and 
other  Northern  States  in  aid  of  the  Kansas  colonists  all 
failed.  Brown  had  labored  in  person  for  such  an  appropria 
tion  in  Massachusetts,  going  before  the  joint  committee  of 
the  legislature  in  the  State  House  at  Boston,  on  the  18th 

1  Mr.  White  (who  has  since  been  editor  of  the  "  Chicago  Tribune,"  and 
connected  with  the  "Evening  Post"  and  other  journals  in  New  York)  said 
at  the  close  of  his  report,  Jan.  26,  1857  :  "I  desire  to  bring  before  your 
notice  the  remarkable  services  rendered  by  Dr.  Samuel  Cabot,  Jr.,  of  Bos 
ton,  from  whom  we  received  directly  and  indirectly  over  two  hundred  and 
fifty  boxes  of  clothing  within  the  short  space  of  two  months.  Let  us  not 
forget,  however,  that  it  is  to  women  almost  solely  that  the  people  of  Kan 
sas  are  indebted  for  this  invaluable  aid.  Everywhere,  they  have  been  the_ 
most  devoted  and  untiring  friends  of  freedom.  It  is  impossible  to  notice 
all  who  deserve  especial  mention  :  but  I  might  specify  the  young  ladies  of 
the  Oread  Institute,  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  who  contributed  forty-two  water 
proof  overcoats  for  the  '  Stubs '  of  Lawrence  ;  the  ladies  of  Norwalk,  Ohio, 
who  furnished  one  hundred  new  bed-comforters  ;  Mrs.  Captain  Cutter,  of 
Warren,  Mass.,  Mrs.  Dr.  Cabot,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Hibbard,  of 
Chicago,  and  Mrs.  H.  M.  T.  Cutler,  of  Dwight,  111.,  who  have  been  partic. 
ularly  active  in  organizing  the  efforts  of  the  ladies  of  the  North." 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  355 

of  February,  and  giving  his  testimony  as  an  eye-witness  of 
what  had  happened  in  Kansas  the  year  before. 

With  this  preliminary  explanation,  I  may  now  give  some 
correspondence  of  these  committees  with  Brown  and  others, 
beginning  with  a  letter  sent  by  the  Massachusetts  Kansas 
Committee,  before  they  saw  Brown,  to  the  late  Senator 
Grimes,  of  Iowa,  —  then  Governor  of  that  State. 


STATE  KANSAS  AID  COMMITTEE  ROOMS, 
BOSTON,  Dec.  20,  1856. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  of  the  16th  has  been  received,  and  we 
are  glad  to  find  that  the  importance  of  State  action  in  regard  to  Kan 
sas  is  appreciated  in  Iowa  as  well  as  here.  The  first  question  seems 
to  be,  Is  such  action  really  needed  ?  And  I  will  state  what  I  believe 
to  be  substantially  the  views  of  this  committee,  who  are  now  labor 
ing  to  obtain  an  appropriation  from  our  legislature. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  measures  of  which  you  speak  (the 
purchase  of  land,  erection  of  mills,  etc.)  could  not  well  be  engaged  in 
by  a  State  ;  and  certainly  no  grant  for  that  purpose  could  be  obtained 
here.  But  although  present  destitution  may  be  relieved  in  Kansas, 
it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  there  will  not  be  great  suffering  there 
in  the  spring,  before  any  crops  can  be  raised,  — especially  if  for  any 
cause  business  should  not  be  active.  Then  who  can  be  sure  that  the 
scenes  of  last  summer  will  not  be  acted  again  ?  True,  things  look 
better ;  but  the  experience  of  the  past  ought  to  teach  us  to  prepare 
for  the  future.  But  even  if  things  go  on  prosperously  there,  money 
may  still  be  needed.  Men  have  been  subjected  to  unjust  punish 
ments,  or  at  least  threatened  with  them,  under  the  unconstitu 
tional  laws  of  the  Territory.  It  is  desirable  that  these  cases  should 
be  brought  before  a  higher  tribunal ;  while  the  accused  person  may 
be  a  poor  man  unable  to  bear  the  expense  of  such  a  suit.  The  State 
appropriations  could  then  be  drawn  upon  for  this  purpose,  and  used 
to  retain  counsel,  furnish  evidence,  and  in  other  ways  to  forward  the 
suit  of  the  injured  man. 

Would  it  not  therefore  be  well  for  each  State  to  make  an  appro 
priation,  which  should  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor,  as  in 
Vermont,  or  of  a  committee,  until  it  should  be  needed  in  Kansas  ? 
It  would  thus  be  a  contingent  fund,  to  be  drawn  on  only  in  cases  of 
necessity,  and  it  would  be  ready  against  any  emergency.  It  might 
never  be  called  for,  or  only  a  portion  of  it  might  be  used;  but  should 
occasion  arise,  it  would  save  our  citizens  in  Kansas  from  many  of  the 
horrors  which  have  afflicted  them  the  past  year.  A  bill  embodying 


356  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

these  ideas  will  be  introduced  into  our  legislature;  and  from  the 
tone  of  our  people  we  have  good  hope  that  it  will  pass.  If  a  similar 
bill  could  pass  your  legislature  I  have  no  doubt  the  example  would 
be  followed  by  New  York,  Maine,  Michigan,  Connecticut,  and  per 
haps  by  Ohio,  New  Hampshire,  and  Rhode  Island.  A  general 
movement  of  this  kind  would  give  us  all  we  want ;  and  we  might 
make  Kansas  free,  I  think,  without  expending  a  dollar  of  the  money 
voted.  The  moral  effect  of  such  action  on  emigration  from  the  North, 
and  on  the  employment  of  capital,  would  be  very  important.  Secu 
rity  would  be  given  that  the  rights  of  emigrants  would  be  supported ; 
and  the  first  result  would  be  the  emigration  of  thousands  as  soon  as 
spring  opens;  so  that  by  July  we  should  have  a  force  of  Northern 
settlers  there,  enough  to  sustain  any  form  of  law  which  might  be  set 
up.  Without  this,  I  fear  that  next  year,  in  spite  of  the  flattering 
promises  of  the  present,  will  only  see  the  last  year's  history  repeated. 
There  will  be  no  confidence  in  the  tranquillity  of  the  Territory; 
capital  will  shun  it ;  emigration  be  almost  stopped ;  and  a  year  hence 
we  may  be  no  better  off  than  now,  —  and  perhaps  worse.  With  these 
opinions,  we  look  on  State  appropriations  as  the  salvation  of  Kansas, 
and  hope  that  the  whole  North  may  be  led  to  the  same  view. 
With  much  respect, 

F.  B.  SANBORN, 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  State  Committee. 

Although  my  name  is  signed  to  this  letter,  it  was  the  joint 
composition  of  the  chairman  (Mr.  Stearns)  and  myself ;  and 
had  been  preceded  by  the  following  letters  :  — 

BOSTON,  Dec.  18,  1856. 
H.  H.  VAN  DYCK,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Since  my  return  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Gov 
ernor  Robinson,  a  copy  of  which  is  enclosed. 

In  Connecticut  they  are  ready  to  form  a  strong  State  committee  to 
co-operate  with  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  but,  like  you,  are 
waiting  for  light.  In  Philadelphia  they  have  a  very  large  committee, 
and  are  taking  measures  for  the  ultimate  formation  of  a  State  com 
mittee.  We  are  taking  measures  to  have  a  petition  to  our  legisla 
ture  signed  in  every  town  in  our  State,  .and  find  it  meets  the  general 
approval  of  our  citizens.  We  have  also  taken  measures  to  get  full 
information  from  Chicago  and  Kansas  as  to  the  past,  which,  when 
sent  us,  we  will  forward  to  you.  Please  let  me  know  how  you  pro 
gress  in  the  work,  and  believe  me 

Your  sincere  friend, 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS, 
Chairman  M.  S.  K.  Committee. 


1856.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  357 

BOSTON,  Dec.  18,  1856. 
E.  B.  WHITMAN,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  We  have  to-day  written  to  H.  B.  Kurd,  Esq.,  ask 
ing  for  permission  for  an  examination  of  his  committee's  doings  and 
accounts  by  you.  We  have  endeavored  from  time  to  time  to  get 
from  them  definite  information  of  their  operations  j  and  now,  when 
grave  charges  are  brought  in  our  newspapers  by  Kansas  men  against 
them  and  their  agents  (the  Central  Committee  in  Kansas),  we  are 
entirely  without  the  means  of  contradicting  these  assertions,  and  can 
only  oppose  our  general  knowledge  of  their  good  character  and 
belief  in  their  wise  conduct  to  the  positive  statements  now  daily 
current.  We  therefore  wish  you  to  inform  yourself  as  fully  as  pos 
sible  of  all  their  operations  from  the  commencement  to  the  present 
time,  taking  such  minutes  of  your  researches  as  will  enable  you  to 
give  a  full  and  close  account  to  us,  and  also  before  our  legislature, 
should  you  be  called  upon  for  that  purpose.  We  want  to  know  the 
disposition  made  of  the  money  we  have  sent  to  them  (about  $21,600, 
and  two  hundred  rities),  an  account  of  which  you  have  enclosed. 
We  hope  soon  to  see  you  in  good  health,  and  are 
Truly  your  friends, 

GEORG-E  L.  STEARNS, 
Chairman  M.  S.  K.  Committee, 

In  connection  with  the  letter  to  Mr.  Whitman  given  above, 
a  letter  was  sent  to  Mr.  Hurd,  the  Secretary  of  the  National 
Committee,  portions  of  which  are  as  follows  :  — 

STATE  KANSAS  COMMITTEE  ROOMS,  17  NILES  BLOCK, 

BOSTON,  Dec.  18,  1856. 
H.  B  HTJRD,  ESQ.,  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

DEAR  SIR,  — •  Yours  of  the  10th  was  received  to-day,  and  the 
arrangement  which  you  have  made  with  regard  to  the  money  will 
no  doubt  be  satisfactory.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  however,  that  our 
committee  are  not  satisfied  with  the  infrequent  and  irregular  commu 
nication  which  exists  between  us  and  you.  It  is  now  more  than 
four  months  since  our  committee  has  been  expecting  and  hoping  for 
an  account  of  the  money  we  have  sent  you,  .  .  .  and  yet  we  can 
get  no  definite  information  as  to  the  way  in  which  your  agents  have 
expended  our  money  ;  nor  have  we  had  from  time  to  time  much 
knowledge  of  the  general  course  of  your  operations.  You  say  that 
you  have  no  time  for  such  communications;  but  certainly  a  com 
mittee  like  ours,  representing  so  many  people  and  so  much  money, 
ought  to  take  precedence  in  a  correspondence  with  individuals. 
Such  information  as  we  seek  is  absolutely  necessary  to  our  acting  in 


358  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

concert  with  you ;  and  for  want  of  it  we  are  now  compelled  to  act 
by  ourselves.  In  order  to  satisfy  the  committee  and  our  contribu 
tors  as  to  what  has  been  done,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  have 
copies  of  your  accounts,  —  so  far,  at  least,  as  they  relate  to  our 
money ;  and  therefore  we  ask  for  the  copy  mentioned  in  the  indorsed 
vote.  And  I  am  further  directed  to  request  that  you  Mill  give  our 
agent,  Mr.  E.  B.  Whitman,  such  information  on  this  point  as  he  may 
desire.  ...  All  that  our  committee  wish  is  a  full  and  business-like 
statement  of  what  you  have  done  and  are  doing ;  for  want  of  this 
they  are  compelled  to  cease  acting  as  collectors  of  money  for  which 
they  can  obtain  no  sufficient  vouchers. 
Truly  yours, 

F.  B.  SANBORN, 
Corresponding  Secretary  Mass.  State  Committee. 

These  letters,  together  with  the  movement  to  obtain 
legislative  appropriations  (one  being  actually  voted  by  the 
State  of  Vermont),  were  the  occasion  of  calling  together 
the  National  Committee  at  the  Astor  House  late  in  Jan 
uary.  But  previously  it  was  found  needful  to  notify  that 
committee  as  follows  :  —  % 

STATE  KANSAS  COMMITTEE  ROOMS, 

BOSTON,  Jan.  3,  1857. 
H.  B.  HURD,  ESQ.,  Secy.  National  Kansas  Committee. 

DEAR  SIR,  — The  Massachusetts  Kansas  Committee  have  thought 
it  best  to  rescind  the  vote  by  which  certain  rifles  owned  by  S.  Cabot, 
Jr.,  are  made  subject  to  the  order  of  the  Kansas  Central  Committee, 
and  to  resume  possession  of  the  same.  They  were  taken  on  to 
Tabor,  it  is  understood,  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Root ;  but  they  seem  to  be 
still  at  Tabor,  and  not  to  be  at  present  needed  in  Kansas.  Any 
information  which  you  can  give  our  agent  Mr.  Clark,  or  any  direc 
tions  to  your  agents  which  will  facilitate  his  business,  we  hope  you 
will  give  him.  The  necessary  expense  of  transporting  the  rifles  will 
be  reimbursed  by  this  committee  when  they  have  obtained  actual 
possession  of  them  ;  and  they  will  be  held  in  trust  for  the  people 
of  Kansas  for  the  present. 

Truly  yours, 

F.  B.  SANBORN, 

Cor.  Sec.  Mass.  S.  K.  Com. 

These  were  the  very  rifles  which  were  carried  to  Mary 
land  by  Brown,  for  use  in  Virginia,  two  years  and  a  half 


1857.J  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  359 

later ;  but  at  this  time  there  was  no  thought  of  any  such 
campaign.  Brown's  purpose,  as  he  disclosed  it  in  Boston  in 
January,  1857,  was  to  equip  and  arm  a  hundred  mounted 
men  for  defence  and  reprisal  in  Kansas ;  and  it  was  upon 
this  plan  that  the  National  Committee,  when  it  assembled, 
held  a  warm  discussion,  in  which  Brown  himself  took  part. 
His  request  was  for  arms  and  money  which  he  might  be  at 
liberty  to  use  in  his  own  way,  his  past  conduct  being  his 
guaranty  that  he  would  use  them  wisely.  A  compromise 
was  the  result.  The  arms  chiefly  in  question  were  voted 
back  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee,  who,  it  was  under 
stood,  would  place  them  in  Brown's  hands ;  and  an  appro 
priation  of  five  thousand  dollars  was  made  from  the  almost 
empty  treasury  of  the  National  Committee  for  his  benefit ; 
while  he  was  also  to  have  the  reversion  of  any  arms  in 
their  possession  not  otherwise  disposed  of.  This  appears 
by  the  following  votes  :  — 

At  a  meeting  of  the  National  Kansas  Committee,  held  at  the 
Astor  House,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
January,  A.  D.  1857,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted  :  — 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  treasurer  be   directed   to  reserve   in   the 
treasury,  out  of  any  unappropriated  moneys  in  his  custody,  or  which 
may  be  hereafter  sent  to  the  National    committee,  the  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars,  to  be  used  by  the  committee  in  aid  of  Captain 
John  Brown  in  any  defensive  measures   that  may  become   neces 
sary  ;  and  that  Captain  Brown  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to 
draw  upon  the  treasurer  for  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  as  a 
portion  of  said  sum,  at  such  time  as  he  may  deem  it  expedient, 
for  the  said  purposes. 

2.  Resolved,  That  such  arms  and  supplies  as  the  committee  may 
have,   and  which  may  be  needed  by  Captain  Brown,  are  appropri 
ated  to  his  use,  provided,  that  the  arms  and  supplies  be  not  more 
than  enough  for  one  hundred  men ;  and  that  a  letter  of  approbation 
be  given  him  by  this  committee. 

H.  B.  KURD, 
Sec.  National  Kansas  Com. 

Any  person  having  property  covered  by  the  above  Resolution  is 
requested  to  deliver  the  same  to  Mr.  John  Brown  or  his  agent. 

H.  B.  KURD. 


360  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

In  furtherance  of  these  votes,  Brown  at  once  made  out 
the  following  schedule,  which  he  called  a  "Memorandum 
of  small  outfit :  "  — 

Memorandum  of  articles  wanted  as  an  outfit  for  fifty  volunteers  to 
serve  under  my  direction  during  the  Kansas  war,  or  for  such  speci 
fied  time  as  they  may  each  enlist  for  ;  together  with  estimated  cost 
of  the  same,  delivered  in  Lawrence  or  Topeka. 

2  substantial  (but  not  heavy)  baggage  wagons  with 

good  covers $200.00 

4  good  serviceable  wagon-horses 400.00 

2  sets  strong  plain  harness 50.00 

100  good  heavy  blankets,  say  at  $2  or  $2. 50      ....  200.00 

8  substantial  large-sized  tents 100.00 

8  large  camp-kettles ..     .  12.00 

50  tin  basins 5.00 

50  tin  spoons ,    ,    .  2.00 

4  plain  strong  saddles  and  bridles 80.00 

4  picket  ropes  and  pins 3.00 

8  wooden  pails 2.00 

8  axes  and  helves 12.00 

8  frying-pans  (large  size) 8.00 

8  large  size  coffee-pots        10.00 

8      "      *'    spiders  or  bake-ovens 10.00 

8      "      "    tin  pans •'.  6.00 

12  spades  and  shovels 18.00 

6  mattocks 6.00 

2  weeks  provisions  for  men  and  horses 150.00 

fund  for  horse-hire  and   feed  ;   loss  and  damage  of 

same 500.00 

^  $1774.00 

Upon  this  list  Mr.  White  remarked  as  follows  :  — 

ASTOR  HOUSE,  NEW  YORK,  Jan.  27,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN. 

DEAR  Sm,  —  I  am  unable  yet  to  give  you  the  schedule  of  articles 
which  the  committee  propose  placing  in  your  hands.  Please  address 
rne  at  Chicago,  stating  whether  a  letter  may  be  still  sent  to  you  at 
the  Massasoit  House.  It  will  be  necessary  for  me  to  examine  ship 
ping-books,  etc.,  in  our  office  at  Chicago.  I  brought  your  matters 
before  the  notice  of  the  committee  yesterday.  Resolutions  were 
passed  directing  the  secretary  to  instruct  Mr.  Jones,  of  Tabor,  to 
retain  the  supplies,  etc.,  in  his  hands  until  you  had  made  your 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  361 

selections.  Resolutions  were  also  adopted  empowering  me  to  ship 
clothing,  boots,  etc.,  to  you  at  Tabor,  which  will  be  done  on  the 
opening  of  navigation..  Very  truly, 

HORACE  WHITE. 

OFFICE  NATIONAL  KANSAS  COMMITTEE, 
11  MARINE  BANK  BUILDING,  CHICAGO,  Feb.  18,  1857. 

JOHN  BROWN,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  The  articles  specified  in  the  schedule  and  order 
which  you  gave  me  in  New  York  will  be  forwarded  next  week.  I 
think  we  shall  be  able  to  make  out  the  whole  number  required, 
filling  the  blanks  with  100.  They  will  be  shipped  as  directed,  and 
freight  paid  through.  Mr.  Jones  has  been  notified  to  expect  them. 
We  hope  to  hear  from  you  soon. 

Very  truly, 

HORACE  WHITE, 

Ass't  Sec.  N.  K.  Com. 

If  any  evidence  were  needed  of  Mr.  White's  entire  confi 
dence  in  Brown  at  this  time,  it  would  be  furnished  by  this 
letter :  — 

CHICAGO,  March  21,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  find  it  quite  impossible  to  prepare  a  sched 
ule  of  the  property  which  belongs  to  you  under  the  New  York  reso 
lution.  It  can  only  be  ascertained  in  the  Territory.  I  am  going 
there  myself  about  the  first  of  next  month,  and  I  need  not  say  that 
you  may  command  my  services  at  all  times.  Mr.  Arny  is  there,  and 
with  the  help  of  him  and  Mr.  Whitman  we  shall  probably  be  able 
to  secure  everything.  At  any  rate  we  will  work  for  it.  Please  let 
me  hear  how  you  are  prospering.  Write  me  a  line  directed  to  Chi 
cago.  If  I  am  not  here  it  will  be  forwarded  to  me.  State  when  you 
expect  to  be  in  Kansas.  If  you  should  think  it  undesirable  to  have 
one  of  your  letters  sent  through  Missouri,  you  need  not  sign  your 
name  to  it.  I  shall  know  the  handwriting.  I  anticipate  perilous 
times  ;  and  when  the  Philistines  are  upon  us,  I  may  possibly  be  found 
carrying  a  bayonet  on  the  right  side. 

Very  truly, 

HORACE  WHITE. 

P.  S.  I  suppose  the  Boston  people  will  fix  you  out  with  a  return 
ticket.  Perhaps  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  send  you  the  enclosed  note. 
If  you  have  other  means  of  procuring  just  as  well  a  free  ticket,  I 
would  prefer  you  would  not  use  this,  because  the  railroads  have  done 
very  liberally  by  us,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  seem  to  be  bleeding  them. 


362  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

I  would  rather  no  one  but  yourself  should  have  the  benefit  of  the  en 
closed,  because  our  credit  with  the  companies  for  the  future  depends 
somewhat  upon  the  fairness  which  they  experience  this  summer.1 
Again  very  truly, 

H.  W. 

Mr.  Arny,  General  Agent  of  this  committee,  also  wrote  to 
Brown  as  follows  :  — 

LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  March  11,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  last  week  packed  fourteen  boxes  clothing  for  you, 
marked  "  J.  B.,  care  Jonas  Jones,  Tabor,  Iowa."  In  one  of  the 
boxes  I  put  three  mills  to  grind  wheat  or  corn  for  bread,  which  I 
think  will  be  useful  to  the  men  of  your  settlement.  I  could  not  get 
in  every  instance  the  full  amount  of  clothing  required  ;  but  have  done 
the  best  I  could.  Anything  I  can  do  further  for  you,  please  let  me 
know ;  and  please  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  this,  directed  to  me, 
care  of  Simmons  &  Leadbeater,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

As  ever  your  friend  and  well-wisher, 

W.  F.  M.  ARNY. 

On  the  opposite  page  you  will  find  a  statement  of  the  contents  of 
the  boxes.2 

1  The  note  enclosed  runs  thus  :  — 

OFFICE  NATIONAL  KANSAS  COMMITTEE,  11  MARINE  BANK  BUILDING, 

CHICAGO,  March  21,  1857. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Allow  me  to  introduce  Captain  John  Brown,  of  Osawatomie,  Kansas 
Territory.  If  you  could  consistently  give  him  a  trip  pass  over  your  road  it  would  be 
regarded  a  special  favor  by  the  committee,  and  a  personal  one  to  most  of  us.  We  shall 
not  be  in  the  habit  of  making  such  requests,  but  in  the  present  instance  it  is  peculiarly 
wanted,  and  will  be  rightly  appreciated. 

Very  respectfully, 

HORACE  WHITE, 

Assistant  Secretary  N.  K.  Committee. 

To  C.  B.  GREENOUGH,  ESQ.,  General  Ticket  Agent,  New  York  &  Erie  Railroad,  New 
York. 

WILLIAM  R.  BARR,  ESQ.,  General  Agent  Lake  Shore  Railroad,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 
DUDLEY  P.  PHELPS,  ESQ.,  General  Ticket  Agent,  Michigan  Southern  Railroad,  Toledo, 
Ohio. 

Upon  which  is  the  following  indorsement  in  the  handwriting  of  John 
Brown  :  "  Horace  White,  March  21,  1857." 

2  These  were  given  thus  :  — 

"CONTEXTS  :  Box  No.  1,  —  5  coats,  6  pairs  pants,  1  vest,  6  quilts,  8 
pairs  boots,  10  caps,  20  pairs  socks,  10  pairs  drawers,  22  shirts,  and  5  pairs 
mits.  Box  No.  2,  —  24  coats,  22  pants,  12  vests,  12  qiiilts,  12  pairs 
drawers,  12  shirts.  Box  No.  3,  —  4  coats,  12  pants,  2  vests,  12  quilts,  2 
pairs  boots,  2  caps,  13  socks,  5  shirts,  9  pairs  mits.  Box  No.  4,  —  12  pairs 
boots.  Box  No.  5,  —  12  pairs  boots.  Box  No.  6,  — 18  pairs  pants,  6 
vests,  11  quilts,  13  pairs  boots,  18  caps,  42  socks,  1  pair  drawers,  18  shirts, 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  363 

These  votes  and  letters,  with  the  letters  which  had  pre 
ceded  them,  and  served  as  Brown's  introduction  where  he 
was  not  personally  known,  fully  refute  the  statements  made 
many  years  later  that  Brown  was  looked  upon  with  indif- 
erence  or  aversion  by  the  friends  of  Kansas  in  1856-57. 

The  letter  of  Charles  Robinson,  dated  Sept.  14,  1856,  at 
Lawrence  (printed  on  page  330),  was  filled  with  praise  of 
John  Brown,  and  when  it  reached  me  in  Boston,  Jan.  2, 
1857,  it  bore  these  two  indorsements :  — 

Governor  Chase's  Indorsement. 

COLUMBUS,  Dec.  20,  1856. 

Captain  John  Brown,  of  Kansas  Territory,  is  commended  to  ine 
by  a  highly  reputable  citizen  of  this  State  as  a  gentleman  every  way 
worthy  of  entire  confidence.  I  have  also  seen  a  letter  from  Governor 
Charles  Robinson,  whose  handwriting  I  recognize,  speaking  of  Cap 
tain  Brown  and  his  services  to  the  cause  of  the  Free-State  men  in 
Kansas  in  terms  of  the  warmest  commendation.  Upon  these  testi-  /x 
monials  I  cordially  recommend  him  to  the  confidence  and  regard  of 
all  who  desire  to  see  Kansas  a  free  State. 

S.  P.  CHASE.1 

13  pairs  mits.  Box  No.  7, — 15  quilts.  Box  No.  8,  —  19  quilts.  Box 
No.  9,  —  2  coats,  4  pants,  3  vests,  12  socks,  12  drawers,  16  shirts.  Box 
No.  10,  — 12  pairs  boots.  Box  No.  11, — 48  coats,  4  quilts,  12  pairs 
boots.  Box  No.  12,  —  41  pairs  pants,  15  vests,  9  quilts,  9  boots,  46  caps, 
16  pairs  socks.  Box  No.  13,  —  1  coat,  2  pants,  7  quilts,  9  pairs  socks,  56 
pairs  drawers,  31  shirts.  Box  No.  14,  —  17  quilts.  "Whole  amount  as 
follows  :  84  coats,  105  pairs  pants,  39  vests,  100  quilts  and  blankets,  68 
pairs  boots,  76  caps,  112  pairs  socks,  91  pairs  drawers,  104  shirts,  27  pairs 
mits.  3  hand-mills  for  grinding  grain." 

Upon  all  which  is  the  following  indorsement  in  the  handwriting  of  John 
Brown  :  "  W.  F.  M.  Arny.  Answered  March  21." 

1  This  eminent  man,  afterward  Senator  from  Ohio  and  Chief-Justice  of 
the  United  States,  sent  another  letter  to  Brown  six  months  later,  but  while 
he  was  still  Governor  of  Ohio.  It  is  interesting  as  showing  that  Governor 
Chase  either  did  not  know  or  did  not  choose  to  recognize  the  alias  of 
"  Nelson  Hawkins,"  by  which  Brown  was  then  addressed  to  avoid  the  open 
ing  of  his  letters  by  proslavery  postmasters. 

COLUMBUS,  OHIO,  June  6,  1857. 
NELSON  HAWKINS. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Captain  John  Brown  lately  wrote  me,  requesting  that  I  put  a  sub 
scription  paper  in  aid  of  the  cause  of  freedom  in  Kansas  in  the  hands  of  some  reliable 
and  efficient  person  here.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  on  consideration  I  do  not  find  there  is 


364  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 


Gerrit  Smith's  Letter. 

PETERBORO',  Dec.  30,  1856. 

CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN,  —  You  did  not  need  to  show  me  letters 
from  Governor  Chase  and  Governor  Robinson  to  let  me  know  who 
and  what  you  are.  I  have  known  you  many  years,  and  have  highly 
esteemed  you  as  long  as  1  have  known  you.  I  know  your  unshrink 
ing  bravery,  your  self-sacrificing  benevolence,  your  devotion  to  the 
cause  of  freedom,  and  have  long  known  them.  May  Heaven  preserve 
your  life  and  health,  and  prosper  your  noble  purposes ! 

GERRIT  SMITH. 

I  may  also  cite  here  a  letter  from  one  of  Brown's  neigh 
bors  in  Osawatomie,  and  still  a  resident  of  that  town,  writ 
ten  a  year  later  than  Robinson's,  but  breathing  the  same 
admiration  and  respect  for  the  old  captain  :  — 

Letter  from  Henry  H.  Williams. 

OSAWATOMIE,  Oct.  12,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Learning  that  there  is  a  messenger  in  town  from 
you,  I  will  take  the  opportunity  to  drop  you  a  line.  We  are  just 
through  with  the  October  election,  and  as  far  as  this  county  is  con 
cerned  it  went  off  bright.  This  was  owing  in  a  great  measure  to 
our  thorough  military  organization  here,  and  the  well-known  repu 
tation  that  our  boys  have  for  fighting.  There  were  about  four 
hundred  and  twenty-five  votes  cast  in  this  county  :  about  threo 
hundred  and  fifty  Free-State.  I  have  a  company  organized  here  of 
about  eighty  men,  and  we  drilled  twice  a  week  for  several  weeks 
previous  to  election,  which  no  doubt  had  a  wholesome  effect  upon 
the  borderers.  Our  company  is  a  permanent  institution.  We  have 
sent  on  to  St.  Louis  for  three  drums  and  two  fifes.  We  are  very 

any  probability  of  obtaining  any  contributions  here  beyond  the  twenty-five  dollars  which 
I  obtained  for  the  Captain  when  here  early  last  winter.  The  capital  of  a  State,  where 
calls  are  so  constant  and  must  have  attention,  is  a  hard  place  to  raise  money ;  and 
there  are  very  few  indeed  who  can  be  brought  to  see  that  the  cause  of  freedom  in  Kansas 
at  this  time  requires  further  contributions.  I  write  this  note  to  you  at  the  request  of 
Captain  Brown,  who  speaks  of  you  as  his  special  friend. 

Very  respectfully  and  truly, 

S.  P.  CHASE. 

Upon  which  is  the  following  indorsement  in  the  handwriting  of  John 
Brown:  "  S.  P.  Chase.  Requires  no  reply."  Probably  the  twenty-five 
dollars  was  Mr.  Chase's  own  gift. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  365 

poorly  supplied  with  arms.  However,  I  understand  that  you  have 
some  arms  with  you  which  you  intend  to  bring  into  the  Territory. 
I  hope  that  you  will  not  forget  the  boys  here,  a  considerable  number 
of  whom  have  smelt  gunpowder,  and  have  had  their  courage  tried  on 
several  occasions.  I  do  not  like  to  boast,  but  I  think  we  have  some 
of  the  best  fighting  stock  here  that  there  is  in  the  Territory.  Speak 
ing  of  arms  reminds  me  that  there  was  a  box  containing  five  dozen 
revolvers  sent  to  you  at  Lawrence  last  fall  to  be  distributed  by  you  to 
your  boys.  K.  and  W.  —  two  renegade  Free-State  men  from  here  — 
went  up  to  Lawrence  about  that  time,  told  a  pitiful  tale,  and  said 
that  they  were  your  boys  ;  and  the  committee  that  had  the  revolvers 
in  charge  gave  them  each  one,  and  a  Sharpe's  rifle.  A  few  days  after, 
I  was  in  Lawrence,  and  applied  to  the  committee  to  know  if  they 
intended  to  distribute  the  revolvers;  if  they  did,  that  I  would  like  to 
have  one.  They  refused,  however,  to  let  me  have  one,  because  for 
sooth  I  could  not  tell  as  big  a  yarn  about  what  I  had  done  for  the 
Free- State  cause  as  K.  and  W.  could.  I  have  since  learned  that 
the  committee  have  distributed  the  revolvers  to  the  "Stubs"  and 
others  about  Lawrence,  with  the  understanding  that  they  are  to 
return  them  at  your  order.  But  I  think  it  is  doubtful  if  you  get 
them.  There  has  been  plenty  of  Sharpe's  rifles  and  other  arms  dis 
tributed  at  Manhattan  and  other  points  remote  from  the  Border, 
where  they  never  have  any  disturbances,  and  a  Border  Ruffian  is  a 
curiosity  ;  while  along  the  Border  here,  where  we  are  liable  to 
have  an  outbreak  at  any  time,  we  have  had  no  arms  distributed 
at  all. 

Two  or  three  weeks  before  election  I  visited  the  Border  counties 
south  of  this,  and  organized  a  company  of  one  hundred  men  on  the 
Little  Osage,  and  a  company  on  Sugar  Creek  ;  also  at  Stanton  and 
on  the  Pottawatomie  above  this  point.  According  to  the  election 
returns,  we  have  done  much  better  in  this  and  the  Border  counties 
south  than  they  have  in  the  Border  counties  north  of  this  point. 
The  boys  would  like  to  see  you  and  shake  you  by  the  hand  once 
more.  Nearly  all  would  unite  in  welcoming  you  back  here;  those 
that  would  not,  you  have  nothing  to  fear  from  in  this  locality.  The 
sentiment  of  the  people  and  the  strength  and  energy  of  the  Free- 
State  party  here  exercise  a  wholesome  restraint  upon  those  having 
Border  Ruffian  proclivities. 

Yours  as  of  old  for  the  right, 

HENRY  H.  WiLLiAMS.1 

1  This  letter  was  addressed  "  To  Captain  John  Brown,  Tabor,  Fremont 
County,  Iowa,"  and  among  Brown's  papers  was  accompanied  with  the 
following  memorandum  of  the  distribution  made  at  Lawrence  of  the  arms 


366  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

These  letters,  covering  the  whole  period  in  18p6-57  during 
which  Brown  was  absent  from  Kansas,  are  conclusive  proof 
of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  Free-State 
settlers  during  "  the  time  that  tried  men's  souls."  The 
votes  and  letters  of  the  National  Committee  show  that  they, 
too,  as  they  came  to  know  Brown  better,  trusted  him  more. 
But  their  affairs  had  not  been  very  well  managed,  and  their 
treasury  became  empty ;  so  that  the  money  voted  at  New 
York  did  not  appear,  and  when  Brown  wrote  for  it  from 
New  England,  he  received  the  following  reply :  — 


which  Mr.  Williams  mentions,  and  which  are  the  same  spoken  of  by  Mr. 
White  in  his  testimony  on  page  342. 

Memorandum  of  William  Hutchinson,  Lawrence. 

Bloojnington.       A.  Curtis,                    Navy  Revolver.  No.  50,400 

Osawatomie.        N.  King,  "    49,860 

J.  B.  Way,                      "           "  «     50,966 
Keokuk.              J.  M.  Arthur,  eight  revolvers  with  accoutre 
ments.    Numbers  not  taken. 

Pottawatomie.     Wm.  Partridge,          Navy  Revolver.  No.  50,410 

Lawrence.            E.  C.  Harrington,         "  *'    51,171 

A,  Cutler,                      "           "  "    50,995 

Minniola.            O.  A.  Bassett,                "           "  "    51,140 

The  following  are  the  numbers  of  others  given  to  the  "  Stubs"  :  — 

49,986,  51,208,  50,992,  50,410,  51,203,  50,963,  49,947,  51,101, 

50,998,  50,969,  50,944,  51,043,  51,021,  51,033,  51,195,  50,994, 

50,980,  49,741,  50,446,  50,040,  51,019,  51,218,  51,200,  51,204. 

51,059,  50,948,  51,149,  50,958,  51,255, 

Mr.  Whitman  has  one,  and  I  think  the  others  were  distributed  by 
Eldridge  without  taking  receipts. 

Feeling  too  unwell  to  walk  the  distance,  I  gave  up  going  to  my  sister's, 
and  have  looked  up  the  above  numbers.  Sony  to  hear  of  your  ill-health. 
Still  it  is  nothing  unusual  to  hear  of  sickness  all  over  the  Territory.  I 
have  waited  for  Eldridge  to  act;  but  he  has  left,  I  think,  without  doing 
anything  for  you,  and  as  soon  as  I  can  take  the  time  I  will  make  one  more 
earnest  effort  for  you  in  this  place,  and  am  sure  that  some  can  be  obtained. 
Say  to  Mr.  Kagi  I  gave  the  order  for  Parsons's  gun  into  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Lyon's  family,  and  they  promised  to  bring  it  to  town,  but  it  has  not  come 

yet. 

If  you  get  any  news  of  importance,  please  inform  me. 

Yours  again, 

WM.  HUTCHINSON. 

Upon  which  is  the  following  indorsement  in  the  handwriting  of  John 
Brown  :  "  Win.  Hutchinson's  letter."  The  date  is  not  given,  but  it  must 
be  in  1857-58. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  367 

OFFICE  NATIONAL  KANSAS  COMMITTEE, 

11  MARINE  BANK  BUILDING, 

CHICAGO,  April  1,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN,  Springfield,  Mass. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  National  Kansas  Committee,  held  this  day,  it 
was 

Resolved,  That  as  according-  to  the  present  state  of  the  public 
feeling,  evinced  by  the  almost  total  cessation  of  contributions  to 
the  funds  of  the  committee,  it  appears  that  the  means  of  carrying  on 
our  operations  will  not  be  forthcoming  from  the  usual  sources ;  there 
fore,  it  is  expedient  to  take  immediate  measures  to  settle  the  liabili 
ties,  and  close  the  accounts  of  the  committee,  and  to  reduce  the 
current  expenses  to  the  lowest  possible  point ;  and  that  the  secretary 
be  instructed  to  take  measures  accordingly. 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  secretary  be  instructed  to  write  to  the 
members  of  the  committee  residing  in  other  cities,  —  to  Messrs.  Gree- 
ley  &  McElrath,  Hon.  Gerrit  Smith,  and  other  prominent  donors 
and  friends,  —  setting  forth  the  fact  of  the  cessation  of  contributions 
as  above  stated,  and  the  necessity  we  are  under  of  closing  our  opera 
tions,  unless  immediately  sustained  by  liberal  contributions. 

We  are  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  come  to  the  above  conclusion,  but 
are  compelled  to  do  so.  There  are  several  important  undertakings 
now  in  hand,  which  we  shall  have  to  abandon,  unless  further  means 
are  forthcoming.  The  committee  are  at  present  out  of  money,  and 
are  compelled  to  decline  sending  you  the  five  hundred  dollars  you 
speak  of.  They  are  sorry  this  has  become  the  case,  but  it  was  un 
avoidable.  I  need  not  state  to  you  all  the  reasons  why.  The  country 
has  stopped  sending  us  contributions,  and  we  have  no  means  of  re 
plenishing  our  treasury.  We  shall  need  to  have  aid  from  some 
quarter  to  enable  us  to  meet  our  present  engagements. 

I  send  you  a  copy  of  the  list  of  articles  selected  for  you  by  Mr. 
Arny.  Our  opinion  is  that  some  things  have  been  selected  that  you 
do  not  need;  such,  for  instance,  as  quilts,  unless  it  is  intended  to 
supply  the  families  of  the  company,  and  mits,  which  I  suppose  means 
ladies'  mits.  If  he  means  mittens  they  would  be  useful.1 
Yours,  etc., 

H.  B.  HURD. 
Secretary  National  Kansas  Committee. 

Thus  ended  the  hopes  of  further  material  aid  from  the 
National  Committee.  The  Massachusetts  Committee  kept 

1  Upon  this  is  the  following  indorsement  in  the  handwriting  of  John 
Brown  :  "  H.  B.  Kurd.  Needs  no  comment." 


368  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1857- 

its  word  better.  Before  the  Astor  House  meeting  it  had 
made  Brown  the  custodian  of  the  two  hundred  rifles  at  Tabor, 
and  had  suggested  to  him  the  following  receipt,  which,  with 
its  erasures,  is  among  the  Brown  Papers  at  Topeka :  — 

STATE  KANSAS  AID  COMMITTEE  ROOM, 

BOSTON,  Jan.  7,  1857. 

Received  of  George  L.  Stearns,  Chairman  of  the  Massachusetts 
Kansas  Aid  Committee,  an  order  on  Edward  Clark,  Esq.,  of  Law 
rence,  K.  T.,  for  two  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles,  carbines,  with  four 
thousand  ball  cartridges,  thirty-one  thousand  military  caps,  and  six 
iron  ladles,  —  the  same  to  be  delivered  to  said  committee,  or  to  their 
order,  on  demand.  It  being  further  understood  and  agreed  that  I 
(am  at  liberty  to  distribute  one  hundred  of  the  carbines,  and  to  use 
the  ammunition  for  maintaining  the  cause  of  freedom  in  Kansas  and 
in  the  United  States,  and  that  such  distribution  and  use  shall  be  con 
sidered  a  delivery  to  said  committee).  [Have  authority  to  use  one 
hundred  of  the  carbines,  and  all  the  ammunition,  as  I  may  think  the 
interests  of  Kansas  require.  Keeping  an  account  of  rny  doings]  '} 
and  that  such  delivery  and  use  shall  be  considered  as  such  delivery.1 

A  week  later  I  wrote  to  Edward  Clark,  another  agent  of 
our  committee  (Jan.  15,  1857)  :  — 

"  We  have  made  the  rifles  subject  to  Captain  Brown's  order,  as  we 
wrote  you.  From  Mr.  Winchell's  account,  we  conclude  that  you  will 
find  them  in  the  Territory,  and  in  the  hands  of  the  Central  Commit 
tee.2  In  the  quarrel  between  the  National  and  the  Central  Com 
mittees,  we  hope  you  will  keep  yourself  strictly  neutral,  and  inform  us 
how  the  case  really  stands.  We  hear  charges  of  misconduct  from  both 

1  The  words  in  parentheses  are  marked  across  in  the  original,  evidently 
for  the  purpose  of  erasure  ;  the  words  in  brackets  are  in  a  different  hand 
writing  from  the  rest  of  the  paper.     There  is  no  indorsement  except  the 
word  "Boston  "  written  twice  in  Brown's  handwriting. 

2  Originally  they  had  been  forwarded  to  this  committee,  as  appears  by 
the  following  note  :  — 

STATE  KANSAS  AID  COMMITTEE  ROOMS, 

BOSTON,  Sept.  30,  1856. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  At  a  meeting  of  this  committee  it  was  voted,  That  the  arms  purchased 
by  Dr.  Cabot,  in  accordance  with  a  vote  of  the  committee,  passed  September  10,  be 
forwarded  to  the  Kansas  Central  Committee  at  Lawrence,  with  instructions  that  they 
be  loaned  to  actual  settlers  for  defence  against  unlawful  aggressions  upon  their  rights 
and  liberties. 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS,  Chairman. 
H.  B.  HURD,  ESQ.,  Chicago. 


1857.]  THE    KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  369 

sides.  The  order  of  Captain  Brown  will  not  probably  be  issued  till 
spring,  if  it  is  at  all,  since  his  use  of  the  rifles  depends  on  a  contingency 
which  may  not  occur." 

On  Jan.  30,  1857,  still  later  instructions  followed  to  Mr. 
Clark:  — 

"The  National  Committee,  at  their  meeting  in  New  York,  voted 
to  resign  all  claim  to  the  rifles  at  Tabor  to  our  committee  j  and  Mr. 
Hurd  is  to  notify  you  of  the  fact  officially.  If,  therefore,  you  have 
commenced  any  proceedings  to  get  possession  of  them  from  the 
National  Committee,  you  may  suspend  all  action  until  you  receive 
Mr.  Kurd's  letter,  which  will  give  you  full  power  in  the  premises. 
We  learn  that  the  rifles  are  at  Tabor,  in  charge  of  a  certain  Jonas 
Jones,  and  that  they  are  properly  stored  and  cared  for.  If  this 
should  not  be  so,  or  if  the  Central  Committee  at  Lawrence  have 
interfered  with  them  at  all,  you  may  take  measures  to  get  immediate 
possession,  as  directed  by  us.  All  matters  at  issue  between  our 
committee  and  the  National  Committee  have  been  satisfactorily 
settled,  and  we  trust  there  will  be  no  further  misunderstandings. 
Mr.  Hurd  has  been  in  Boston  and  arranged  all  things.  We  have 
been  expecting  a  letter  from  you  for  some  days.  By  the  time  this 
reaches  you,  you  will  have  been  at  Tabor,  we  presume.  There 
write  us  a  full  account  of  your  proceedings,  and  also  of  the  present 
condition  of  things  in  Kansas,  the  position  of  the  Central  Committee, 
etc.  Much  business  was  done  at  the  New  York  meeting ;  but  no 
final  settlement  of  accounts  could  be  made,  by  reason  of  the  absence 
of  important  persons  and  papers.  Conway  and  Whitman  are  here, 
preparing  to  appear  before  the  legislative  committee  about  a  State 
appropriation." 

The  closing  sentence  of  this  letter  indicates  that  the 
Massachusetts  Committee,  in  furtherance  of  the  policy  ex 
plained  to  Governor  Grimes,  was  preparing  to  obtain  a 
State  appropriation  from  the  legislature  which  was  then 
in  "session  at  Boston.  John  Brown  was  summoned  as 
a  witness  before  this  legislature,  and  gave  his  testimony 
in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  February 
18,  1857,  the  committee  on  Federal  Relations  holding  a 
hearing  in  that  place  for  the  purpose.  There  are  but 
few  letters  from  Brown  at  this  time.  Here  is  one  of 
them  :  — 

24 


370  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 


John  Brown  to  the  Rev.  S.  L.  Adair. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  Feb.  16,  1857. 

DEAR  BROTHER  AND  SISTER  ADAIR,  —  It  is  a  long  time  since  I 
have  heard  a  word  from  you,  but  I  suppose  it  is  because  I  have  been 
continually  shifting  about  since  my  return  to  the  States.  I  am 
getting  quite  anxious  to  hear  from  you,  and  to  get  your  views  on 
your  own  prospects  and  present  condition,  together  with  your  ideas 
of  Governor  Geary  and  of  Kansas  matters  generally.  I  have  not 
heard  a  word  from  Hudson  or  Akron  since  December ;  but  that  is 
owing  to  the  fact  that  I  have  had  no  place  fixed  upon,  till  of  late, 
where  to  receive  letters.  This  has  been  from  a  kind  of  necessity ; 
but  I  can  now  say,  do  write  me  at  Springfield,  Mass.,  care  of  the 
Massasoit  House,  leaving  the  title  of  Captain  off.  I  now  expect  to 
go  to  Kansas  (quietly)  before  long  ;  but  I  do  not  wish  it  noised 
about  at  all.  Can  you  tell  me  what  has  become  of  Captain  Holmes 
of  your  place  ?  I  expect  to  appear  before  a  committee  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  legislature  in  a  day  or  two.  My  family  were  well  about  a 
week  ago.  Your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

It  fell  to  my  lot  to  introduce  Brown  to  the  legislative 
committee,  February  18  ;  and  I  did  so  in  these  words  :  — 

"  As  one  of  the  petitioners  for  State  aid  to  the  settlers  of  Kansas, 
I  appear  before  you  to  state  briefly  the  purpose  of  the  petition.  No 
labored  argument  seems  necessary  j  for  if  the  events  of  the  last 
two  years  in  Kansas,  and  the  prospect  there  for  the  future,  are  not  of 
themselves  enough  to  excite  Massachusetts  to  action,  certainly  no 
words  could  do  so.  We  have  not  provided  ourselves  with  advocates, 
therefore,  but  with  witnesses;  and  we  expect  that  the  statements  of 
Captain  Brown  and  Mr.  Whitman  will  show  conclusively  that  the 
rights  and  interests  of  Massachusetts  have  suffered  gross  outrage  in 
Kansas,  —  an  outrage  which  is  likely  to  be  repeated  unless  measures 
are  taken  by  you  to  prevent  so  shameful  an  abuse.  Your  petitioners 
desire  that  a  contingent  appropriation  be  made  by  the  legislature, 
to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  of  responsible  and  conser 
vative  men,  and  used  only  in  case  of  necessity  to  relieve  the  distress 
of  the  settlers  of  Kansas,  —  especially  such  as  have  gone  from  our 
ovrn  State.  It  is  possible  that  no  such  necessity  will  occur ;  but 
nothing,  in  the  opinion  of  your  petitioners,  would  do  so  much  to 
obviate  it  as  the  proposed  appropriation.  Such  an  act  would  both 
encourage  our  friends  in  Kansas  and  dishearten  their  oppressors ;  and 


iss: 


THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  371 


the  moral  effect  of  it  would  be  greater  than  any  which  would  follow 
from  the  expenditure  of  a  much  larger  sum. 

"  Let  it  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  petitioners  ask  for 
this  as  a  simple  act  of  charity,  or  are  willing  to  rest  their  case  on 
the  common  arguments  for  a  charitable  donation.  The  question 
involved  is  not  merely  whether  the  hungry  shall  be  fed,  the  naked 
clothed,  and  the  houseless  sheltered  ;  it  reaches  far  beyond  this :  it  is 
the  issue  between  freedom  and  slavery,  in  Kansas  and  in  the  nation. 
Why  should  we  refuse  to  see  this  manifest  fact? 

"  Viewed  in  this  light,  we  feel  justified  in  regarding  our  petition  as 
the  most  important  matter  which  the  General  Court  has  now  to  con 
sider.  The  interests  of  banks  and  railroads,  points  of  etiquette 
between  different  branches  of  the  government,  —  even  the  solemn 
discussions  which  involve  the  lives  of  condemned  men,  —  all  seem 
trivial  beside  this  most  public  and  pressing  business.  I  think,  Mr. 
Chairman,  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts  will  soon  ask,  if  they 
have  not  already  begun,  '  What  preparation  are  our  Senators  and 
Representatives  making  for  the  crisis  which  they  were  elected  specially 
to  meet  ?  How  are  they  raising  themselves  to  the  height  of  this  great 
argument  ?  '  Is  it  not  true,  sir,  that  yourself  and  nine  tenths  of 
your  colleagues  in  this  body  were  elected  as  declared  supporters  of 
two  all-important  measures,  —  the  re-election  of  Charles  Sumner 
and  the  establishment  of  freedom  in  Kansas  ?  And  do  you  believe 
that  the  one  which  you  have  so  triumphantly  accomplished  is  one 
whit  more  dear  to  the  people  than  the  other?  Let  the  liberal  con 
tributions  of  the  whole  State,  in  money  and  clothing,  and  the 
numerously  signed  petitions  which  are  presented  here  daily,  answer 
that.  Can  you  hesitate,  then,  to  give  expression  to  the  will  of  the 
people,  —  not  merely  in  words,  which  cost  nothing  and  are  worth 
nothing,  but  in  substantial  deeds? 

"  It  has  been  suggested  that  some  persons  doubt  the  constitution 
ality  of  the  proposed  measure.  That  is  rather  a  question  to  be 
decided  by  the  legislature  than  a  point  to  be  argued  by  the  petition 
ers  ;  but  should  it  be  necessary,  which  T  can  hardly  think  possible,  I 
have  no  doubt  they  can  fully  show  its  constitutionality,  of  which 
they  make  no  question.  The  name  of  Judge  Parker,  attached  to  the 
Cambridge  petition,  and  the  decided  opinion  of  several  eminent 
jurists,  confirm  their  belief.  We  have  invited  Captain  Brown  and 
Mr.  Whitman  to  appear  in  our  behalf,  because  these  gentlemen  are 
eminently  qualified  either  to  represent  Massachusetts  in  Kansas  or 
Kansas  in  Massachusetts.  The  best  blood  of  the  l  Mayflower  '  runs 
in  the  veins  of  both,  and  each  had  an  ancestor  in  the  army  of  the 
Revolution.  Mr.  Whitman,  seventh  in  descent  from  Miles  Standish, 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  first  church  and  the  first  schoolhouse  in 


37^  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

Kansas ;  John  Brown,  the  sixth  descendant  of  Peter  Browne,  of  the 
'  Mayflower,'  has  been  to  Kansas  what  Standish  was  to  the  Plymouth 
Colony.  These  witnesses  have  seen  the  things  of  which  they  testify, 
and  have  felt  the  oppression  we  ask  you  to  check.  Ask  this  gray- 
haired  man,  gentlemen,  —  if  you  have  the  heart  to  do  it,  — where  lies 
the  body  of  his  murdered  son  ;  where  are  the  homes  of  his  four  other 
sons,  who  a  year  ago  were  quiet  farmers  in  Kansas.  I  am  ashamed, 
in  presence  of  this  modest  veteran,  to  express  the  admiration  which 
his  heroism  excites  in  me.  Yet  he,  so  venerable  for  his  years,  his 
integrity,  and  his  courage,  —  a  man  whom  all  Massachusetts  rises 
up  to  honor,  —  is  to-day  an  outlaw  in  Kansas.  To  these  witnesses, 
whose  unsworn  testimony  deserves  and  will  receive  from  you  all 
the  authority  which  an  oath  confers,  I  will  now  yield  place." 

Brown  then  addressed  the  commitee  and  a  large  audience 
who  had  assembled  to  hear  him.  He  made  in  substance  the 
same  speech  which  he  gave  that  winter  at  Hartford,  at  Con 
cord,  and  elsewhere ;  reading  from  his  manuscript  (which  I 
have  already  cited)  an  account  of  the  destruction  of  property 
and  of  life  by  the  Missouri  invaders  in  1855-56,  and  speak 
ing  of  the  inactivity  of  the  Federal  Government,  except  in 
the  protection  of  these  invaders.  He  described  modestly 
the  last  attack  on  Lawrence,  and  denied  that  it  had  been 
saved  from  destruction  by  Governor  Geary.  In  answer  to 
questions  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee  (Senator  Albee, 
of  Marlborough)  he  gave  the  account  —  since  so  well  known 
—  of  his  visiting  Buford's  men  near  Osawatomie  in  the  guise 
of  a  surveyor;  and  quoted  them  as  telling  him  that  the 
Yankees  could  not  be  coaxed,  driven,  or  whipped  into  a 
fight,  and  that  one  Southerner  could  whip  a  dozen  Aboli 
tionists ;  they  intended  to  drive  out  the  whole  Free-State 
population  of  Kansas,  if  that  should  be  necessary  to  estab 
lish  slavery  in  the  new  State ;  if  Kansas  was  free,  Missouri 
could  not  maintain  slavery,  they  told  him.  When  asked 
what  sort  of  emigrants  were  needed  to  make  Kansas  free, 
Brown  replied,  "  We  want  good  men,  industrious  and  honest, 
who  respect  themselves,  and  act  only  from  principle,  from 
the  dictates  of  conscience  ;  men  who  fear  God  too  much 
to  fear  anything  human."  Questioned  by  Senator  Albee 
concerning  the  probable  need  and  effect  of  such  an  appro 
priation  as  was  sought  for,  Brown  replied :  "  Whenever  we 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  373 

heard  last  year  that  the  people  of  the  North  were  doing 
anything  for  us,  we  were  encouraged  and  strengthened  to 
keep  up  the  contest.  At  present  there  is  not  much  danger 
of  an  invasion  from  Missouri.  God  protects  us  in  winter ; 
but  when  the  grass  gets  high  enough  to  feed  the  horses  of 
the  Border  Ruffians  we  may  have  trouble,  and  should  be 
prepared  for  the  worst.  Things  do  not  look  one  iota  more 
encouraging  now  —  except  that  the  winter  is  milder  —  than 
they  did  last  year  at  this  time.  You  may  remember  that 
from  the  Shannon  treaty,  which  ended  the  Wakarusa  war, 
till  early  in  May,  1856,  there  was  general  quiet  in  Kansas. 
No  violence  was  offered  to  our  citizens  when  they  went  to 
Missouri.  I  frequently  went  there  myself  to  buy  corn  arid 
other  supplies.  I  was  known  there ;  yet  they  treated  me 
well.  I  do  not  know  that  there  will  be  another  invasion, 
but  should  expect  one.  Yet  the  actual  settlers  who  go  to 
Kansas  from  the  slave  States  have  many  of  them  turned  to 
be  the  most  determined  Free-State  men,  —  fighting  in  all 
our  battles.  The  comparative  strength  of  the  parties  as 
regards  numbers,  intelligence,  industry,  and  good  habits  gen 
erally,  is  all  on  our  side ;  but  the  machinery  of  a  genuine 
territorial  government  is  not  yet  in  operation,  while  the 
Federal  Government  is  wholly  on  the  side  of  slavery." 

The  movement  for  a  State  appropriation  was  unsuccessful, 
but  the  Massachusetts  Committee  continued  their  contribu 
tions  to  John  Brown. 

Among  the  contributors  to  his  fund  was  Mr.  Amos  Law 
rence,  of  Boston,  who  wrote  to  Brown  as  follows  the  day 
-after  the  speech  in  the  State  House  :  — 

BOSTON,  Feb.  19,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Enclosed  you  will  find  seventy  dollars.  Please 
write  to  John  Conant,  of  East  Jaffrey,  N.  H.,  and  acknowledge  re 
ceipt  ;  or  write  to  me  saying  you  have  received  the  Jaffrey  money, 
and  I  will  send  your  letter  to  them.  It  is  for  your  own  personal  use, 
and  not  for  the  cause  in  any  other  way  than  that.  I  am  sorry  not  to 
have  seen  you  before  you  left.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  that  you 
may  find  yourself  disappointed  if  you  rely  on  the  National  Kansas 
Committee  for  any  considerable  amount  of  money.  Please  to  con 
sider  this  as  confidential ;  and  it  is  only  my  own  opinion,  without 
definite  knowledge  of  their  operations.  I  hope  they  will  get  a  great 


374  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

deal  of  money,  but  think  they  will  not.  The  old  managers  have 
not  inspired  confidence,  and  therefore  money  will  be  hard  for  them 
to  get  now  and  hereafter.  This  check,  you  will  see,  needs  your 
indorsement. 

May  God  bless  you,  my  dear  sir,  is  the  wish  of  your  friend, 

AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE. 

While  Brown  was  ordering  his  pikes  in  Connecticut,  Mr. 
Lawrence  wrote  him  again  in  these  words  :  — 

(Private.) 

BOSTON,  March  20,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  from  New  Haven  is  received.  I 
have  just  sent  to  Kansas  near  fourteen  thousand  dollars  to  establish 
a  fund  to  be  used,  first,  to  secure  the  best  system  of  common  schools 
for  Kansas  that  exists  in  this  country ;  second,  to  establish  Sunday- 
schools. 

The  property  is  held  by  two  trustees  in  Kansas,  and  cannot  return 
to  me.  On  this  account,  and  because  I  am  always  short  of  money, 
I  have  not  the  cash  to  use  for  the  purpose  you  name.  But  in  case 
anything  should  occur,  while  you  are  engaged  in  a  great  and  good 
cause,  to  shorten  your  life,  you  may  be  assured  that  your  wife  and 
children  shall  be  cared  for  more  liberally  than  you  now  propose.  The 
family  of  u  Captain  John  Brown  of  Osawatomie"  will  not  be  turned 
out  to  starve  in  this  country,  until  Liberty  herself  is  driven  out. 
Yours  with  regard, 

AMOS  A.  LAWRENCE. 

I  hope  you  will  not  run  the  risk  of  arrest. 

I  never  saw  the  offer  to  which  you  refer,  in  the  u  Telegraph,"  and 
have  now  forgotten  what  it  was.  Come  and  see  me  when  you  have 
time. 

A.  A.  LAWRENCE. 

Soon  after  the  Boston  hearing,  Brown  visited  his  fam 
ily  at  North  Elba;  and  early  in  March  returned  to  New 
England,  where  he  revisited  the  graves  of  his  ancestors  in 
Connecticut.  These  letters  relate  to  this  period :  — 

John  Brown  to  his  Wife. 

HARTFORD,  CONN.,  March  6,  1857. 

DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  enclose  with  this  a  letter  from  Owen,  written 
me  from  Albany.  He  appeared  to  be  very  much  depressed  before  he 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  375 

left  me ;  but  there  was  no  possible  misunderstanding  between  us  that 
I  knew  of.  I  did  not  pay  Samuel  Thompson  all  that  I  ought  to  have 
given  him  for  carrying  us  out,  and  wish  you  would  make  it  up  to 
him,  if  you  can  well,  out  of  what  I  have  sent  you.  If  you  get  hay 
of  him,  I  will  send  or  fetch  the  money  soon  to  pay  for  it.  I  shall 
send  you  some  newspapers  soon  to  let  you  see  what  different  stories 
are  told  of  me.  None  of  them  tell  things  as  I  tell  them.  Write  me, 
care  of  the  Massasoit  House,  Springfield,  Mass. 
Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  March  12,  1857. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN  ALL,  —  I  have  just  got  a  letter  from 
John.  All  middling  well,  March  2,  but  Johnny,  who  has  the  ague 
by  turns.  I  now  enclose  another  from  Owen.  I  sent  you  some 
papers  last  week.  Have  just  been  speaking  for  three  nights  at  Can 
ton,  Conn.,  and  at  Collinsville,  a  village  of  that  town.  At  the  two 
places  they  gave  me  eighty  dollars.  Canton  is  where  both  father 
and  mother  were  raised.  They  have  agreed  to  send  to  my  family  at 
North  Elba  grandfather  John  Brown's  old  granite  monument,  about 
eighty  years  old,  to  be  faced  and  inscribed  in  memory  of  our  poor 
Frederick,  who  sleeps  in  Kansas.1  I  prize  it  very  highly,  and  the 
family  all  will,  I  think.  I  want  to  see  you  all  very  much,  but  can 
not  tell  when  I  can  go  back  yet.  Hope  to  get  something  from  you 
here  soon.  Direct  as  before.  May  God  bless  you  all ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

Mr.  Bust,  to  whom  the  next  letters  were  written,  says 
that  he  had  a  "  store  "  at  Collinsville  in  1857,  and  John 
Brown  was  there  in  April,  showing  to  various  persons  the 
bowie-knife  that  he  captured  with  Pate  in  Kansas.  As  he 
did  so,  Brown  said :  "  Such  a  blade  as  this,  mounted  upon  a 
strong  shaft,  or  handle,  would  make  a  cheap  and  effective 
weapon.  Our  friends  in  Kansas  are  without  arms  or  money 

1  This  note  from  a  friend  in  Connecticut  shows  how  soon  the  gravestone 
was  removed  to  North  Elba  :  — 

COLLINSVILLE,  April  17,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  J.  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR, —  Your  favor  of  the  16th  is  just  at  hand.     The  pistols  I  shall  send  to 
morrow  morning.     I  received  the  package  for  S.  Brown,  and  delivered  it.     The  expense 
on  the  parcel  was  one  dollar  fifty,  but  I  am  very  willing  to  pay  that  myself     Your 
friends  have  sent  the  old  stone  to  your  place.     Hoping  to  see  you  soon,  I  remain 
Yours  respectfully, 

H.  N.  RUST. 


376  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

to  get  them ;  and  if  I  could  put  such  weapons  into  their 
hands,  they  could  make  them  very  useful.  A  resolute  wo 
man,  with  such  a  pike,  could  defend  her  cabin  door  against 
man  or  beast.  What  can  such  a  weapon  be  made  for  ?  "  Mr. 
Rust  guessed  for  a  dollar  each,  in  quantity.  "  Very  well," 
said  Brown ;  "  I  would  be  glad  to  pay  that  price  for  a 
thousand ; "  and  it  was  agreed  that  Mr.  Rust  should  try  to 
get  them  made  in  Collins ville  for  that  price,  by  Charles 
Blair.  Mr.  Rust  further  says  :  — 

"  During  one  of  his  visits  I  earned  him  to  Canton  to  see  his 
relatives.  Not  far  from  their  house  he  noticed  a  tombstone  leaning 
against  the  stone  wall  by  the  roadside.  He  got  out  and  examined  it, 
and  found  it  to  be  his  grandfather's  ;  whereupon  he  said,  '  I  will  go 
back  and  see  if  my  cousins  will  let  me  have  it.'  They  consented, 
and  afterwards  brought  it  to  me  at  Collinsville  ;  and  I  sent  it  to  his 
address  at  North  Elba.  '  That  stone/  said  he,  '  formerly  marked 
the  grave  of  my  grandfather,  who  died  fighting  for  the  liberties  of 
his  country  ;  my  son  has  just  been  murdered  in  the  same  cause  in 
Kansas,  and  the  Government  applauded  the  murderer.  This  stone 
shall  bear  his  name  also ;  and  I  will  have  it  set  up  at  North 
Elba.'" 

John  Brown  to  H.  N.  Rust. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  April  16,  1857. 
H.  N.  RUST,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  favor  of  the  9th  is  received.  Please  for 
ward  to  me  by  express  the  pistols  you  have  received,  and  also  send 
me  with  them  the  amount  you  had  to  pay  on  the  whole  package.  Be 
kind  enough  to  say  to  my  friend  Blair  that  I  expect  funds  within  a 
day  or  two  to  meet  my  engagement,  and  that  I  mean  to  call  on  him. 
Please  direct  the  package  to  John  (not  Captain)  Brown,  care  Mas- 
sasoit  House,  Springfield,  Mass.  Did  you  receive  the  package  for 
Selden  H.  Brown  ? 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  April  25,  1857. 
H.  N.  RUST,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  did  not  see  you  the  other  morning  before  I 
left,  as  I  expected.  Please  hand  line  and  draft  to  Mr.  Blair  at  once. 
The  sabre  you  got  is  the  identical  one  taken  from  Lieutenant 
Brocket  at  Black  Jack  surrender.  I  would  on  no  account  have  you 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  377 

buy  it  of  me,  as  you  really  have  done,  but  that  I  am  literally  driven 
to  beg,  —  which  is  very  humiliating. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

(Note  ly  Mr.  Rust.) 

The  draft  was  spoken  of  in  the  letter  of  April  16,  and  was 
handed  to  Mr.  Blair;  the  sabre  was  a  present  to  me  from  Captain 
Brown,  received  with  the  pistols  ;  the  pay  spoken  of  was  the  bill 
for  the  pistols,  which  I  did  not  send  him  as  requested.  The  pistols 
had  been  used  in  Kansas  and  sent  East  for  repairs  ;  the  funds  spoken 
of  were  to  be  the  first  payment  for  the  pikes  which  had  been  ordered 
not  long  before. 

CHARLES  BLAIR'S  CONTRACT. 

COLLINSVILLE,  CONN.,  March  30,  1857. 

The  undersigned  agree  to  the  following :  First,  Charles  Blair,  of 
this  place,  is  to  make  and  deliver  at  the  railroad  depot  in  Collins- 
ville  one  thousand  spears  with  handles  fitted,  of  equal  quality  to  one 
dozen  already  made  and  sent  to  Springfield,  Mass.  The  handles  are 
to  be  six  feet  in  length,  and  the  ferules  to  be  made  of  strong  malleable 
iron.  The  handles  to  be  well  tied  in  bundles ;  and  the  blades  with 
screws  for  fastening  to  be  securely  packed  in  strong  boxes  suitable 
for  the  transportation  of  edge  tools.  In  consideration  whereof,  John 
Brown,  late  of  Kansas,  agrees  to  deposit  five  hundred  dollars  with 
Samuel  W.  Collins  within  ten  days  from  this  date,  in  part  payment ; 
and  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  as  payment  in  full  for  the  above- 
named  one  thousand  spears  and  handles  within  thirty  days  thereafter. 
The  whole  money  to  be  deposited  with  said  Collins  at  Collinsville, 
and  the  spears  and  handles  to  be  held  subject  to  the  order  of  said 
Brown,  on  or  before  the  first  of  July  next. 

CHARLES  BLAIR. 

JOHN  BROWN. 

COLLINSVILLE,  March  30,  1857. 

Eeceived  of  John  Brown,  Esq.,  fifty  dollars  on  account  of  spear 
contract. 

CHARLES  BLAIR. 

Received  on  the  within  contract  one  hundred  dollars. 

COLLINSVILLE,  April  22,  1857. 
Received  the  same  date  two  hundred  dollars. 


378  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

Letters  to  John  Brown  by  C.  Blair. 

HARTFORD,  April  15,  1857. 
MR.  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  received  yours  in  relation  to  the  funds  which  you 
expected  from  the  Kansas  Committee,  and  I  would  say  that  I  have 
not  taken  any  further  measures  with  the  spears  than  to  ascertain 
where  I  can  get  the  handles  and  ferules,  etc.  If  you  do  not  find  it 
convenient  to  raise  the  funds  for  a  thousand,  I  will  make  you  five 
hundred  at  the  same  rate.  I  should  think  the  committee  were  not 
treating  you  very  fairly  by  not  honoring  your  drafts  after  the  promise 
they  had  made  you.  I  shall  wait  further  orders  from  you  before  I 
proceed  further. 

Truly  yours, 

CHARLES  BLAIR. 

COLLINSVILLE,  CONN.,  Aug.  27,  1857. 
MR.  BROWN. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Yours  of  the  14th  instant  carne  to  hand  last  Satur 
day.  In  regard  to  those  articles,  I  have  to  say  that  I  commenced  the 
whole  number ;  have  all  the  handles  well  seasoned,  the  ferules  and 
guards,  screws,  etc.,  and  have  some  over  five  hundred  of  them  ground, 
but  not  hearing  anything  further  from  you,  I  have  let  them  rest  until 
such  times  as  you  can  make  your  arrangements.  I  thought  I  would 
not  make  any  further  outlay  upon  them,  at  least  until  I  heard  from  you. 
I  did  not  know  but  things  would  take  such  a  turn  in  Kansas  that  they 
would  not  be  needed.  Of  this  you  can  judge  better  than  I  can.  I 
did  not  feel  able  to  bear  the  loss  of  having  them  left  on  my  hands 
after  I  had  finished  them  up,  as  you  are  aware  that  we  did  not  expect 
much  profit  on  the  manufacture  of  the  articles;  but  I  am  not  disposed 
to  cast  the  least  blame  upon  you.  I  very  well  know  that  when  a  man 
is  depending  upon  the  public  for  money  he  is  very  liable  to  be  disap 
pointed,  and  I  judge  from  the  tenor  of  your  letter  that  you  will  not 
blame  me  for  stopping  them,  as  I  had  used  up  the  funds.  I  therefore 
wait  your  further  orders  whether  to  finish  them  up  or  to  let  them  rest 
where  they  are.  Don't  give  yourself  any  uneasiness  about  the  affair, 
for  if  I  go  no  further  with  them,  I  shall  lose  nothing,  or  but  little ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  you  and  I  can  make  the  matter  satisfactory  in 
some  way.  Your  son  (Oliver)  is  in  the  village,  but  is  not  now  at 
work  for  me.  My  work  in  the  shop  was  too  hard  for  him  in  the  hot 
weather,  and  he  has  been  out  at  haying.  I  think  he  may  get  some 
job  in  the  shop  soon.  Let  me  hear  from  you  when  convenient. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

CHARLES  BLAIR. 


1857.1  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  379 

In  speaking  at  Hartford  and  Canton,  Brown  used  the 
same  manuscript  as  at  Boston ;  but  at  the  end  of  his  ad 
dress  made  this  appeal  to  the  citizens  of  Connecticut,  where 
he  felt  more  at  home  than  in  Massachusetts  :  — 

"  I  am  trying  to  raise  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  thousand  dol 
lars  in  the  free  States,  to  enable  me  to  continue  my  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  freedom.  Will  the  people  of  Connecticut,  my  native  State, 
afford  me  some  aid  in  this  undertaking  ?  Will  the  gentlemen  and 
ladies  of  Hartford,  where  I  make  my  first  appeal  in  this  State,  set 
the  example  of  an  earnest  effort  ?  Will  some  gentleman  or  lady 
take  hold  and  try  what  can  be  done  by  small  contributions  from 
counties,  cities,  towns,  societies,  or  churches,  or  in  some  other  way  t 
I  think  the  little  beggar-children  in  the  streets  are  sufficiently  inter 
ested  to  warrant  their  contributing,  if  there  was  any  need  of  it,  to 
secure  the  object.  I  was  told  that  the  newspapers  in  a  certain  city 
were  dressed  in  mourning  on  hearing  that  I  was  killed  and  scalped 
in  Kansas,  but  I  did  not  know  of  it  until  I  reached  the  place.  Much 
good  it  did  me.  In  the  same  place  I  met  a  more  cool  reception  than 
in  any  other  place  where  I  have  stopped.  If  my  friends  will  hold  up 
my  hands  while  I  live,  I  will  freely  absolve  them  from  any  expense 
over  me  when  I  am  dead.  I  do  not  ask  for  pay,  but  shall  be  most 
grateful  for  all  the  assistance  I  can  get." 

At  the  same  time,  or  a  little  earlier,  Brown  published 
this  letter  in  the  "New  York  Tribune"  of  March  4, 
1857 :  - 

To  the  Friends  of  Freedom. 

The  undersigned,  whose  individual  means  were  exceedingly  lim 
ited  when  he  first  engaged  in  the  struggle  for  liberty  in  Kansas, 
being  now  still  more  destitute,  and  no  less  anxious  than  in  time  past 
to  continue  his  efforts  to  sustain  that  cause,  is  induced  to  make  this 
earnest  appeal  to  the  friends  of  freedom  throughout  the  United 
States,  in  the  firm  belief  that  his  call  will  not  go  unheeded.  I  ask 
all  honest  lovers  of  liberty  and  human  rights,  both  male  and  female, 
to  hold  up  my  hands  by  contributions  of  pecuniary  aid,  either  as 
counties,  cities,  towns,  villages,  societies,  churches,  or  individuals. 
I  will  endeavor  to  make  a  judicious  and  faithful  application  of  all 
such  means  as  I  may  be  supplied  with.  Contributions  may  be  sent 
in  drafts  to  W.  H.  D.  Callender,  cashier  State  Bank,  Hartford, 
Conn.  Tt  is  my  intention  to  visit  as  many  places  as  I  can  during 
my -stay  in  the  States,  provided  I  am  first  informed  of  the  disposition 


380  LITE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

of  the  inhabitants  to  aid  me  in  my  efforts,  as  well  as  to  receive  my 
visit.  Information  may  be  communicated  to  me  (care  of  Massasoit 
House)  at  Springfield,  Mass.  Will  editors  of  newspapers  friendly  to 
the  cause  kindly  second  the  measure,  and  also  give  this  some  half- 
dozen  insertions  I  Will  either  gentlemen  or  ladies,  or  both,  who 
love  the  cause,  volunteer  to  take  up  the  business  ?  It  is  with  no 
little  sacrifice  of  personal  feeling  that  I  appear  in  this  manner  before 
the  public. 

JOHN  BROWN. 

About  a  month  after  his  address  in  the  State  House  at 
Boston,  Brown  visited  me  in  Concord,  and  held  a  successful 
public  meeting  there.  He  afterwards  spoke  in  Worces 
ter,  and  the  following  correspondence  relates  to  matters 
there  :  — 

Letters  of  Eli  Thayer. 

WORCESTER,  March  18,  1857. 

FRIENI>  BROWN,  —  I  have  just  returned  from  Albany,  and  find 
your  favor  of  the  16th.  I  am  glad  you  had  a  good  meeting  at  Con 
cord,  —  as  I  knew  you  would  have,  for  the  blood  of  heroes  is  not  ex 
tinct  in  that  locality.  I  will  see  some  of  our  friends  here  to-morrow, 
and  we  will  decide  at  once  about  your  speaking  here.  If  you  are  to 
speak,  you  will  do  well  to  be  here  a  day  or  two  in  advance,  and  con 
verse  with  some  of  our  citizens.  I  will  write  you  again  to-morrow. 

Truly  yours, 

ELI  THAYER. 

WORCESTER,  March  19,  1857. 

FRIEND  BROWN,  —  I  have  seen  some  of  our  friends  to-day,  and 
they  say  you  had  better  come  here  next  Monday.  There  is  to  be  an 
antislavery  meeting  in  the  evening,  and  I  think  it  will  be  a  very  good 
time  for  you  to  present  your  cause,  —  which  is  the  Free-State  cause 
of  Kansas,  which  is  the  cause  of  mankind.  I  shall  expect  you  to  do 
me  the  favor  of  stopping  at  my  house. 

Truly  yours, 

ELI  THAYER. 

Upon  both  these  letters  is  this  indorsement  in  the  hand 
writing  of  John  Brown  :  "  Eli  Thayer.  Answered  March 
23d  in  person."  This  means  that  he  went  to  Worcester, 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  381 

Monday,  the  23d,  and  spoke  that  night  at  the  antislavery 
meeting,1  of  which  he  had  been  notified. 

WORCESTER,  March  30,  ^85 7. 

CAPTAIN  BROWN,  —  I  have  received  your  letter  from  Easton, 
Perm.  Some  of  the  men  engaged  in  the  Virginia  scheme  care 
nothing  for  slavery  or  antislavery  but  to  make  money.  Of  course 
such  will  do  nothing  for  Kansas ;  but  most  of  us  have  been  doing, 
and  shall  continue  to  do,  till  the  thing  is  settled.  We  have  not 
the  remotest  idea  of  relinquishing  Kansas,  —  not  at  all.  I  have 
just  seen  Mr.  Higgiuson,  and  he  informs  me  that  our  county  commit 
tee  will  let  you  have  fifty  dollars.  Perhaps,  also,  something  will  be 
raised  by  subscription,  — I  gave  the  papers  to  Mr.  Higginson.  He 
will  write  to  you.  Please  let  me  know  when  you  are  coming  this 
way.  Do  not  pay  postage  on  your  letter  to  me,  —  let  Uncle  Sam  do 
his  part.  Truly  yours, 

ELI  THAYER.* 

While  Brown  was  at  Worcester  on  this  second  visit,  he 
was  introduced  by  Mr.  Thayer  to  the  manufacturers  of  arms 

1  Dr.  "Wayland,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  then  a  young  clergyman  in 
Worcester,  thus  writes  respecting  the  occasion  :  — 

"  In  the  spring  of  1857,  just  after  the  Dred  Scott  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  I,  being  then  a  resident  of  Worcester,  was  getting  up 
a  lecture  for  Frederick  Douglass,  at  which  the  then  Mayor  of  the  city 
for  the  first  time  in  an  American  city  presided  at  an  address  of  Mr. 
Douglass.  I  called  at  the  house  of  Eli  Thayer,  afterwards  member  of 
Congress  from  that  District,  to  ask  him  to  sit  on  the  platform.  Here  I 
found  a  stranger,  a  man  of  tall,  gaunt  form,  with  a  face  smooth-shaven, 
destitute  of  the  full  beard  that  later  became  a  part  of  history.  The 
children  were  climbing  over  his  knees  ;  he  said,  '  The  children  always 
come  to  me.'  I  was  then  introduced  to  John  Brown  of  Osawatomie. 
How  little  one  imagined  then  that  within  less  than  three  years  the  name 
of  this  plain  home-spun  man  would  fill  America  and  Europe  !  Mr.  Brown 
consented  to  occupy  a  place  on  the  platform,  and  at  the  urgent  request  of 
the  audience  spoke  briefly.  It  is  one  of  the  curious  facts,  that  many  men 
who  do  it  are  utterly  unable  to  tell  about  it.  John  Brown,  a  flame  of  fire 
in  action,  was  dull  in  speech.'' 

2  This  letter  is  indorsed  by  John  Brown,  "  Hon.  Eli  Thayer.  Answered 
1st  April,"  —  which  was  soon  after  Brown's  return  from  a  visit  he  had  made 
with  Martin  Conway  and  myself  to  Governor  Reeder  at  his  home  at  Easton, 
in  the  hope  of  persuading  him  to  go  back  and  take  the  lead  of  the  Free- 
State  men  in  Kansas  in  place  of  Robinson,  who  had  lost  the  confidence  of 
the  people.  ,  . 


382  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

in  that  city,  of  which,  this  note  and  the  subsequent  corres 
pondence  is  evidence  :  — 

APRIL  4,  1857. 

MESSRS.  ALLEN  &  WHEELOCK,  —  Captain  Brown  wishes  to  get 
a  cannon  and  rifle  which  1  have  given  him  so  sighted  as  to  secure 
accuracy.  I  hope  you  will  attend  to  his  wishes. 

Truly  yours, 

ELI  THAYER. 

What  the  further  errand  of  the  Kansas  hero  was  with 
this  firm  will  be  seen  below :  — 


Letters  to  and  from  Eli  Thayer,  etc. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  April  16,  1857. 
Hon.  ELI  THAYER. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  advised  that  one  of  "  Uncle  Sam's  hounds 
is  on  rny  track  ;  "  and  I  have  kept  myself  hid  for  a  few  days  to  let  my 
track  get  cold.  I  have  no  idea  of  being  taken,  and  intend  (if  God 
will)  to  go  back  with  irons  in  rather  than  upon  my  hands.  Now,  my 
dear  sir,  let  me  ask  you  to  have  Mr.  Allen  &  Co.  send  me  by  express 
one  or  two  navy-sized  revolvers  as  soon  as  may  be,  together  with  his 
best  cash  terms  (he  warranting  them)  by  the  hundred  with  good 
moulds,  flasks,  etc.  I  wish  the  sample  pistols  sent  to  John  (not 
Captain)  Brown,  care  of  Massasoit  House,  Springfield,  Mass.  I  now 
enclose  twenty  dollars  towards  repairs  done  for  me  and  revolvers  ;  the 
balance  I  will  send  as  soon  as  I  get  the  bill.  I  have  written  to  have 
Dr.  Howe  send  you  by  express  a  rifle  and  two  pistols,  which  with  the 
guns  you  gave  me  and  fixings,  together  with  the  rifle  given  me  by 
Mr.  Allen  &  Co. ,  I  wish  them  to  pack  in  a  suitable  strong  box,  per 
fectly  safe,  directing  to  J.  B.,  care  of  Orson  M.  Oviatt,  Esq.,  Cleve 
land,  Ohio,  as  freight,  to  keep  dry.  For  box,  trouble,  and  packing  J 
will  pay  when  I  get  the  bill.  I  wish  the  box  very  plainly  marked, 
and  forwarded  to  Cleveland,  as  soon  as  you  receive  the  articles  from 
Dr.  Howe.  I  got  a  fine  list  in  Boston  the  other  day,  and  hope  Wor 
cester  will  not  be  entirely  behind.  I  do  not  mean  you  or  Mr.  Allen 
&  Co. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.     Direct  all  letters  and  bills  to  care  of  Massasoit  House. 
Please  acknowledge. 


1857.]  -THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  383 

April  17,  1857. 

FRIEND  BROWN,  —  I  have  received  your  letter  containing  twenty 
dollars,  and  have  given  it  over  with  contents  to  Allen  &  Wheelock, 
who  will  attend  to  your  requests.  I  shall  leave  to-night  for  New 
York  City,  and  may  not  be  back  again  to  look  after  the  things.  Please 
send  any  directions  you  wish  to  Allen  &  Wheelock.  The  Boston 
people  have  done  nobly,  especially  Mr.  Stearns.  Dr.  Howe  has  not 
forwarded  the  articles  named  in  your  letter.  As  soon  as  received,  I 
will  place  them  in  the  hands  of  Allen  &  Wheelock.  I  thought  it 
best  to  give  them  your  letters,  so  that  they  might  attend  to  your  re 
quests  understandingly.  They  will  be  secret. 

Will  you  allow  me  to  suggest  a  name  for  your  company  ?  I  should 
call  them  "  the  Neighbors,"  from  Luke,  tenth  chapter:  "Which 
thinkest  thou  was  neighbor  to  him  who  fell  among  thieves  ?  " 

Our  Virginia  scheme  is  gaining  strength  wonderfully.1      Every 
mail  brings  me  offers  of  laud  and  men.     The  press  universally  favors 
it,  —  that  is,  so  far  as  we  care  for  favor.     It  is  bound  to  go  ahead. 
You  must  have  a  home  in  Western  Virginia. 
Very  truly  your  friend, 

ELI  THAYER. 

WORCESTER,  April  20,  1857. 
JOHN  BROWN,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  to  Mr.  Thayer  was  handed  us  by  him 
with  the  twenty  dollars,  and  in  reply  would  say  that  we  are  very 
sorry  we  cannot  send  you  the  sample  revolvers,  owing  to  great  delay 
in  some  of  our  work,  etc.  We  shall  not  be  able  to  supply  you  with 
any  at  present,  and  recommend  that  you  obtain  Colt's  pistols  for  your 
immediate  use.  We  will  send  you  one  or  more  as  soon  as  we  can 
get  them  ready,  if  we  can  know  where  to  send  them,  and  would  then 
be  glad  to  supply  you  with  what  you  may  want.  We  have  got  the 
large  gun  ready  j  and  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Thayer  we  have  been 
and  got  the  cannon  and  brought  it  here  j  and  are  waiting  for  the  rifle 
and  pistols  that  you  wrote  were  to  be  sent  from  Dr.  Howe,  on  the 
receipt  of  which  we  shall  forward  them,  together  with  the  cannon, 
rifles,  etc.,  as  you  directed ;  which  we  hope  will  be  safely  received  in 
due  time.  Yours  truly, 

ALLEN  &  WHEELOCK. 

1  Lest  it  should  be  thought  that  this  refers  to  Brown's  plan  for  compul 
sory  emancipation  (which  was  not  then  disclosed),  1  hasten  to  say  that  this 
"Virginia  scheme"  was  a  combination  of  political  campaigning  and  land 
speculation,  which  Mr.  Thayer  had  originated  and  put  in  motion  at  a  place 
named  by  him  Ceredo,  in  West  Virginia. 


384  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

Eli  Thayer,  whose  support  of  Brown  in  his  most  aggres 
sive  measures  was  at  this  time  cordial  and  active,  was  one 
of  the  chief  managers  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company. 
Other  managers  took  a  like  interest  in  Brown's  character 
or  his  plans,  or  in  both.  Mr.  Charles  Higginson,  a  Boston 
cousin  of  Wentworth  Higginson  (who  was  then  preaching 
at  Worcester),  had  written  somewhat  earlier  as  follows : 

EMIGRANT  AID  ROOMS,  BOSTON,  Jan.  10,  1857. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BKOWN  or  OSAWATOMIE. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  a  small  fund  hi  my  hands  to  be  used  for  the 
benefit  of  Kansas  men.  I  enclose  thirty  dollars,  with  the  request 
that  you  will  use  it  as  you  see  fit,  —  remembering  that  you  are  to 
regard  yourself  and  your  sons  as  entitled  to  your  consideration  as 
well  as  any  others.  Eespectfully  yours, 

C.  J.  HIGGINSON. l 

Meantime  the  Massachusetts  Kansas  Committee  had  com 
pleted  the  transaction  concerning  the  rifles  at  Tabor,  and 
given  Brown  the  following  orders  and  votes  to  show  his 
authority.  The  first  is  dated  at  Boston,  Jan.  8,  1857 : 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Enclosed  we  hand  you  our  order  on  Edward  Clark, 
Esq.,  of  Lawrence,  K.  T.,  for  two  hundred  Sharpe's  rifled  carbines, 
with  four  thousand  ball  cartridges,  thirty-one  thousand  military  caps, 
and  six  iron  ladles,  — all,  as  we  suppose,  now  stored  at  Tabor  in 
the  State  of  Iowa.  We  wish  you  to  take  possession  of  this  property, 
either  at  Tabor  or  wherever  it  may  be  found,  as  our  agent,  and  to 
hold  it  subject  to  our  order.  For  this  purpose  you  are  authorized 
to  draw  on  our  treasurer,  Patrick  T.  Jackson,  Esq.,  in  Boston,  for 
such  sums  as  may  be  necessary  to  pay  the  expenses  as  they  accrue, 
to  an  amount  not  exceeding  five  hundred  dollars. 
Truly  yours, 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS, 

Chairman  Massachusetts  State  Kansas  Committee. 
MR.  JOHN  BROWN, 

Of  Kansas  Territory. 

1  Upon  this  is  the  following  indorsement  in  Brown's  handwriting  : 
"C.  J.  Higginson,  or  H.  L.  Higginson."  The  latter  was  a  kinsman  of 
Charles  Higginson  ;  and  has  since  been  known  as  the  wealth)-  Boston 
banker,  who  supplies  his  native  city  with  cheap  concerts  of  the  best  music. 
I  suppose  he  may  have  handed  the  above  note  or  the  money  to  Captain 
Browii. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  385 

BOSTON,  April  15,  1857. 

DEAR  SIR,  — By  the  enclosed  vote  of  the  llth  instant  we  place 
in  your  hands  one  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles  to  be  sold  in  conformity 
therewith,  and  wish  you  to  use  the  proceeds  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Free- State  men  in  Kansas ;  keeping  an  account  of  your  doings  as 
far  as  practicable.  Also  a  vote  placing  a  further  sum  of  five  hun 
dred  dollars  at  your  disposal,  for  which  you  can,  in  need,  pass  your 
draft  on  our  treasurer,  P.  T.  Jackson,  Esq. 
Truly  yours, 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS, 

Chairman  Massachusetts  State  Kansas  Committee. 
MR.  JOHN  BROWN, 

Massasoit  House,  Springfield,  Mass. 

BOSTON,  April  15,  1857. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  executive  committee  of  the  State  Kansas  Aid 
Committee  of  Massachusetts,  held  in  Boston,  April  11,  1857,  it  was 

Voted,  That  Captain  John  Brown  be  authorized  to  dispose  of  one 
hundred  rifles,  belonging  to  this  committee,  to  such  Free-State  inhab 
itants  of  Kansas  as  he  thinks  to  be  reliable,  at  a  price  not  less  than 
fifteen  dollars ;  and  that  he  account  for  the  same  agreeably  to  his 
instructions,  for  the  relief  of  Kansas. 

At  the  same  meeting  it  was 

Voted,  That  Captain  John  Brown  be  authorized  to  draw  on  P.  T. 
Jackson,  treasurer,  for  five  hundred  dollars,  if  on  his  arrival  in  Kan 
sas  he  is  satisfied  that  such  sum  is  necessary  for  the  relief  of  persona 
in  Kansas. 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS, 
Chairman  Massachusetts  State  Kansas  Committee. 

Having  assumed  so  much  responsibility  for  the  property 
of  the  committee,  Captain  Brown,  before  leaving  Boston, 
made  the  following  will  for  the  protection  of  his  friends : 

I,  John  Brown,  of  North  Elba,  N.  Y.,  intending  to  visit  Kansas, 
and  knowing  the  uncertainty  of  life,  make  my  last  will  as  follows  : 
I  give  and  bequeath  all  trust  funds  and  personal  property  for  the  aid 
of  the  Free-State  cause  in  Kansas,  now  in  my  hands  or  in  the  hands 
of  W.  H.  D.  Callender,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  to  George  L.  Stearns,  of 
Medford,  Mass.,  Samuel  Cabot,  Jr.,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and  William 
H.  Russell,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  to  them  and  the  survivor  or  sur 
vivors  and  their  assigns  forever,  in  trust  that  they  will  administer 
said  funds  and  other  property,  including  all  now  collected  or  hereafter 

26 


386  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

to  be  collected  by  me  or  in  my  behalf  for  the  aid  of  the  Free-State 
cause  in  Kansas,  leaving  the  manner  of  so  doing  entirely  at  their 
discretion. 

Signed  at  Boston,  Mass.,  this  13th  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1857,  in 
presence  of  us,  who,  in  presence  of  said  Brown  and  of  each  other, 
have  at  his  request  affixed  our  names  as  witnesses  of  his  will.  The 
words  "  and  personal  property"  and  "  and  other  property"  interlined 
before  signature  by  said  Brown,  and  "  said  Callender,"  erased. 

(Signed)  JOHN  BROWN. 

DANIEL  FOSTER,  } 

MARY  ELLEN  RUSSELL,  >  Witnesses. 

THOMAS  RUSSELL,          ) 

The  purposes  of  the  Massachusetts  Committee  will  be  seen 
by  the  letter  of  Mr.  Stearns  to  a  New  York  committee,  dated 
May  18,  1857.  He  said  :  — 

11  Since  the  close  of  the  last  year  we  have  confined  our  operations 
to  aiding  those  persons  in  Kansas  who  were,  or  intended  to  become, 
citizens  of  that  Territory,  —  believing  that  sufficient  inducements  to 
immigrate  existed  in  the  prosperous  state  of  affairs  there;  and  we 
now  believe  that  should  quiet  and  prosperity  continue  there  for  an 
other  year,  the  large  influx  of  Northern  and  Eastern  men  will  secure 
the  State  for  freedom.  To  insure  the  present  prosperity  we  propose  — 

"  1.  To  have  our  legislature  make  a  grant  of  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  discreet  persons,  who  shall  use 
it  for  the  relief  of  those  in  Kansas  who  are,  or  may  become,  destitute 
through  Border-Ruffian  outrage.  We  think  it  will  be  done. 

"  2.  To  organize  a  secret  force,  well  armed,  and  under  control  of 
the  famous  John  Brown,  to  repel  Border-Ruffian  outrage  and  defend 
the  Free- State  men  from  all  alleged  impositions.  This  organization 
is  strictly  to  be  a  defensive  one. 

"  3.  To  aid  by  timely  donations  of  money  those  parties  of  settlers 
in  the  Territory  who  from  misfortune  are  unable  to  provide  for  their 
present  wants. 

u  I  am  personally  acquainted  with  Captain  Brown,  and  have  great 
confidence  in  his  courage,  prudence,  and  good  judgment.  He  has 
control  of  the  whole  aifair,  including  contributions  of  arms,  clothing, 
etc.,  to  the  amount  of  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  His  presence  in  the 
Territory  will,  we  think,  give  the  Free-State  men  confidence  in  their 
cause,  and  also  check  the  disposition  of  the  Border  Ruffians  to  impose- 
on  them.  This  I  believe  to  be  the  most  important  work  to  be  done 
in  Kansas  at  the  present  time.  Many  of  the  Free-State  leaders  being 
engaged  in  speculations  are  willing  to  accept  peace  on  any  terms. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  387 

Brown  and  his  friends  will  hold  to  the  original  principle  of  making 
Kansas  free,  without  regard  to  private  interests.  If  you  agree  with 
me,  I  should  like  to  have  your  money  appropriated  for  the  use  of 
Captain  John  Brown.  If  not  that,  the  other  proposition,  to  aid  par 
ties  of  settlers  now  in  the  Territory,  will  be  the  next  best." 

As  has  already  been  mentioned,  Captain  Brown,  in  com 
pany  with.  Martin  F.  Con  way  and  myself,  representing  the 
Massachusetts  Committee,  met  by  appointment  at  the  Metro 
politan  Hotel  in  New  York  late  in  March,  1857,  and  pro 
ceeded  in  company  to  Easton,  Penn.,  where  Mr.  Reeder,  a 
former  governor  of  Kansas,  was  living,  for  the  purpose  of 
inducing  him,  if  possible,  to  return  to  Kansas  and  become 
the  leader  of  the  Free-State  party  there.  The  journey  was 
undertaken  at  the  request  of  the  Massachusetts  Committee, 
of  which  both  Brown  and  Conway  were  agents.  It  resulted 
in  nothing;  for  Mr.  Eeeder  was  unwilling  to  leave  his 
family  and  his  occupations  at  Easton  to  engage  again  in  the 
political  contests  of  Kansas.  Captain  Brown  had  quite  a 
different  conception  of  his  own  duty  to  his  family,  as  com 
pared  with  his  duty  to  the  cause.  Although  he  had  been 
absent  from  home  nearly  two  years,  he  refrained  from  a  visit 
to  North  Elba,  where  his  family  then  were,  until  he  had  ar 
ranged  his  military  affairs  in  Boston  and  New  York ;  and  he 
finally  reached  his  rough  mountain  home  late  in  February. 
He  found  his  daughter  Ellen,  whom  he  had  left  an  infant 
in  the  cradle,  old  enough  to  hear  him  sing  his  favorite  hymn, 
"  Blow  ye  the  trumpet,  blow  !  "  to  the  old  tune  of  Lenox. 
"  He  sung  all  his  own  children  to  sleep  with  it,"  writes 
his  daughter  Anne,  "  and  some  of  his  grandchildren,  too. 
He  seemed  to  be  very  partial  to  the  first  verse ;  I  think  that 
he  applied  it  to  himself.  When  he  was  at  home  (I  think  it 
was  the  first  time  he  came  from  Kansas),  he  told  Ellen  that 
he  had  sung  it  to  all  the  rest,  and  must  to  her,  too.  She  was 
afraid  to  go  to  him  alone  [the  poor  child  had  forgotten  her 
father  in  his  two  years'  absence],  so  father  said  that  I 
must  sit  with  her.  He  took  Ellen  on  one  knee  and  me  on 
the  other  and  sung  it  to  us."  His  sons  were  now  inclined 
to  give  up  war  and  remain  at  North  Elba,  and  so  his  wife 
wrote  him,  March  21.  He  replied  :  — 


388  LIFE   AND  LETTERS    OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 


To  his  Wife. 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  March  31,  1857. 

DEAR  WIFE,  —  Your  letter  of  the  21st  is  just  received.  I  have 
only  to  say  as  regards  the  resolution  of  the  boys  to  "  learn  and  prac 
tice  war  no  more/'  that  it  was  not  at  my  solicitation  that  they  en 
gaged  in  it  at  first ;  and  that  while  I  may  perhaps  feel  no  more  love 
of  the  business  than  they  do,  still  I  think  there  may  be  possibly  in 
their  day  what  is  more  to  be  dreaded,  if  such  things  do  not  now 
exist.  ...  I  have  just  got  a  long  letter  from  Mr.  Adair.  All 
middling  well,  March  11,  but  had  fears  of  further  trouble  after  a 
while. 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

He  found  means  to  overcome  the  reluctance  of  his  chil 
dren  to  sacrifice  themselves  for  the  cause  of  the  slave,  and 
this  in  spite  of  many  discouragements  of  his  own.  In  reply 
to  Mr.  Adair,  he  wrote  this  short  note  :  — 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASS.,  March  31,  1857. 

DEAR  BROTHER  AND  SISTER  ADAIR,  —  I  received  Mr.  Adair's 
most  welcome  letter  to-day,  and  am  greatly  obliged  for  it  indeed.  I 
also  yesterday  saw  your  letter  to  Mr.  Burt,  at  Canton,  Conn.  Mr. 
Burt  died  in  January.  In  him  truth,  right,  and  humanity  lost  a 
faithful  friend.  I  have  but  a  moment  to  write,  and  but  little  to  say 
that  would  afford  you  any  interest,  except  that  friends  are  well,  so  far 
as  I  know,  and  that  I  think  of  going  West  somewhere,  soon.  The 
excitement  is  getting  up  this  way  in  view  of  Supreme  Court  pro 
ceedings,1  Walker's  appointment  as  governor  of  Kansas,  etc.  May 
God  still  preserve  and  keep  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Brown  made  the  unlucky 
acquaintance  of  Hugh  Forbes,  was  pleased  with  him,  and 
engaged  him  to  drill  his  soldiers  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
dollars  a  month,  even  going  so  far  as  to  pay  him  six  hun 
dred  dollars  in  advance,  early  in  April.  Mr.  Callender,  of 
the  State  Bank  in  Hartford,  thus  testified  before  Senator 
Mason's  committee :  — 

1  The  Dred  Scott  decision. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  389 

"I  had  instructions  from  Mr.  Brown  to  pay  Forbes  six  hundred 
dollars  ;  that  was  about  the  1st  of  April,  1857  j  the  two  drafts  I  have 
with  me. 

[The  witness  produced  two  drafts,  which  are  in  the  following  words  and 
figures  :  — 
No.—.     $400.  NEW  YORK,  April  27,  1857. 

At  sight,  pay  to  the  order  of  Ketchum,  Howe,  &  Co.  four  hundred  dol 
lars,  value  received,  and  charge  the  same  to  account  of 

(Signed)  ,  HUGH  FORBES. 

Indorsed  :  Cr.  our  account, 

KETCHUM,  HOWE,  &  Co. 

No.  — .     $200.  NEW  YORK,  April  29,  1857. 

Pay  to  the  order  of  Ketchum,  Howe,  &  Co.  two  hundred  dollars,  value 
received,  and  charge  the  same  to  account  of 

(Signed)  HUGH  FORBES. 

W.  H.  D.  CALLENDER,  ESQ.,  Hartford,  Conn.] 

"  Mr.  Brown  told  me  that  Mr.  Forbes  might  draw  upon  me  for  six 
hundred  dollars  ;  that  was  about  the  1st  of  April,  1857  ;  these  drafts 
soon  afterwards  came  on,  and  I  paid  them.  Brown  furnished  me,  I 
think,  with  four  hundred  dollars,  which  came  from  Springfield." 

The  fish  had  swallowed  the  golden  hook,  but  it  was  not 
easy  to  "  land  "  him.  He  should  have  followed  Brown  to 
the  West  in  May,  but  he  loitered  in  New  York,  and  Brown 
was  forced  to  warn  him  as  follows.  Mr.  Callender  says  :  — 

lt  Here  is  an  order  drawn  by  John  Brown,  dated  the  22d  of  June, 
1857,  upon  Colonel  H.  Forbes,  at  New  York  City,  in  these  words  : 

1  SIR,  —  If  you  have  drawn  on  W.  H.  D.  Callender,  Esq.,  cashier  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  for  six  hundred  dollars,  or  any  part  of  that  amount,  and 
are  not  prepared  to  come  on  and  join  me  at  once,  you  will  please  pay  over  to 
Joseph  Bryant,  Esq.,  who  is  my  agent,  six  hundred  dollars,  or  whatever 
amount  you  have  so  drawn.' 

"  The  indorsement  on  it  is, 

'  I  did  not  present  this  to  the  colonel,  as  I  presumed  it  would  be  of  no 
use  ;  and  then  he  is,  I  am  persuaded,  acting  on  good  faith. 

(Signed)  JOSEPH  BRYANT.'  " 

Forbes  was  printing  his  precious  Manual  in  New  York, 
and  also  enjoying  the  advantages  of  the  city,  instead  of 
hurrying  away  to  the  prairies.  Mr.  Bryant  at  various  dates 
thus  reports  him  :  — • 


390  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

June  1.  I  this  day  saw  your  friend  Colonel  Forbes  ;  he  is  trying 
to  raise  funds  to  get  his  family  brought  to  this  country,  but  I  fear  he 
will  not  succeed  very  well.  I  will  have,  when  collected,  some  six 
dollars  only  in  my  hands ;  this  I  intend  passing  into  his  hands.  I 
may  get  a  few  dollars  more,  but  the  prospects  are  not  very  good  here 
at  present  to  raise  money.  The  colonel  says  he  is  getting  along  well 
in  getting  his  printing  done  (and  is  losing  no  time). 

June  16.  I  called  on  the  colonel  last  night ;  found  him  well,  ex 
cept  very  anxious  about  getting  his  family  to  this  country.  He  is 
not  ready  to  join  you ;  thinks  nothing  will  be  needed  out  West  be 
fore  winter,  —  not  till  Congress  have  met  and  acted  in  favor  of  the 
constitution  about  being  framed;  so  he  thinks.  He  is  getting  along, 
he  tells  me,  as  fast  as  possible  with  his  book  ;  will  have  it  ready  in 
about  ten  days  ;  has  as  yet  raised  no  funds  to  pay  the  passage  of  his 
family.  Thinks  they  will  have  to  come  in  the  third  class  passage, 
which  grieves  him  very  much,  as  his  wife  is  not  in  good  health.  I 
had  promised  what  money  was  in  my  hands  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
publishing  his  book ;  this  I  promised  him  on  account  of  your  intro 
duction  to  me  of  him. 

June  25.  Yours  of  the  22d  was  duly  received  by  me  on  yesterday, 
and  I,  according  to  your  request,  called  on  the  colonel.  I  learned  that 
he  intends  to  leave  here  to  join  you  in  about  ten  days  (certainly,  barring 
accidents}.  I  learned,  too,  that  he  had  drawn  the  money,  and  I  think 
it  is  pretty  well  used  up  by  this  time.  I  did  not  say  anything  about 
his  refunding,  as  he  assured  me,  in  the  most  positive  way  he  could, 
that  he  would  set  out  as  soon  as  he  got  his  book  finished,  which 
would  be  done  in  about  a  week.  He  says  he  is  as  anxious  as  you  are 
to  do  everything  that  can  be  done;  but  he  still  thinks  that  there  will 
be  no  need  of  action  before  winter.  Yet  he  admitted  it  was  best  to  be 
ready;  and  he  thinks  his  book  of  extracts  is  all-important,  —  a  part  of 
the  necessary  tools  to  work  with.  He  has  given  up  the  idea  of  get 
ting  his  family  over  to  this  country,  and  is  about  sending  his  daughter 
back  to  her  mother.  She  will  leave  in  a  few  days.  He  sent  his 
family  (I  understood  from  himself)  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
dollars  some  time  ago  of  the  money  he  drew,  and  I  suppose  it  will 
take  some  hundred  dollars  for  his  daughter  to  go  home  on  ;  yet  I 
think  the  colonel  is  acting  in  good  faith,  and  is  an  honorable  man. 

The  character  of  Hugh  Forbes  and  his  final  connection 
with  Brown  will  be  considered  hereafter.  It  is  enough  to 
say,  now,  that  he  was  unfitted  for  the  work  given  him  to  do, 
and  that  the  money  paid  to  him  was  worse  than  thrown 
away ;  yet  the  lack  of  this  sum  —  six  or  seven  hundred 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  391 

dollars  —  embarrassed  Brown  at  every  step  of  his  course  in 
the  summer  of  1857,  and  prevented  his  reaching  Kansas 
until  late  in  the  year.  Meantime  his  friends,  there  were 
expecting  him,  and  he  was  corresponding  with  them  at  in 
tervals.  Through  one  of  these  friends,  Augustus  Wattles, 
then  living  at  Lawrence,  he  sent  messages  to  others  ;  and 
one  of  these  letters  expresses  so  pungently  his  opinion  of 
Kansas  affairs  in  the  early  spring  of  1857,  that  I  will  quote 
it  here  :  — 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  April  8,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  — Your  favor  of  the  15th  March,  and  that  of  friend 
Holmes  of  the  16th,  I  have  just  received.  I  cannot  express  my  grati 
tude  for  them  both.  They  give  me  just  that  kind  of  news  I  was  most 
of  all  things  anxious  to  hear.  I  bless  God  that  he  has  not  left  the 
Free-State  men  of  Kansas  to  pollute  themselves  by  the  foul  and 
loathsome  embrace  of  the  old  rotten  whore.  I  have  been  trembling 
all  along  lest  they  might  u  back  down  "  from  the  high  and  holy 
ground  they  had  taken.  I  say,  in  view  of  the  wisdom,  firmness,  and 
patience  of  my  friends  and  fellow- sufferers  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
let  God's  name  be  eternally  praised  !  I  would  most  gladly  give  my 
hand  to  all  whose  u  garments  are  not  defiled  ;  "  and  I  humbly  trust 
that  I  shall  soon  again  have  opportunity  to  rejoice  (or  suffer  further 
if  need  be)  with  you  in  the  strife  between  heaven  and  hell.  I  wisli 
to  send  my  most  cordial  and  earnest  salutation  to  every  one  of  the 
chosen.  My  efforts  this  way  have  not  been  altogether  fruitless.  I 
wish  you  and  friend  Holmes  both  to  accept  this  for  the  moment ;  may 
write  soon  again,  and  hope  to  hear  from  you  both  at  Tabor,  Fremont 
County,  Iowa,  —  care  of  Jonas  Jones,  Esq. 
Your  sincere  friend, 

NELSON  HAWKINS. 

AUGUSTUS  WATTLES,  ESQ.,  Lawrence,  K.  T. 

"  Friend  Holmes  "  was  Brown's  youngest  lieutenant,  who 
thus  wrote  to  him  after  he  had  left  New  England  for  North 
Elba  :  — 

Letters  of  J.  H.  Holmes  to  John  Brown. 

LAWRENCE,  KANSAS,  April  30,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  BROWN,  —  I  have  been  anxiously  expecting  to 
hear  from  you  direct,  but  have  only  heard  through  Mr.  Wattles.  I 
want  to  see  you  as  soon  as  possibly  after  you  arrive  in  the  Territory. 


392  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

I  have  settled  at  Emporia,  six  miles  above  the  junction  of  the  Neo- 
sho  and  the  Cottonwood.  My  address  is  either  Emporia  or  Law 
rence,  as  you  may  choose.  My  letters  all  come  and  go  safe.  War,  ere 
six  months  shall  have  passed  away,  is  inevitable.  Secretary  Stanton 
has  made  a  public  speech  in  Lawrence,  and  says  that  those  laws  (the 
bogus)  shall  be  enforced,  and  that  the  taxes  shall  be  paid.  The  peo 
ple  shout,  "  Never  !  "  "  Then,"  he  says,  "  there  is  war  between  you 
and  me,  —  war  to  the  knife,  and  the  knife  to  the  hilt."  There  will  be 
no  voting  ;  no  paying  of  taxes  ;  and  I  think  the  Free- State  men  will 
remove  the  Territorial  Government  and  set  up  their  own.  Then  we 
want  you.  Please  write.  All  your  friends,  as  far  as  I  know,  are 
well.  Very  truly  yours, 

JAMES  H.  HOLMES.* 

This  letter  was  immediately  followed  by  another,  in 
which  Holmes  opens  a  little  of  the  mystery  of  Kansas  pol 
itics  in  this  third  year  of  the  struggle  there :  — 

LAWRENCE,  KAN.,  3  o'clock,  p.  M.,  April  30,  1857. 

DEAR  FRIEND  BROWN,  —  This  morning  I  received  your  letter 
which  came  by  the  way  of  Tabor,  and  also  your  letter  which  came 
through  the  mail.  I  had  previously  written  you  a  short  letter.  I 
now  write  to  let  you  know  that  I  have  received  them,  and  to  an 
swer  them  hastily ;  though  I  presume  you  will  leave  Springfield  for 
Kansas  ere  this  reaches  you.  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  disposition 
to  "  back  down  n  by  the  Free- State  men,  other  than  by  the  specu 
lators  ;  and  they  are,  as  a  class,  never  to  be  relied  on,  of  course.  I 
have  full  faith  in  the  virtue  of  the  Free-State  men  of  Kansas.  You 
have  something  to  learn  in  the  political  world  here. 

You  will  hear  of  me  either  at  Lawrence,  through  J.  E.  Cook,  of  the 
firm  of  Bacon,  Cook,  &  Co.,  or  I  may  be  at  Emporia,  where  I  have 
taken  a  claim  and  make  it  my  home.  At  any  rate,  Cook  can  tell 
you  where  I  may  be.  A  case  has  recently  occurred  of  kidnapping  a 
Free-State  man,  which  is  this :  Archibald  Kandell,  a  young  fellow 
who  came  in  with  Redpath  under  Eldridge,  last  fall,  and  has  been 
all  winter  on  a  claim  near  Osawatomie,  was  some  two  weeks  since 
enticed  out  under  pretence  of  trading  horses,  by  four  men,  and 
abducted  into  Missouri.  Archy  was  in  my  company,  and  is  a  good 

1  Holmes  was  at  this  time  nineteen  years  old,  the  son  of  a  New  York 
broker,  and  had  gone  to  Kansas  to  aid  the  cause  of  freedom.  He  has  since 
been  a  journalist,  and  under  President  Lincoln  was  secretary  of  New 
Mexico.  Brown  used  to  call  him  "my  little  hornet." 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  393 

brave  fellow.     How  long  he  is  to  remain  incarcerated  and  in  chains  I 
will  not  in  this  place  and  time  attempt  to  predict. 

Judge  Conway  is  here,  radical  and  right.  Dr.  Robinson  recently 
made  a  proposition  with  some  leading  proslavery  men  to  compro 
mise.  The  Eree-State  men  won't  do  it.  We  are  talking  of  running 
Phillips  for  governor  next  fall. 

Very  truly  your  constant  friend, 

JAMES. 

This  letter  was  months  in  reaching  Brown,  who  did  not 
answer  it  until  September  9.  Mr.  Wattles  wrote  in  the 
summer,  touching  upon  matters  political,  and  in  reply  to  a 
second  letter  from  Brown,  who  was  meditating  his  proposed 
attack  on  slavery  in  Missouri,  and  for  this  time  called  him 
self  "  James  Smith,"  instead  of  "  Hawkins." 

John  Brown  to  A.  Wattles. 

HUDSON,  OHIO,  June  3,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  write  to  say  that  I  started  for  Kansas  some 
three  weeks  or  more  since,  but  have  been  obliged  to  stop  for  the 
fever  and  ague.  I  am  now  righting  up,  and  expect  to  be  on  my  way 
again  soon.  Free-State  men  need  have  no  fear  of  my  desertion. 
There  are  some  half-dozen  men  I  want  a  visit  from  at  Tabor,  Iowa, 
to  come  off  in  the  most  QUIET  WAY  ;  namely,  Daniel  Foster,  late  of 
Boston,  Massachusetts  ;  Holmes,  Frazee,  a  Mr.  Hill,  and  William 
David,  on  Little  Ottawa  Creek  ;  a  Mr.  Cochran,  on  Pottawatomie 
Creek  ;  or  I  would  like  equally  well  to  see  Dr.  Updegraff  and  S.  H. 
Wright,  of  Osawatomie ;  or  William  Phillips,  or  CONWAY,  or  your 
honor.  I  have  some  very  important  matters  to  confer  with  some  of 
you  about.  Let  there  be  no  words  about  it.  Should  any  of  you  come 
out  to  see  me,  wait  at  Tabor  if  you  get  there  first.  Mr.  Adair,  at 
Osawatomie,  may  supply  fifty  dollars  (if  need  be)  for  expenses,  on 
my  account,  on  presentation  of  this.  Write  me  at  Tabor,  Iowa, 
Fremont  County.  Very  respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  SMITH.1 

1  The  persons  mentioned  in  this  letter  were  supposed  by  Brown  to  be 
specially  friendly  and  true  to  him.  Foster  was  a  clergyman,  formerly  set 
tled  at  Concord,  Mass.,  but  then  in  Kansas.  Holmes  was  Brown's  lieu 
tenant  in  1856,  and  afterward  in  1858-59.  Frazee  was  Brown's  teamster 
and  soldier  in  1856,  and  fought  at  Black  Jack,  as  did  B.  L.  Cochran.  Dr. 
Updegraff  fought  at  Osawatomie.  Concerning  David,  Hill,  and  Wright 
I  have  little  information,  Phillips  was  afterwards  Congressman. 


394  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

The  Reply. 

LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  June  18,  1857. 
JAMES  SMITH,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  favor  of  the  3d  instant  was  duly  received.  I 
am  much  pleased  to  hear  from  you.  We  talked  over  matters  here,  and 
concluded  to  say,  come  as  quietly  as  possible,  or  not  come  at  present, 
as  you  may  choose.  Holmes  is  at  Emporia,  plowing  ;  Conway  is 
here,  talking  politics ;  Phillips  is  here,  trying  to  urge  the  Free-State 
men  to  galvanize  the  Topeka  constitution  into  life.  Dr.  Robinson's 
absence  at  the  assembling  of  the  Free-State  Legislature  last  winter 
dispirited  the  Free-State  party.  It  is  difficult  to  make  them  rally 
again  under  him.  Foster  I  do  not  know.  Frazee  has  not  returned. 
The  others  are  as  you  left  them.  We  are  prospering  finely.  You 
will  hear  much  against  G.  W.  Brown  and  the  "  Herald  of  Freedom," 
but  be  careful  about  believing  it.  Brown  is  as  good  as  ever. 
Most  truly  your  friend, 

AUGUSTUS  WATTLES.* 

In  reply  to  a  letter  of  Brown,  sent  in  August  from 
Tabor,  Mr.  Wattles  wrote  again  on  Kansas  politics,  and 
more  definitely. 

Letters  from,  Kansas  Friends. 

LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  Aug.  21,  1857. 

DEAR  SIR  —  Your  favor  of  August  8  came  duly  to  hand,  as  did 
yours  to  Dr.  Prentice.  The  business  you  speak  of  was  put  into  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Realf.  Mr.  Whitman  and  Mr.  Edmonds  2  are  both 
gone  East.  In  regard  to  other  inquiries,  I  can  hardly  tell  you  satis 
factorily.  I  think  Dr.  Robinson's  failure  to  meet  the  legislature 
last  winter  disheartened  the  people  so  that  they  lost  confidence  in 
him  and  in  the  movement.  Although  in  the  Convention  we  invited 
him  to  withdraw  his  resignation  (which  he  did),  yet  the  masses 
could  never  be  vitalized  again  into  that  enthusiasm  and  confidence 
which  they  had  before.  Another  mistake  which  he  made,  equally 
fatal,  was  his  attack  upon  George  W.  Brown  and  the  ''  Herald  of 
Freedom  ;  "  thus  leading  off  his  friends  into  a  party  by  themselves, 
and  leaving  all  who  doubted  and  hated  him  in  another  party.  This 
war  between  the  leaders  settled  the  question  of  resistance  to  outside 

1  Indorsed  by  John  Brown:  "A.  "Wattles,  No.  2.     Requires  no  reply." 

2  Two  names  for  the  same  man. 


1857.1 


THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  395 


authority  at  once.  Those  who  had  entertained  the  idea  of  resistance 
have  entirely  abandoned  it.  Dr.  Robinson  was  not  alone  in  his  blun 
ders.  Colonel  Lane,  Mr.  Phillips,  and  "  The  Republican"  made 
equally  fatal  ones.  Colonel  Lane  boasted  in  his  public  speeches 
that  the  Constitutional  Convention  would  be  driven  into  the  Kaw 
River,  etc.,  by  violence.  Mr.  Phillips  boasted  this,  and  much  more, 
in  the  "  New  York  Tribune."  "  The  Republican"  boasted  that  old 
Captain  Brown  would  be  down  on  Governor  Walker  and  Co.  like  an 
avenging  god,  etc.  This  excited  Walker  and  others  to  that  degree 
they  at  once  took  refuge  under  the  United  States  troops.  Whatever 
might  have  been  intended,  much  more  was  threatened  and  boasted 
of  than  could  possibly  have  been  performed,  unless  there  was  an 
extensive  conspiracy.  This,  I  believe,  Governor  Walker  says  was 
the  case. 

I  saw  Con  way  to-day.  He  says  he  thinks  all  will  go  off  quietly 
at  the  election.  Phillips,  you  will  see  by  the  "  Tribune,"  has  come 
out  in  favor  of  voting  in  October.  They  intend  to  cheat  us  ;  but  we 
expect  to  beat  them.  Walker  is  as  fair  as  he  can  be,  under  the 
circumstances.  Yours  truly, 

A.  WATTLES.1 

A  few  days  earlier  than  this  letter  was  written,  Holmes, 
who  differed  a  little  from  Wattles,  sent  a  word  of  warning 
to  his  captain,  along  with  other  information,  thus  :  — 

LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  Aug.  16,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  received  your  letter  of  the  8th  inst.  yes 
terday.  I  am  glad  to  hear  that  you  are  so  near.  Messrs.  Realf, 
Phillips,  and  Wattles  also  received  letters  from  you  yesterday.  I 
have  a  word  of  caution  to  say  in  regard  to  Mr.  Wattles.  He  is  a 
friend  whom  I  most  highly  esteem ;  yet  he  is  so  connected  in  politics 
that  I  think  it  unsafe  for  you  to  communicate  to  him  any  plans  you 
would  not  like  to  communicate  directly  to  Governor  Walker.  For 
this  reason  :  Mr.  Wattles  is  under  George  W.  Brown  ;  and  both  be 
lieve  in  submitting  in  good  faith,  under  Governor  Walker,  to  the  Ter 
ritorial  authorities.  Governor  Walker  comes  to  town  frequently,  and 
stops  at  the  "  Herald  of  Freedom"  office,  in  secret  conclave  with 
G.  W.  Brown.  When  you  come  here  (if  you  should),  you  can  judge 
for  yourself. 

1  Indorsed  by  John  Brown  :  "  A.  Wattles,  No.  6."  The  rest  of  these 
letters  are  not  in  my  hands.  The  election  mentioned  was  to  occur  in 
October,  and  was  carried  by  the  Free-State  men.  "Walker"  was  the 
new  Governor,  —  R.  J,  Walker,  of  Pennsylvania. 


,396  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

Messrs.  Phillips,  Wattles,  and  Realf  I  have  seen ;  they  will  write 
to  you  themselves,  and  I  will  merely  give  you  my  own  mind  on 
the  subject.  T  do  not  know  what  you  would  have  me  infer  by 
tl  business."  I  presume,  though,  by  the  word  being  emphasized, 
that  you  refer  to  the  business  for  which  I  learn  you  have  a  stock  of 
material  with  you.  If  you  mean  this,  I  think  quite  strongly  of  a 
good(f)  opening  for  this  business  about  the  first  Monday  in  October1 
next.  If  you  wish  other  employments,  I  presume  you  will  find  just 
as  profitable  ones.  I  am  sorry  that  you  have  not  been  here  in  the 
Territory  before.  I  think  that  the  sooner  you  come  the  better,  so 
that  the  people  and  the  Territorial  authorities  may  become  familiar 
ized  with  your  presence.  This  is  also  the  opinion  of  all  other  friends 
with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  this  subject.  You  could  thus  exert 
more  influence.  Several  times  we  have  needed  you  very  much.  I 
have  much  to  communicate  to  you,  which  I  cannot  do  through  this 
medium  ;  therefore  you  must  try  to  let  me  know  of  your  approach 
or  arrival  as  soon  as  possible,  through  Mr.  Phillips,  or  through  the 
Lawrence  postoffice.  I  presume  Mr.  Phillips  wrote  to  you  in  re 
gard  to  teams  and  means,  which,  as  Mr.  Whitman  is  now  East,  will 
be,  I  fear,  scarce. 

Most  sincerely  your  friend, 

JAMES  H.  HOLMES. 


This  letter  was  directed  to  "  Captain  Brown,"  and  so  was, 
perhaps,  sent  by  a  safe  messenger  ;  for  the  Free-State  men 
had  much  distrust  of  the  mails.  This  was  one  reason  for 
the  change  of  names  which  John  Brown  adopted ;  another 
was,  that  he  was  still  proscribed  in  Kansas,  as  he  had  been 
in  1856,  and  might  be  arrested  at  any  time  by  the  Terri 
torial  authorities.  Mr.  Whitman  wrote  to  him  soon  after, 
and  wishing  to  free  him  from  this  anxiety,  chose  as  his 
messenger  the  Englishman  Realf,  of  whom  we  shall  soon 
hear  more :  — 

LAWRENCE,  June  30,  1857. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  send  you  by  the  bearer,  Richard  Realf,  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  dollars,  minus  the  reasonable  expenses  of  the  messen 
ger  on  his  way  up.  You  will  please  make  arrangements  for  him  to 
return  with  you.  Your  friends  are  desirous  of  seeing  you.  The 
dangers  that  threatened  the  Territory  and  individuals  have  been 
removed,  in  the  shape  of  quashed  indictments.  Your  furniture  can 

1  Election  day. 


1857.J  THE    KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  397 

be  brought  and  safely  stored  while  you  are  seeking  a  location ;  and 
your  family  can  find  board  among  the  settlers.  Hoping  to  see  you 
soon  in  good  health,  I  remain,  as  ever, 

Yours  truly,  E.  B.  W. 

To  CAPTAIN  BROWN. 

Mr.  Phillips,  afterward  in  Congress  from  Kansas,  and  a 
general  during  the  Civil  War,  wrote  thus  :  — 

LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  June  24,  1857. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  received  your  letter,  dated  from  Ohio  the 
9th  instant,  a  few  days  ago.  I  fear  I  shall  not  be  able  to  meet  you 
at  Tabor.  I  have  just  received  (on  the  13th)  the  task  of  superin 
tending  and  taking  the  census  for  the  State  election.  As  means  are 
limited,  those  who  can  must  do  this.  I  have  therefore  assumed  the 
task,  which  will  require  my  presence  and  most  active  efforts  until  the 
15th  of  July.  I  have  tried  to  arrange  it  so  as  to  get  off  for  a  week  ; 
but  it  is  impossible  without  a  sacriiice  of  duty.  Should  it  be  so,  or 
if  no  one  else  can  go,  I  will  still  try.  Holmes  I  have  seen ;  he  is 
busy,  and  will  not  be  able  to  come  up.  Severa[  of  those  you  men 
tioned  are  gone,  and  others  cannot  go  to  Tabor.  I  sent  a  message 
to  Osawatomie,  and  enclosed  your  letter  to  Mr.  Adair ;  told  him  that 
Holmes  and  the  others  could  not  go,  and  urged  that  some  go  from 
Osawatomie,  if  possible.  I  have  not  yet  heard  from  him.  I  start 
to  Osawatomie  when  I  finish  this ;  I  will  make  it  on  my  round,  ap 
pointing  deputies  and  taking  the  census.  Two  young  men  from 
this  place  have  promised  me  that  they  will  go  if  possible ;  but  they 
have  no  horses,  and  horses  cannot  be  hired  for  such  a  journey.  I 
still  hope  to  have  a  few  friends  at  Tabor  to  meet  you  in  a  week. 

As  to  your  future  action,  for  fear  I  should  be  prevented  from  going 
to  meet  you,  let  me  say  I  think  you  should  come  into  Kansas,  pro 
vided  you  desire  to  do  so.  I  think  it  will  be  our  duty  to  see  you 
protected.  There  is  no  necessity  for  active  military  preparations  at 
this  time ;  but  so  far  as  you  have  the  elements  of  defence  at  your 
command,  I  think  they  are  safer  with  you  than  with  any  one  else.  ^ 
Your  old  claim  has,  I  believe,  been  jumped.  If  you  do  not  desire  to 
contest  it,  let  me  suggest  that  you  make  a  new  settlement  at  some 
good  point,  of  which  you  will  be  the  head.  Lay  off  a  town  and  take 
claims  around  it.  You  would  thus  rally  round  you  a  class  of  useful 
men,  who  could  be  prepared  for  an  emergency  at  the  same  time  that 
they  furthered  their  own  interests,  which  they  have  a  right  to  do. 
Any  information  I  could  render  as  to  the  best  sites  .or  otherwise  you 
may  cheerfully  call  upon.  Should  I  not  be  able  to  come  to  meet  you, 
I  hope  at  least  to  see  you  shortly  after  you  enter.  I  have  not  time  to 


398  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

detail  the  present  condition  of  the  Free-State  party.     Until  I  see 
you,  adieu.  Respectfully, 

WILLIAM  A.  PHILLIPS. 
JAMES  SMITH.! 

Mr.  Whitman's  messenger  reached  Tabor  nearly  a  month 
before  Brown  got  there,  and  went  back  to  Kansas  again, 
leaving  this  note  :  — 

TABOR,  IOWA,  July  6,  1857. 
JOHN  BROWN,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  arrived  here  to-day  from  Lawrence,  bringing  $150, 
minus  my  expenses  up  and  down.  These  will  amount  to  about  $40, 
leaving  you  $110.  Mr.  Whitman  could  not,  as  you  will  see  from  his 
note  signed  " Edmunds,"  spare  you  more;  and  the  mule  team  you 
asked  fur  could  not  be  procured.  I  am  sorry  you  have  not  arrived : 
I  should  like  to  have  gone  back  with  you.  The  Governor  has  in 
structed  the  Attorney-General  of  Kansas  to  enter  a  nolle  prosequi  in 
the  case  of  the  Free-State  prisoners ;  so  that  you  need  be  under  no 
apprehension  of  insecurity  as  to  yourself  or  the  munitions  you  may 
bring  with  you.  By  writing  a  line  to  me  or  Mr.  Whitman  or  Phil 
lips  at  Lawrence  immediately  on  your  arrival  here,  we  will  come 
and  meet  you  by  way  of  Topeka.  God  speed  you  ! 

Truly,  RICHARD  REALF. 

Brown  reported  to  me  at  the  end  of  September  his  prog 
ress  then  made,  as  follows  :  — 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Oct.  1,  1857. 
F.  B.  SANBORN,  Concord,  Mass. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Two  days  since  I  received  your  very  kind  letter 
of  the  14th  September;  also  one  from  James  Hunnewell,  Esq.,  say 
ing  he  had  sent  me  $72.68  through  P.  T.  Jackson,  Esq.,  of  Boston  ; 
for  both  which  I  am  very  glad.2  I  cannot  express  my  gratitude  for 

1  Indorsed  by  John  Brown  :  "William  A.  Phillips.  Requires  no  reply. 
No.  1."  The  tone  of  this  letter  shows  how  Brown  was  regarded  in  Kansas 
as  the  custodian  of  arms,  — which,  of  course,  was  the  "furniture"  men 
tioned  by  Mr.  Whitman. 

-  This  note  explains  the  source  and  object  of  this  seasonable  contri 
bution  :  — • 

BOSTON,  Sept.  14,  1857. 
NELSON  HAWKINS,  ESQ.,  care  of  Jonas  Jones,  Tabor,  Iowa. 

DEAR  SIB, —  By  order  of  the  (Mass.)  Middlesex  County  Kansas  Aid  Committee,  I 
have  sent  to  you  through  P.  T.  Jackson,  Esq.,  treasurer  of  the  State  Committee,  $72.68, 
"  to  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of  Captain  John  Brown,  now  at  Tabor,  Iowa,  in  support 
of  the  cause  of  freedom  iu  Kansas." 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  HUNNEWELL, 
Treasurer  of  Middlesex  County  Kansas  Aid  Committee. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  399 

your  earuest  and  early  attention  to  my  wants  and  those  of  my  family. 
I  regret  that  Mr.  Huunewell  did  not  at  once  send  me  either  a  check 
or  a  draft  on  New  York  or  Boston,  as  it  will  probably  be  one  mouth 
or  more  before  I  can  realize  it ;  and  I  have  not  the  means  of  paying 
my  board  bill  here,  not  having  as  yet  received  anything  from  Mr. 
Whitman  toward  a  balance  of  five  hundred  "dollars,  nor  heard  from 
him.  If  I  get  the  money  from  Mr.  Hunnewell  and  Mr.  Whitman,  it 
will  answer  my  present  wants,  except  the  secret  service  I  wrote  you 
about.  I  have  all  the  arms  I  am  likely  to  need,  but  am  destitute 
of  saddle-bags  or  knapsacks,  holsters  and  belts ;  have  only  a  few 
blankets,  no  shovels  or  spades,  no  mattocks,  but  three  or  four  adzes 
(ought  to  have  been  one  hundred),  and  am  nearly  destitute  of  cook 
ing  utensils.  The  greater  part  of  what  I  have  just  named  I  must  do 
without  till  another  spring,  at  any  rate.  I  found  here  one  brass 
field-piece  complete,  and  one  damaged  gun-carriage,  with  some  am 
munition  suitable  for  it  j  some  seventy  to  seventy-five  old  damaged 
United  States  rifles  and  muskets,  one  dozen  old  sabres,  some  powder 
and  lead  (enough  for  present  use;  weight  not  known),  —  I  suppose 
sent  by  National  Committee.  Also  one  dozen  boxes  and  barrels  of 
clothing,  boots,  etc.,  with  three  hand  gristmills,  sent  to  Nebraska 
City,  from  same  source.  I  also  got  from  Dr.  Jesse  Bo  wen,  of  Iowa 
City,  one  old  wagon,  which  broke  down  with  a  light  load  on  the 
way;  also  nine  full-rigged  tents,  three  sets  tent-poles  (additional), 
eleven  pairs  blankets,  and  three  axes,  sent  there  by  National  Com 
mittee.  Also  from  Mr.  Kurd  I  got  an  order  for  fifty  dollars'  worth 
of  tents,  wagon-covering,  ropes,  etc.,  at  Chicago,  which  was  paid 
me.  I  find  one  hundred  and  ninety-four  carbines,  about  thirty-three 
hundred  ball  cartridges,  all  the  primers,  but  no  iron  ladles.  This,  I 
believe,  with  the  teams  and  wagon  I  purchased,  will  give  you  a  pretty 
good  idea  of  the  stuff  I  have.  I  had  a  gun  and  pair  of  pistols  given 
me  by  Dr.  Howe,  and  some  three  or  four  guns  made  for  experiment 
by  Mr.  Thayer  (a  little  cannon  and  carriage  is  one  of  them),  and  one 
nice  rirle  by  the  manufacturing  company  at  Worcester.1  I  had  also 
a  few  revolvers,  common  guns,  and  sabres  left  on  hand,  that  I  took 
on  with  me  in  1855.  While  waiting  here  T  and  my  son  have  been 
trying  to  learn  a  little  of  the  arts  of  peace  from  Colonel  F.,  who  is 
still  with  us.  That  is  the  school  I  alluded  to. 

Before  I  reached  here,  T  had  written  particularly  to  friends  in 
Kansas,  saying  that  I  wanted  help  to  meet  me  here,  and  to  wait  for 
me  should  I  be  detained  on  the  way.  I  also  arranged  with  Mr. 
Whitman  in  regard  to  it  in  Chicago.  He  sent  one  man  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  forty  of  it  he  kept,  and  went  immediately 

1  These  are  the  arms  mentioned  in  Eli  Thaver's  letters. 


400  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

hack.  From  that  time  I  send  you  copies  of  some  of  the  correspon 
dence  between  Kansas  and  me,  as  rather  essential  to  give  you  a 
correct  idea  of  things  in  connection  with  my  statements  yet  to  be 
made.  When  I  got  on  here  I  immediately  wrote  Mr.  Whitman 
and  several  others  what  was  my  situation  and  wants.  He  (Mr. 
Whitman)  has  not  written  me  at  all  since  what  I  send.  Others 
have  written,  as  you  will  see.  I  wrote  the  man  Mr.  Whitman 
sent  me,  among  the  rest,  but  get  no  word  from  him  since  what  I 
now  send. 

As  to  the  policy  of  voting  on  Monday  next,  I  think  Lane  hit  his 
mark  at  the  convention  of  Grasshopper's,  if  never  before;  I  mean 
'*  An  escape  into  the  filthy  sluice  of  a  prison."  I  had  not  been  able 
to  learn  by  papers  or  otherwise  distinctly  what  course  had  been  taken 
in  Kansas  till  within  a  few  days;  and  probably  the  less  I  have  to 
say,  the  better. 

I  omitted  above  to  say  that  I  paid  out  five  hundred  and  fifty  dol 
lars  on  a  contract  for  one  thousand  superior  pikes,  as  a  cheap  but 
effectual  weapon  to  place  in  the  hands  of  entirely  unskilful  and  un 
practised  men,  which  will  not  easily  get  out  of  order,  and  require  no 
ammunition.  They  will  cost,  handles  and  all  complete,  a  little  short 
of  one  dollar  each.  That  contract  I  have  not  been  able  to  fulfil ;  and 
wise  military  men  may  ridicule  the  idea;  but  "I  take  the  whole 
responsibility  of  that  job,"  —  so  that  I  can  only  get  them. 

On  hearing  that  Lane  had  come  into  Nebraska,  I  at  once  sent  a 
young  man  with  a  line,  saying  I  had  been  hurt,  and  was  exceedingly 
anxious  to  see  him  early  in  September.  To  this  he  sent  me  no  reply, 
unless  Redpath's  letter  be  one.  I  am  now  so  far  recovered  from  my 
hurt  as  to  be  able  to  do  a  little  ;  and  foggy  as  it  is,  "  we  do  not  give 
up  the  ship."  I  will  not  say  that  Kansas,  watered  by  the  tears  arid 
blood  of  my  children,  shall  yet  be  free  or  I  fall.  I  intend  at  once  to 
put  the  supplies  I  have  in  a  secure  place,  and  then  to  put  myself  and 
such  as  may  go  with  me  where  we  may  get  more  speedy  communi 
cations,  and  can  wait  until  we  know  better  how  to  act  than  we  now 
do.  I  send  this  whole  package  to  you,  thinking  Concord  a  less  offen 
sive  name  just  now  than  Boston  at  this  end  of  the  route.  I  wish  the 
whole  conveyed  to  my  friend  Stearns  and  other  friends,  as  old  Brown's 
last  report. 

Until  further  advised,  I  wish  all  communications  addressed  to  Jonas 
Jones,  Esq.,  Tabor,  Fremont  County,  Iowa,  outwardly  ;  and  I  hope 
you  will  all  write  often. 

I  had  forgotten  to  say,  that  day  before  yesterday  one  single  man, 
with  no  team  at  all,  came  from  Lane  to  have  me  start  at  once  for 
Kansas,  as  you  will  see  by  copies.  He  said  he  had  left  ten  fine 
fellows  about  thirty  miles  back.  The  names  he  gave  me  were  all 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  401 

strange  to  me,  as  well  as  himself.     Tabor  folks  (some  of  them) 
speak  slightingly  of  him,  notwithstanding  that  he  too  is  a  general. 

October  3,  1857. 

Yours,  covering  check,  is  this  moment  to  hand,  and  will  afford 
most  seasonable  relief.  Express  goes  to  K.  at  once  to  see  how  the 
land  lies.  You  will  hear  again  soon. 

Yours  most  truly, 

J.  BROWN. 

The  following  correspondence  will  find  its  key  in  the 
letter  just  given.  General  Lane  was  at  the  head  of  the 
organization  mentioned,  and  Mr.  Whitman  was  his  quarter 
master-general. 

(Private.) 

LAWRENCE,  Sept.  7,  1857. 

gIRj  _  \\re  are  earnestly  engaged  in  perfecting  an  organization  for 
the  protection  of  the  ballot-box  at  the  October  election  (first  Mon 
day).  Whitman  and  Abbot  have  been  East  after  money  and  arms 
for  a  mouth  past;  they  write  encouragingly,  and  will  be  back  in  a 
few  days.  We  want  you,  with  all  the  materials  you  have.  I  see  no 
objection  to  your  coming  into  Kansas  publicly.  I  can  furnish  you 
just  such  a  force  as  you  may  deem  necessary  for  your  protection  here 
and  after  your  arrival.  I  went  up  to  see  you,  but  failed.  Now  what 
is  wanted  is  this  :  write  me  concisely  what  transportation  you  require, 
how  much  money,  and  the  number  of  men  needed  to  escort  you  into 
the  Territory  safely ;  and  if  you  desire  it  I  will  come  up  with  them. 
Yours  respectfully, 

J.  H.  LANE. 
To  CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN,  Tabor. 

Brown's  answer  was  as  follows  :  — 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Sept.  16,  1857. 
GENERAL  JAMES  H.  LANE. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  favor  of  the  7th  inst.  is  received.  I  had 
previously  written  you  expressive  of  my  strong  desire  to  see  you.  I 
suppose  you  have  my  letter  before  this.  As  to  the  job  of  work  you 
inquire  about,  I  suppose  that  three  ^ood  teams,  with  well  covered 
wagons,  and  ten  really  ingenious,  industrious  (not  gctssy)  men,  with 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  cash,  could  bring  it  about 
in  the  course  of  eight  or  ten  days. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 
26 


402  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

This  letter  was  returned  to  Brown  by  Mr.  Jamison,  Sep 
tember  30,  and  the  following  note  from  General  Lane  came 
with  it.  Falls  City  is  in  southern  Nebraska,  comparatively 
near  Tabor.  In  addressing  Brown  as  "Dear  General," 
Lane  had  in  mind  the  fact  that  he  had  made  Brown  a  brig 
adier  of  the  new  army  which  Lane  had  organized  :  — 

FALLS  CITY,  Sept.  29,  1857. 

DEAR  GENERAL,  —  I  send  you  Mr.  Jamison  (quartermaster-gen 
eral  second  division),  to  assist  you  in  getting  your  articles  into  Kan 
sas  in  time.  Mr.  Whitman  wrote  us  a  week  ago  he  would  be  at 
Wyaudotte  yesterday,  and  that  he  was  supplied  with  the  things ;  but 
he  had  not  arrived  when  I  left.  It  is  all-important  to  Kansas  that 
your  things  should  be  in  at  the  earliest  possible  moment,  and  that  you 
should  be  much  nearer  at  hand  than  you  are.  I  send  you  all  the  money 
I  have  (fifty  dollars),  and  General  Jamison  has  some  more.  We 
want  every  gun  and  all  the  ammunition.  I  do  not  know  that  we  will 
have  to  use  them,  but  I  do  know  we  should  be  prepared.  I  send  you 
ten  true  men.  You  can  rely  upon  the  General ;  and  what  he  tells 
you  comes  from  me.  Yours  ever, 

J.  H.  LANE. 

To  GENERAL  J.OHN  BROWN,  Tabor. 

To  this  Brown  replied  :  — 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Sept.  30,  1857. 
GENERAL  JAMES  H.  LANE. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  favor  from  Falls  City  by  Mr.  Jamison  is 
just  received ;  also  fifty  dollars  sent  by  him,  which  I  also  return  by 
same  hand,  as  I  find  it  will  be  next  to  impossible  in  my  poor  state  of 
health  to  go  through  on  such  very  short  notice,  four  days  only  remain 
ing  to  get  ready,  load  up,  and  go  through.  I  think,  considering  all 
the  uncertainties  of  the  case,  want  of  teams,  etc.,  that  I  should  do 
wrong  to  set  out.  I  am  disappointed  in  the  extreme.1 

Very  respectfully  your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

John  Brown  to  E.  B.  Whitman. 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Oct.  5,  1857. 
E.  B.  WHITMAN,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Please  send  me  by  Mr.  Charles  P.  Tidd  what  money 
you  have  for  me,  —  not  papers.  He  is  the  second  man  I  have  sent  in 

1  Brown  explained  this  refusal  to  comply  with  Lane's  request  in  his  letter 
to  me  of  October  1,  already  given,  as  well  as  in  the  letter  which  follows. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  403 

order  to  get  the  means  of  taking  me  through.  General  Lane  sent  a 
man  who  got  here  without  any  team,  with  but  fifty  dollars  of  Lane's 
money  (as  he  saidj,  which  I  returned  to  him,  and  wanted  me  to  start 
right  off,  with  only  four  days'  time  to  load  up  and  drive  through  before 
this  bogus  election  day,  —  which  my  state  of  health  and  the  very  wet 
weather  rendered  it  impossible  to  do  in  time;  and  I  did  not  think  it 
right  to  start  from  here  under  such  circumstances.  Do  try  to  make 
me  up  the  money,  all  in  good  shape,  before  Mr.  Tidd  returns,  and 
also  write  me  everything  you  know  about  the  aspect  of  things  in 
Kansas.  Please  furnish  Mr.  Tidd  with  a  horse  to  take  him  to  Osa- 
watornie,  and  greatly  oblige  me.  The  fifty  dollars  Lane  sent  was 
only  about  enough  to  pay  up  my  board  bill  here,  with  all  I  had  on 
hand.  I  need  not  say  my  disappointments  have  been  extreme. 
Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  Before  any  teams  are  now  sent,  I  want  to  hear  further  from 
Kansas. 

What  was  the  object  of  Lane's  organization  will  appear 
by  Mr.  Whitman's  report  below  :  — 

(Order  No.  2.) 

QUARTERMASTER'S  DEPARTMENT,  HEADQUARTERS  KANSAS 

VOLUNTEERS  FOR  THE  PROTECTION  OF  THE  BALLOT-BOX, 

LAWRENCE,  Oct.  19,  1857. 

Whereas,  On  the  3d  day  of  August  an  order  was  issued  from  this 
department  requesting  the  appointment  of  company,  brigade,  and 
division  quartermasters,  and  an  immediate  return  to  be  made  of  the 
number  and  description  of  all  arms  available^  >r  the  use  of  the  respec 
tive  companies;  and  whereas,  said  returns  have  been  generally  made  : 
Now,  therefore,  in  reply,  and  in  explanation  of  the  failure  to  furnish 
an  entire  supply  for  the  deficiency,  it  is  deemed  proper  to  declare,  that 
while  no  efforts  were  spared  by  this  department,  and  by  the  entire 
staff,  promptly  to  supply  the  necessary  quota  of  arms,  yet  the  unex 
pected  obstacles  which  the  great  financial  pressure  threw  in  their 
way  have  prevented  the  anticipated  success  for  the  time  being.  It 
is,  however,  a' cause  for  congratulation,  that  while  the  reports  show 
a  considerable  deficiency,  yet  the  entire  armament  is  by  no  means 
insignificant. 

The  immense  immigration  of  the  past  year,  composed  largely  of 
those  who  deceived  by  official  promises  of  protection  had  anticipated 
no  occasion  for  personal  defence,  readily  accounts  for  this  deficiency. 
In  our  disappointment  we  may  rejoice  that  the  effect  of  the  organiza- 


404  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1857 

tion,  with  all  its  imperfections,  has  been  in  the  highest  degree  satis 
factory.  The  knowledge  that  an  outraged  people  had  at  length 
banded  themselves  together,  almost  to  a  man,  for  the  protection  of 
the  most  sacred  rights  of  freemen,  and  were  ready  to  die  in  their  de 
fence,  has  most  manifestly  deterred  an  organized  invasion.  Voting- 
lists  ready  manufactured  and  false  returns  have  been  made  to  supply 
its  place  ;  against  this  the  organization  could  afford  no  protection. 

It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  people  of  Kansas  will  have  any 
further  use  for  this  organization.  It  is  always  true  that  the  surest 
way  to  prevent  an  evil  is  to  be  prepared  to  meet  it,  and.three  years' 
experience  in  the  past  should  teach  us  not  to  indulge  in  any  pre 
mature  feelings  of  security  and  safety.  In  view  of  possible  contin 
gencies,  this  department  hereby  announces  that  it  will  still  continue 
its  exertions  to  furnish  the  means  of  protection  and  defence  to  all  who 
may  be  destitute  of  them,  and  in  all  cases  first  to  supply  those  locali 
ties  most  exposed  to  invasion  and  attack. 

E.  B.  WHITMAN, 
Quartermaster-General  Kansas  Volunteers. 

Approved  :  J.  H.  LAXE,  Organizer. 

Mr.  Whitman  replied  as  follows  to  Brown's  letter  of 
October  5  :  — 

LAWRENCE,  Oct.  24,  1857. 

Mr  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Your  first  two  messengers  are  sick  at 
Tccmnseh.  I  helped  them  start  back  with  the  information  that  you 
should  soon  hear  from  me,  but  they  were  taken  sick  on  their  way. 
Mr.  Tidd  has  been  waiting  some  time  for  me  to  receive  remittances 
from  the  East  ;  but  as  the  crisis  approaches  I  feel  in  a  hurry  to  get 
him  off.  You  are  wanted  here  a  week  from  Tuesday.  I  will  wait 
no  longer,  but  by  great  personal  exertion  have  raised  on  my  personal 
responsibility  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  General  Lane  will  send 
teams  from  Falls  City,  so  that  you  may  get  your  goods  all  in. 
Leave  none  behind  if  you  can  help  it.  Come  direct  to  this  place  and 
see  me  before  you  make  any  disposition  of  your  plunder,  except  to 
keep  it  safe.  Make  the  Tabor  people  wait  for  what  you  owe  them. 
They  must  Make  the  money  I  send  answer  to  get  here,  and  I  hope 
by  that  time  to  have  more  for  you.  Mr.  Tidd  will  explain  all. 
Very  truly  yours, 

E.  B. 


Finally,  this  correspondence  closes  with  a  letter  from 
Lane. 

1  Indorsed  by  Brown  :  "Received  at  Tabor,  Nov.  1." 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  405 

FALLS  CITY,  Oct.  30,  1857. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  By  great  sacrifice  we  have  raised,  and  send  by  Mr. 
Tidd,  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  I  trust  this  money  will  be  used 
to  get  the  guns  to  Kansas,  or  as  near  as  possible.  If  you  can  get 
them  to  this  point,  we  will  try  to  get  them  on  in  some  way.  The 
probability  is  Kansas  will  never  need  the  guns.  One  thing  is  cer 
tain  :  if  they  are  to  do  her  any  good,  it  will  be  in  the  next  few  days. 
Let  nothing  interfere  in  bringing  them  on. 

Yours,  J.  H.  LANE. 

Brown  accepted  this  invitation,  and  entered  Kansas ; 
but  without  the  rifles,  and  with  only  a  part  of  his  other 
supplies. 

These  tedious  delays  in  the  armed  expedition  under 
Brown's  direction,  from  which  the  Massachusetts  Com 
mittee  and  the  majority  of  the  National  Committee  hoped 
so  much,  were  very  annoying  to  Brown  himself,  —  more  so, 
as  it  happened,  than  to  those  who  had  placed  the  arms  and 
money  in  his  hands.  "  God  protects  us  in  winter,"  he  had 
told  his  Massachusetts  friends ;  and  the  same  protection 
was  extended  throughout  the  whole  year  1857  to  the  poor 
farmers  of  Kansas,  who  had  suffered  in  1856  to  the  verge 
of  ruin.  The  resignation  of  Governor  Geary  in  March  and 
the  appointment  of  Governor  Walker  had  not  led,  as  was 
feared,  to  a 'repetition  of  the  scenes  of  Shannon's  adminis 
tration.  Peace  was  preserved,  emigrants  nocked  into  Kan 
sas,  and  the  political  campaign  which  ended  in  the  October 
election  had  a  result  unexpectedly  favorable  to  the  Free- 
State  men.  Consequently  the  rifles  and  cannon  of  Brown 
were  not  needed,  and  but  few  of  them  ever  were  carried 
into  Kansas.  Had  he  gone  in  with  them  in  June,  as  he  ex 
pected,  the  result  would  not  have  been  materially  different, 
although  his  presence  would  have  given  more  confidence  to 
the  radical  wing  in  the  Free-State  party,  which  ultimately 
triumphed.  In  truth,  Brown  had  done  his  work  during  the  , 
summer  of  1856  —  that  season  of  hardship  and  terror  —  so 
thoroughly  that  there  was  no  need  to  continue  it  in  1857. 
When  resumed  in  1858-59,  it  was  chiefly  to  protect  the 
settlers  in  the  border  counties,  and  to  aid  the  escape  of 
slaves  in  Missouri.  Wrhat  Brown  thought  and  felt  during 


406  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

this  year  of  inaction  may  be  inferred  from  these  letters, 
which  begin  with  his  final  departure  from  New  England  in 
April :  — 

John  Brown  to  his  Family  and  Friends. 

NEW  HAVEN,  CONN.,  April  23,  1857. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  received  your  letter  of  the  6th  and  8th  inst. 
Will  endeavor  to  get  the  article  Ruth  wrote  for.  I  now  expect  to 
buy  the  place  of  Franklin  and  Samuel.  I  would  be  very  glad  to 
have  some  of  the  friends  take  a  horse-team  and  meet  me  at  West- 
port  as  soon  as  this  is  received.  Inquire  for  me  at  Mr.  Judd's, 
Elizabethtown.  I  want  to  get  a  passage,  and  to  have  some  things 
taken  out.  Have  but  a  moment  to  write.  If  I  am  not  found  at 
Westport,  wait  a  little  for  me. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

VERGENNES,  VT.,  May  13,  1857. 
GEORGE  L.  STEARNS,  ESQ.,  Boston,  Mass. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  ...  In  regard  to  the  security  you  mention, 
for  being  responsible  for  Colonel  Carter,  I  will  say,  it  is  most  reason 
able  ;  but  as  I  deem  it  most  uncertain  what  will  become  of  things  I 
carry  into  the  war,  and  as  I  need  arms  "  more  than  I  do  bread,"  I 
propose  not  to  draw  on  you  for  the  amount  named,  — thirteen  hun 
dred  dollars,  —  and  will  not. 

This,  I  trust,  will  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  you,  and  a  vastly  bet 
ter  security.  I  am  exceeding  glad  of  the  arrangement  with  Colonel 
Carter,  whom  I  have  written.  I  leave  here  for  the  West  to-day, 
with  health  some  improved,  and  shall  be  much  gratified  with  getting 
a  line  from  you,  addressed  to  Orson  M.  Oviatt,  Esq.,  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  Please  remember  me  to  Mrs.  S.,  family,  and  other  friends; 
and  believe  me 

Your  sincere  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  allusion  above  is  to  the  generous  offer  of  Mr.  Stearns 
to  guarantee  the  payment  for  two  hundred  revolvers,  made 
by  him  in  these  letters  of  May,  1857  :  — 

May  4.  I  have  written  to  Colonel  Carter  that  I  will  be  responsi 
ble  for  the  payment  of  thirteen  hundred  dollars  for  two  hundred 
revolvers,  as  you  propose,  and  have  requested  him  to  write  to  you  if 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  407 

he  accepts  my  proposal.1  If  be  does  not,  I  will  write  to  you  again. 
If  I  pay  for  these  revolvers,  I  shall  expect  that  all  the  arms  and  am 
munition,  rifles  as  well  as  revolvers,  not  used  for  the  defence  of 
Kansas,  shall  be  held  as  pledged  to  me  for  the  payment  of  this 
amount.  To  this  our  committee  have  assented  by  a  vote  passed  on 
Saturday,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  assent  to  it.  If  you  do  not, 
let  me  know  your  reasons. 

May  6.  I  think  you  ought  to  go  to  Kansas  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  give  Robinson  and  the  rest  some  backbone. 

May  11.  I  am  glad  to  know  that  you  are  on  your  way  to  Kansas  : 
the  Free-  State,  leaders  need  somebody  to  talk  to  them.  I  hope  you 
will  see  Con  way  very  soon  after  your  arrival.  I  did  not  expect  you 
to  return,  or  hold  pledged  to  me,  any  arms  you  used  in  Kansas,  but 
only  such  as  were  not  used. 

Truly  yours, 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS. 

Although  Mr.  Stearns  had  given  authority  to  draw  on 
him  for  seven  thousand  dollars  during  1857,  what  John' 
Brown  actually  did  was  to  abstain  from  drawing  for  a  dol 
lar,  to  take  nothing  from  this  abundance  either  for  his 
own  comforts  or  the  wants  of  his  family,  but  to  push  for 
ward  with  the  work  he  had  undertaken,  burdened  in  heart, 
but  faithful  to  the  trust  his  friends  reposed  in  him.  They, 
alas  !  were  not  always  so  thoughtful  for  him  as  he  for  them  ; 
they  did  not  consider  that  the  promises  of  rich  men  to  poor 
men  should  be  kept  not  only  sacredly  but  promptly.  Bis 
dat  qui  cito  dat  would  have  been  Greek  to  John  Brown  ; 
but  the  meaning  of  that  maxim  was  burned  into  his  soul  by 
the  delay  in  that  petty  subscription  which  Mr.  Lawrence 
had  undertaken  for  the  relief  of  Brown's  family.  Here  are 
some  of  the  letters  which  Mr.  Stearns  and  I  received  from 
him  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1857  :  — 


1  Mr.  Stearns's  letter  to  Colonel  Carter,  agent  of  the  Massachusetts 
Arms  Company,  was  as  follows  :  — 

BOSTON,  May  4,  1857. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Being  desirous  of  aiding  Captain  Brown  in  his  Kansas  enterprise,  I  am 
willing  to  purchase  of  you  the  two  hundred  revolvers,  to  be  delivered  to  him  as  pro 
posed,  and  to  pay  you  by  my  note  at  four  months  from  date  of  delivery.  This  will  give 
me  time  to  get  the  money,  should  I  wish  to  raise  the  amount  by  subscription.  Should 
you  accept  my  proposition,  you  will  please  notify  Captain  Brown  that  you  are  ready  to 
deliver  ;.  and  your  draft,  accompanied  by  his  receipt  for  the  property,  will  be  accepted. 


408  LIFE  AND  LETTEKS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

To  Mr.  Steaims. 

VERGENNES,  YT.,  May  13,  1857. 

Some  days  since,  while  on  my  way  home  [to  North  Elba,  N.  Y.], 
sick  with  fever  and  ague,  I  got  your  favor  of  the  29th  April,  saying, 
11  Mr.  Lawrence  has  agreed  with  me  that  the  one  thousand  dollars 
shall  he  made  up,  and  will  write  to  Gerrit  Smith  to-day  or  to-mor 
row,  to  say  that  he  can  depend  on  the  money  from  him."  After 
getting  home  I  agreed  with  two  young  men  (by  the  name  of 
Thompson)  who  had  bargained  with  Mr.  Smith  for  the  farm  sev 
eral  years  ago,  and  paid  him  in  part  for  it,  and  who  had  made  the 
improvements  on  it,  that  I  would  take  the  farm,  pay  the  balance 
due  Mr.  Smith  (some  two  hundred  dollars),  and  the  remainder, 
about  eight  hundred  dollars,  to  them;  which  would  enahle  them 
to  pay  for  another  farm  which  they  had  before  bought  of  a  Mr. 
Lawton,  and  were  unable  to  pay  for.  Three  days  ago  one  of  these 
men  set  out  for  Peterboro'  (the  home  of  Gerrit  Smith)  to  meet 
me  there,  on  my  way  West,  and  have  the  thing  completed.  I 
will  now  say  ("  frankly,"  as  you  suggest)  that  I  must  ask  to  have 
the  one  thousand  dollars  made  up  at  once  and  forwarded  to  Gerrit 
Smith.  I  did  not  start  the  measure  of  getting  up  any  subscription 
for  me  (although  I  was  sufficiently  needy,  as  God  knows),  nor  had 
I  a  thought  of  further  burdening  either  of  my  dear  friends  Stearns  or 
Lawrence. 

To  F.  B.  Sanb&rn. 

PETERBORO',  N.  Y.,  May  15,  1857. 

Your  most  kind  letter  of  the  26th  of  April  I  did  not  get  till 
within  the  last  two  or  three  days,  and  then  I  was  on  my  way 
West,  full  of  cares,  and  in  feeble  health.  I  have  just  written  my 
friend  Steams  a  letter  of  explanation,  in  which  I  frankly  ask  that 
the  one  thousand  dollars'  donation  I  was  so  generously  encouraged 
to  expect  for  the  permanent  assistance  of  my  wife  and  children  be, 
under  the  circumstances  as  so  explained,  promptly  raised.  This, 
I  think,  much  the  cheapest  and  most  proper  way  to  provide  for 
them,  and  far  less  humiliating  to  my  wife,  who,  though  not  above 
getting  her  bread  over  the  washtub,  will  never  tell  her  trials  or  her 
wants  to  the  world.  This  I  know  by  the  experience  of  the  past  two 
years,  while  I  was  absent ;  but  I  would  never  utter  a  syllable  in  re 
gard  to  it,  were  I  not  conscious  that  I  am  performing  that  service 
which  is  equally  the  duty  of  millions,  who  need  not  forego  a  single 
hearty  dinner  by  the  efforts  they  are  called  on  to  make.  I  did  not 
mean  to  burden  my  friends  Stearns  and  Lawrence  further  with  the 
thing.  I  do  not  love  to  "  ride  free  horses  till  they  fall  down  dead." 


1857.]  THE  KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  409 

In  reply  to  Brown's  letter  of  May  13,  Mr.  Stearns  wrote 
on  the  19th  a  letter  containing  this  passage,  —  the  reference 
to  Gerrit  Smith  on  my  authority  being  understood  by  me 
to  concern  Brown's  main  work,  and  not  this  purchase  of 
land :  — 

BOSTON,  May  19,  1857. 

Your  favor  of  the  13th  was  received  yesterday.  Mr.  Lawrence 
agreed  with  me  that  the  one  thousand  dollars  should  be  made  up  for 
you,  and  requested  me  to  write  you  so.  The  next  day  he  sent  me  a 
note  stating  that  he  had  written  to  Mr.  Smith  to  receive  from  him  six 
hundred  dollars,  and  let  you  mortgage  for  four  hundred  dollars.  I 
learn  to-day  from  Mr.  Sanborn  that  Gerrit  Smith  intends  to  aid  you 
in  this,  and  also  obtain  something  for  your  enterprise  in  his  neigh 
borhood.  My  agreement  with  Mr.  Lawrence  was  that  he  having 
five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  towards  the  one  thousand  dollars,  I 
would  be  responsible  for  one-half  of  the  deficiency,  if  he  would 
provide  the  other  half,  and  when  he  returns  I  shall  tell  him  he  must 
fulfil  the  agreement  with  me.  He  will  be  home  the  1st  of  June. 

To  this  Brown  replied  at  once  :  — 

AKRON,  OHIO,  May  23,  1857. 
GEORGE  L.  STEARNS,  ESQ.,  Boston,  Mass. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  On  my  arrival  at  Cleveland  yesterday,  I  found 
with  0.  M.  Oviatt,  Esq.,  your  favors  of  the  16th  and  19th  iust.  I 
had  made  no  previous  arrangement  with  Mr.  Smith  about  the  land, 
other  than  to  say  that  I  wanted  the  contract  with  the  Thompsons 
made  over  to  me  on  payment,  or  to  that  effect.  He  had  given  me  no 
encouragement  of  any  help  about  it  from  him ;  and  when  I  met  one 
of  the  Thompsons  there,1  all  I  could  do  was  to  get  both  parties  to 
agree  to  the  arrangement,  and  to  wait  until  the  money  could  get  on 
from  Boston.  Mr.  Smith  had  before  written  me  that  his  last  year's 
efforts  for  Kansas  had  embarrassed  him,  but  that  when  the  struggle 
was  renewed  he  would  do  all  he  could.  He  gave  me  fifty  dollars, 
Mrs.  S.  ten  dollars  and  some  little  useful  articles  ;  Peterboro'  friends 
gave  me  thirty-one  dollars,  and  I  came  on  with  the  understanding 
that  probably  the  thousand  dollars  would  soon  be  sent  on  to  Mr. 
Smith.  I  lost  about  one  week  on  my  way  to  my  family  with  ague 
and  fever,  and  left  home  feeble,  and  am  still  so.  I  could  promise 
Colonel  Carter  no  more  than  pay  for  primings,  which  I  had  not  bar 
gained  for.  I  shall  redeem  my  promise  to  you  as  soon  as  I  am  able 

*  .  1  At  Peterboro'. 


410  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.          [1857. 

to  do  so.  Please  write  me  next  to  Dr.  Jesse  Bo  wen,  Iowa  City, 
Iowa,  on  envelope.  I  send  my  earnest  good  wishes  to  Mrs.  S.  and 
the  children.  Am  disappointed  in  not  having  Mr.  Foster  and  child 
for  company. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Upon  this  statement  of  the  case,  Mr.  Stearns  proposed 
to  Mr.  Lawrence  that  the  money  should  be  sent  on  at 
once.  To  this  proposition  he  finally  assented,  but  in  the 
mean  time  wrote  to  Mr.  Stearns  as  follows  :  — 

JUNE  3  [1857]. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  did  not  intend  to  do  any  more  than  to  write  a 
"  heading  "  for  a  subscription  for  Captain  Brown,  and  subscribe  for 
myself.  But  he  was  desirous  to  have  me  do  more,  and  I  have,  as 
the  paper  shows.  I  wish  I  could  do  the  whole.  But  I  am  behind 
hand  in  everything.  My  business  extends  through  a  large  part  of 
the  twenty-four  hours,  and  prevents  my  devoting  as  much  time  as 
would  be  desirable  to  push  on  this  and  similar  good  projects  for 
individual  advantage.  If  Captain  Brown  should  be  killed  or  dis 
abled,  then  I  should  be  held  for  the  one  thousand  dollars.1 

Yours  truly, 

A.  A.  LAWRENCE. 

HUDSON,  OHIO,  May  27,  1857. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  ...  I  have  got 
Salmon's  letter  of  the  19th  instant,  and  am  much  obliged  for  it. 
There  is  some  prospect  that  Owen  will  go  on  with  me.  If  I  should 
never  return,  it  is  my  particular  request  that  no  other  monument 
be  used  to  keep  me  in  remembrance  than  the  same  plain  one  that 
records  the  death  of  my  grandfather  and  son  ;  and  that  a  short  story, 
like  those  already  on  it,  be  told  of  John  Brown  the  fifth,  under  that 
of  grandfather.  I  think  I  have  several  good  reasons  for  this.  I 
would  be  glad  that  my  posterity  should  not  only  remember  their 
parentage,  but  also  the  cause  they  labored  in.  I  do  not  expect  to 
leave  these  parts  under  four  or  five  days,  and  will  try  to  write  again 

1  I  take  it  this  last  sentence  implies  that  Brown  was  going  to  "bear 
arms,"  that  he  was  on  a  dangerous  errand,  and  that  Mr.  Lawrence  approved 
of  what  he  was  going  to  do  with  the  arms  and  money  in  his  hands.  At  this 
time  there  was  no  talk  of  the  Virginia  plan,  nor  did  any  property  of  the 
Kansas  Committee  go  for  that  plan,  —  but  the  property  of  individual  mem 
bers  who  gave  it  freely,  knowing  what  might  be  done  with  it. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  411 

before  I  go  off.     I  am  much  confused  in  mind,  and  cannot  remember 
what  I  wish  to  write.     May  God  abundantly  bless  you  all !  ... 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

These  letters  are  all  brief  and  to  the  point. 

WASSONVILLE,  IOWA,  July  17,  1857. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  Since  I  last  wrote 
I  have  made  but  little  progress,  having  teams  and  wagons  to  rig  up 
arid  load,  and  getting  a  horse  hurt  pretty  badly.  Still  we  shall  get  on 
just  as  well  and  as  fast  as  Providence  intends,  and  I  hope  we  may 
all  be  satisfied  with  that.  We  hear  of  but  little  that  is  interesting 
from  Kansas.  It  will  be  a  great  privilege  to  hear  from  home  again ; 
and  I  would  give  anything  to  know  that  I  should  be  permitted  to 
see  you  all  again  in  this  life.  But  God's  will  be  done.  To  his 
infinite  grace  I  commend  you  all. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

TABOR,  IOWA,  Aug.  8,  1857. 
GEORGE  L.  STEARNS,  ESQ.,  Boston,  Mass. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  In  consequence  of  ill-health  and  other  hin 
drances  too  numerous  and  unpleasant  to  write  about,  the  least  of 
which  has  not  been  the  lack  of  sufficient  means  for  freight  bills  and 
other  expenses,  I  have  never  as  yet  returned  to  Kansas.  This  has 
been  unavoidable-,  unless  I  returned  without  securing  the  principal 
object  for  which  I  came  back  from  the  Territory ;  and  I  am  now 
waiting  for  teams  and  means  to  come  from  there  to  enable  me  to  go 
on.1  I  obtained  two  teams  and  wagons,  as  I  talked  of,  at  a  cost  of 
seven  hundred  and  eighty-six  dollars,  but  was  obliged  to  hire  a 
teamster  and  to  drive  one  team  myself.  This  unexpected  increase  of 
labor,  together  with  being  much  of  the  time  quite  unwell  and  de 
pressed  with  disappointments  and  delays,  has  prevented  my  writing 
sooner.  Indeed,  I  had  pretty  much  determined  not  to  write  till  I 
should  do  it  from  Kansas.  I  will  tell  you  some  of  my  disappoint 
ments.  I  was  flattered  with  the  expectation  of  getting  one  thousand 
dollars  from  Hartford  City  and  also  one  thousand  dollars  from  New 
Haven.  From  Hartford  I  did  get  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  dol 
lars,  and  a  little  over  in  some  repair  of  arms.  From  New  Haven  I 
got  twenty- five  dollars;  at  any  rate,  that  is  all  I  can  get  any  advice 
of.  Gerrit  Smith  supplied  me  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 

1  Have  here  and  at  Nebraska  City  five  full  loads. 


412  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

or  I  could  not  have  reached  this  place.  He  also  loaned  me  one  hun 
dred  and  ten  dollars  to  pay  to  the  Thompsons  who  were  disappointed 
of  getting  their  money  for  the  farm  I  had  agreed  for  and  got  posses 
sion  of  for  use.  I  have  been  continually  hearing  from  them  that  I 
have  not  fulfilled,  and  that  I  told  them  I  should  not  leave  the  country 
till  the  thing  was  completed.  This  has  exceedingly  mortified  me.  I 
could  tell  you  much  more  had  I  room  and  time.  Have  not  given  up. 
Will  write  more  when  I  get  to  Kansas. 

Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  F.  B.  Sanborn. 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Aug.  13,  1857. 
Much  as  I  love  to  communicate  with  you,  it  is  still  a  great  burden 
for  me  to  write  when  I  have  nothing  of  interest  to  say,  and  when 
there  is  something  to  be  active  about.  Since  I  left  New  England  I 
have  had  a  good  deal  of  ill-health  ;  and  having  in  good  measure  ex 
hausted  my  available  means  toward  purchasing  such  supplies  as  I 
should  certainly  need  if  again  called  into  active  service,  and  without 
which  I  could  accomplish  next  to  nothing,  I  had  to  begin  my  jour 
ney  back  with  not  more  than  half  money  at  any  time  to  bear  my 
expenses  through  and  pay  my  freights.  This  being  the  case,  I  was 
obliged  to  stop  at  different  points  on  the  way,  and  to  go  to  others  off 
the  route  to  solicit  help.  At  most  places  I  raised  a  little  ;  but  it 
consumed  my  time,  and  my  unavoidable  expenses  so  nearly  kept 
pace  with  my  incomes  that  I  found  it  exceedingly  discouraging. 
With  the  help  of  Gerrit  Smith,  who  supplied  me  with  sixty  dollars 
at  Peterboro',  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  at  Chicago,  and 
other  smaller  amounts  from  others,  I  was  able  to  pay  freights  and 
other  expenses  to  this  place;  hiring  a  man  to  drive  one  team,  and 
driving  another  myself;  and  had  about  twenty-five  dollars  on  hand, 
with  about  one  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  provisions,  when  I  reached 
here.  Among  all  the  good  friends  who  had  promised  to  go  with  me, 
not  one  could  I  get  to  stick  by  me  and  assist  me  on  my  way  through. 
I  have  picked  up,  at  different  times  on  the  way,  considerable  value 
in  articles  (indispensable  in  active  service)  which  were  scattered  on 
the  way,  and  had  been  provided  either  by  or  for  the  National  Com 
mittee.  On  reaching  here  I  found  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars,  sent 
me  by  Mr.  Whitman,  from  sale  of  articles  in  Kansas,  sent  there  by 
the  National  Committee.  This  is  all  the  money  I  have  got  from 
them  on  their  appropriation  at  New  York.  On  the  road  one  of  my 
horses  hurt  himself  so  badly  that  I  lost  about  ten  days  in  conse 
quence,  not  being  in  condition  to  go  on  without  him,  or  to  buy  or  to 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  413 

hire  another.  I  find  the  arms  and  ammunition  voted  me  by  the 
Massachusetts  State  Committee  nearly  all  here,  and  in  middling  good 
order,  —  some  a  little  rusted.  Have  overhauled  and  cleaned  up  the 
worst  of  them,  and  am  now  waiting  to  know  what  is  best  to  do 
next,  or  for  a  little  escort  from  Kansas,  should  I  arid  the  supplies  be 
needed.  I  am  now  at  last  within  a  kind  of  hailing  distance  of  our 
Free-State  friends  in  Kansas. 

On  the  way  from  Iowa  City  I  and  my  third  son  (the  hired  man  I 
mentioned),  in  order  to  make  the  little  funds  we  had  reach  as  far  as 
possible,  and  to  avoid  notice,  lived  exclusively  on  herring,  soda 
crackers,  and  sweetened  water  for  more  than  three  weeks  (sleeping 
every  night  in  our  wagons),  except  that  twice  we  got  a  little  milk, 
and  a  few  times  some  boiled-  eggs.  Early  in  the  season,  in  conse 
quence  of  the  poor  encouragement  I  met  with,  and  of  their  own 
losses  and  sufferings,  my  sons  declined  to  return ;  and  my  wife  wrote 
me  as  follows  :  "  The  boys  have  all  determined  both  to  practise  and 
learn  war  no  more."  This  I  said  nothing  about,  lest  it  should  pre 
vent  my  getting  any  further  supplies.  After  leaving  New  England 
I  could  not  get  the  scratch  of  a  pen  to  tell  whether  anything  had 
been  deposited  at  Hartford,  from  New  Haven  and  other  places,  for 
me  or  not;  until,  since  I  came  here,  a  line  comes  from  Mr.  Callender, 
dated  24th  July,  saying  nothing  has  been  deposited,  in  answer  to 
one  I  had  written  June  22,  in,  which  he  further  says  he  has  an 
swered  all  my  letters.  The  parting  with  my  wife  and  young  uned 
ucated  children,  without  income,  supplies  of  clothing,  provisions,  or 
even  a  comfortable  house  to  live  in,  or  money  to  provide  such  things, 
with  at  least  a  fair  chance  that  it  was  to  be  a  last  and  final  separa 
tion,  had  lain  heavily  on  me,  and  was  about  as  much  a  matter  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  self-devotion  on  the  part  of  my  wife  as  on  my  own,  and 
about  as  much  her  act  as  my  own.  When  Mr.  Lawrence,  of  his 
own  accord,  proposed  relieving  me  on  that  score,  it  greatly  eased  a 
burdened  spirit ;  but  I  did  not  rely  upon  it  absolutely,  nor  make  any 
certain  bargain  on  the  strength  of  it,  until  after  being  positively  as 
sured  by  Mr.  Stearns,  in  writing,  that  it  should,  and  by  yourself  that 
it  would,  certainly  be  done. 

It  was  the  poor  condition  of  my  noble-hearted  wife  and  of  her 
young  children  that  made  me  follow  up  that  encouragement  with  a 
tenacity  that  disgusted  him  and  completely  exhausted  his  patience. 
But  after  such  repeated  assurances  from  friends  I  so  much  respected 
that  I  could  not  suspect  they  would  trifle  with  my  feelings,  I  made 
a  positive  bargain  for  the  farm ;  and  when  I  found  nothing  for 
me  at  Peterboro',  I  borrowed  ono  hundred  and  ten  dollars  of  Mr. 
Smith  for  the  men  who  occupied  the  farm,  tilling  him  it  would  cer 
tainly  be  refunded,  and  the  others  that  they  would  get  all  their 


414  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

money  very  soon,  and  even  before  I  left  the  country.  This  has 
brought  me  only  extreme  mortification  and  depression  of  feeling; 
for  all  my  letters  from  home,  up  to  the  last,  say  riot  a  dime  has 
been  paid  in  to  Mr.  Smith.  Friends  who  never  know  the  lack  of 
a  sumptuous  dinner  little  comprehend  the  value  of  such  trilling 
matters  to  persons  circumstanced  as  I  am.  But,  my  noble-hearted 
friend,  I  am  "  though  faint,  yet  pursuing."  My  health  lias  been 
much  better  of  late.  I  believe  my  anxiety  and  discouragements 
had  something  to  do  with  repeated  returns  of  fever  and  ague  I  have 
had,  as  it  tended  to  deprive  me  of  sleep  and  to  debilitate  me.  I 
intend  this  letter  as  a  kind  of  report  of  my  progress  and  success,  as 
much  for  your  committee  or  my  friend  Stearns  as  yourself.  I  have 
been  joined  by  a  friend  since  I  got  here,  and  get  no  discouraging 
news  from  Kansas.  Your  friend, 

J.  BROWN. 

TABOR,  IOWA,  Aug.  17,  1857. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  have  just  received 
the  letter  of  Henry  and  Ruth,  of  26th  and  27th  July,  enclosing  one 
from  Mr.  Day.  We  are  very  glad  to  learn  that  all  were  well  so 
lately ;  and  I  am  pleased  to  discover  that  Mr.  Day  is  willing  I 
should  pay  Henry,  if  I  have  any  funds  of  his  in  my  hands.  This  I 
shall  certainly  try  to  do,  should  that  prove  to  be  the  case.  I  do  not 
know  how  that  is,  as  I  have  not  yet  had  time  to  overhaul  some 
papers  left  by  me  last  fall  in  my  old  chest  with  Owen.  Shall  try 
to  do  that  soon.  I  wrote  home  from  here  week  before  last,  on  Satur 
day.  Since  then  we  have  been  waiting  either  for  news  or  for  a  small 
escort  of  men  and  teams  to  go  with  us.  We  get  no  special  news 
from  the  West  as  yet.  We  are  beginning  to  take  lessons,  and  have 
(we  think)  a  very  capable  teacher.  Should  no  disturbance  occur, 
we  may  possibly  think  best  to  work  back  eastward  ;  1  cannot  deter 
mine  yet.  I  hope  you  will  continue  to  write  me  here  till  I  say  to 
you  where  else;  and  I  want  you  to  give  me  all  the  particulars  con 
cerning  your  welfare.  God  bless  you  all ! 

N.  HAWKINS. 

TABOR,  FREMONT  COUNTY,  IOWA,  Sept.  12,  1857. 
DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  It  is  now  nearly  two 
weeks  since  I  have  seen  anything  from  home,  and  about  as  long 
since  I  wrote.  .  .  .  We  get  nothing  very  definite  from  Kansas  yet, 

1  Here  is  the  first  intimation  in  these  letters  of  a  purpose  to  use  his 
armed  force  against  slavery  in  the  eastern  States,  as  he  did  two  years 
after. 


1857.]  THE   KANSAS   COMMITTEES.  415 

.  but  think  we  shall  in  the  course  of  another  week.  .  .  .  Got  a  most 
kind  letter  from  Mr.  F.  B.  Sauborn  yesterday ;  also  one  from  Mr. 
Blair,  where  Oliver  was  living.  You  probably  have  but  little  idea 
of  my  anxiety  to  get  letters  from  you  constantly  ;  and  it  would  afford 
me  great  satisfaction  to  learn  that  you  all  regularly  attend  to  reading 
your  Bibles,  and  that  you  are  all  punctual  to  attenci  meetings  on 
Sabbath  days.  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  heard  any  one  com 
plain  of  the  time  he  had  lost  in  that  way. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Of  all  the  Brown  family  who  had  settled  in  Kansas  two 
years  before,  there  now  remained  only  the  household  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Adair,  Brown's  brother-in-law,  who  wrote  him 
at  Tabor  thus  :  — 

OSAWATOMIE,  K.  T.,  Oct.  2,  1857. 
MR.  J.  B. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Yours  of  September  5  was  received  yesterday, 
having  been  mailed  at  Lawrence  the  day  before.  Your  whereabouts 
had  for  some  time  been  to  us  unknown.  The  letter  you  sent  to  "  Mr. 
Addis  "  was  forwarded  to  me  in  the  latter  part  of  June.1  I  secured  the 
sum  of  money  requested,  but  the  men  failed  to  go.  I  was  in  Law 
rence  about  a  mouth  since;  Mr.  Whitman  was  East.  u  Mr.  Addis" 
said  that  the  last  he  had  heard  of  you,  you  had  gone  to  Chicago, 
but  expected  you  would  return  to  Tabor  again  before  long  ;  thought 
some  persons  would  go  and  meet  you,  —  talked  some  of  going  him 
self.  You  desire  much  a  personal  interview  with  me,  and  also  defi 
nite  information  about  matters  as  they  u  really  are"  now  in  the 
Territory.  As  to  a  personal  interview,  I  should  be  happy  to  have 
one ;  but  the  state  of  my  own  health  and  of  my  family  forbids  my 
going  to  Tabor  at  present.  For  nearly  five  weeks  past  I  have  spent 
most  of  my  time  in  taking  care  of  the  sick,  when  able  to  do  anything. 
I  had  a  man  hired  to  work  for  me,  who  about  the  1st  of  September 
was  ta,ken  very  sick  (fever  and  internal  inflammation)  ;  has  been 
better,  and  again  worse,  and  is  still  dangerous.  I  was  absent  nearly 
one  week  at  Lecompton,  as  a  witness  in  the  case  of  the  Osawatomie 
town  site;  some  outsiders  having  tried  to  preempt  a  part  of  it. 
Had  to  hire  a  man  during  my  absence,  to  take  care  of  the  sick  man. 
Since  my  return  I  have  been  much  troubled  with  illness,  sometimes 
sever.e  when  I  exercise  much.  Florella  and  the  babe  have  very  sore 
throats;  the  babe  is  teething,  has  chills  sometimes,  and  requires 

1  I  suppose  "  Mr.  Addis"  was  W.  A.  Phillips. 


416  LIFE  AND  LETTEES   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857. 

much  care.  Charles  and  Emma  are  well  at  present.  Mrs.  Garrison l 
and  babe  have  been  with  us  since  the  first  of  June  until  last  week. 
She  came  back,  went  to  Lecompton  to  preempt  her  claim  in  June, 
just  before  the  laud-office  closed  ;  but  did  not  succeed,  because  I 
could  not  swear  that  she  had  as  a  widow  built,  or  caused  to  be 
built,  a  house  on  the  claim.  The  house  her  husband  built  they 
would  not  recognize  as  being  built  by  her  "  as  a  widow."  She  had 
to  return  and  have  another  built,  which  has  been  done.  She  went 
last  week  and  preempted,  and  has  returned  to  Ohio.  For  a  number 
of  weeks  before  she  left  she  and  her  babe  had  both  been  sick. 
Though  we  have  not  had  much  sickness  among  the  members  of  our 
own  family  proper,  yet  we  are  in  a  measure  worn  out  taking  care  of 
the  sick.  We  greatly  feel  the  need  of  rest  and  quiet.  There  is  a 
good  deal  of  sickness  around,  —  chiefly  among  the  more  recent 
emigrants.  It  has  been  drier  here  this  year  than  last.  My  corn  and 
potatoes  are  almost  an  entire  failure.  Mine  were  planted  early; 
later  crops  have  done  better. 

As  to  political  matters,  I  have  my  own  views  of  things.  Walker 
has  disgraced  himself,  —  has  not  fulfilled  a  pledge  made  in  his 
Topeka  speech  ;  indeed,  I  never  had  confidence  to  believe  he  would. 
But  the  'Free-State  men  have  determined  to  go  into  the  October 
election,  and  many  are  sanguine  that  they  will  carry  it.  I  may  be 
disappointed,  but  cannot  see  things  in  so  favorable  a  light  as  they  do. 
An  invasion  such  as  we  had  in  '54  and  '55  I  do  not  expect  ;  but 
doubtless  many  voters  from  slave  States  will  be  smuggled  in,  and 
fraudulent  returns  will  be  made ;  nor  do  I  suppose  it  will  be  possible 
for  the  Free- State  men  to  show  up  the  frauds  so  as  to  gain  their 
ends.  The  showing  up  of  frauds  does  not  amount  to  much  where 
those  who  are  to  decide  upon  the  frauds  are  abettors  or  perpetrators 
of  them,  and  the  highest  rewards  are  given  from  headquarters  for 
the  most  bold  and  outrageous  perpetrators.  Hence  I  rather  expect 
that  the  proslavery  men  will  carry  the  day  October  5.  If  disap 
pointed,  I  shall  rejoice.  What  course  things  will  take  if  the  Free- 
State  men  fail,  I  do  not  know.  Some  prophesy  trouble  right  alon^. 
This  would  not  surprise  me  were  it  to  occur.  But  I  would  deplore 
a  renewal  of  war.  If  it  is  to  be  commenced  again,  the  boil  had 
better  be  probed  in  the  centre,  at  Washington,  where  the  corrup 
tion  is  the  worst.  The  proslavery  men  in  the  Territory  are  but 
petty  tools. 

No  recent  word  from  Hudson,  Akron,  or  Grafton.  We  have  now 
a  tri- weekly  mail  to  Westport,  and  also  to  Lawrence ;  mails  gen 
erally  regular.  I  know  of  no  means  of  sending  you  by  private 

1  Widow  of  a  neighbor  killed  August  30,  1856. 


1857.] 


THE   KANSAS  COMMITTEES.  417 


conveyance.     Send  by  mail,  addressing   on   the   envelope   as   you 

req  uested. 

S.  L.  ADAIR. 

P.  S.  A  letter  from  you  to  ine  "by  mail  would  probably  reach  me 
without  much  risk. 

Sucli  letters  depict  the  every-day  situation  of  matters  in 
Kansas  at  this  time.  Bnt  Brown  was  meditating  a  stroke 
which  should  accomplish  more  than  the  most  garrulous 
chronicler  could  narrate. 


It  will  be  plain  from  the  letters  given  in  this  chapter  that 
Brown  was  regarded  in  Kansas,  at  the  close  of  1857,  by  all  the  leading 
Free-  State  men,  and  by  their  friends  in  New  England  and  New  York,  as 
neither  a  dangerous  nor  a  deceitful  man.  They  actually  felt  that  reliance 
upon  him  which  these  letters  express  ;  any  subsequent  opinion  of  theirs  to 
the  contrary  was  an  afterthought.  The  active  hostility  of  Robinson  and 
G.  W.  Brown  to  John  Brown  began  in  1858. 


418  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1858. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED. 

JOHN  BKOWN'S  long-meditated  plan  of  action  in  Vir 
ginia  was  wholly  his  own,  as  he  more  than  once 
declared ;  and  it  was  not  until  he  had  long  formed  and 
matured  it  that  he  made  it  known  to  the  few  friends  out 
side  of  his  own  household  who  shared  his  confidence  in 
that  matter.  I  cannot  say  how  numerous  these  were ;  but 
beyond  his  family  and  the  armed  followers  who  accom 
panied  him,  I  have  never  supposed  that  his  Virginia  plan 
was  known  to  fifty  persons.  Even  to  those  few  it  was  not 
fully  communicated,  though  they  knew  that  he  meant  to 
fortify  himself  somewhere  in  the  mountains  of  Virginia  or 
Tennessee,  and  from  that  fastness,  with  his  band  of  sol 
diers,  sally  out  and  emancipate  slaves,  seize  hostages  and 
levy  contributions  on  the  slaveholders.  Moreover,  from  the 
time  he  first  matured  it,  there  were  several  changes  amount 
ing  at  last  to  an  entire  modification  of  the  scheme.  'As  he 
disclosed  it  to  me  in  1858,  in  the  house  of  Gerrit  Smith  at 
Peterboro',  it  was  very  different  from  the  plan  he  had  un 
folded  to  Thomas  and  to  that  other  Maryland  freed&an 
Frederick  Douglass,  at  Brown's  own  house  in  Springfield  in 
1847.1  I  have  already  quoted  Douglass's  description  of  this 
house  and  its  master,  whose  guest  he  was.  In  respecj;  to 
his  disclosure  of  the  great  plan,  Douglass  says  in  his  "  Life 
and  Times  "  (edition  of  1881,  pp.  279-282)  :  — 

"  Captain  Brown  cautiously  approached  the  subject  which  he 
wished  to  bring  to  ray  attention,  for  he  seemed  to  apprehend  oppo 
sition  to  his  views.  He  denounced  slavery  in  look  and  language 

1  This  house,  on  Franklin  Street,  north  of  the  railroad  station,  near  which 
was  Brown's  wool-warehouse,  is  still  standing.  It  was  rented  by  Brown, 
who  never  owned  a  house  in  New  England,  nor  lived  so  long  in  any  there 
as  in  that  where  he  was  born  at  Torrington. 


1854.1  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  419 

fierce  and  bitter  ;  thought  that  slaveholders  had  forfeited  their  right 
to  live,  and  that  the  slaves  had  the  right-  to  gain  their  liberty  in  any 
way  they  could  ;  did  not  believe  that  ( moral  suasion  '  would  ever 
liberate  the  slave,  nor  that  political  action  would  abolish  the  system. 
'He  had  long  had  a  plan  which  could  accomplish  this  end,  and  had 
invited  me  to  his  house  to  lay  that  plan  before  me ;  he  had  been 
some  time  looking  for  colored  men  to  whom  he  could  safely  reveal 
his  secret,  and  at  times  he  had  almost  despaired  of  finding  such  men  j 
but  now  he  was  encouraged,  for  he  saw  heads  of  such  rising  up  in  all 
directions.  He  had  observed  my  course,  at  home  and  abroad,  and  he 
wanted  my  co-operation.  His  plan,  as  it  then  lay  in  his  mind,  had 
much  to  commend  it.  It  did  not,  as  some  suppose,  contemplate  a 
general  rising  among  the  slaves,  and  a  general  slaughter  of  the 
slavemasters  :  an  insurrection,  he  thought,  would  only  defeat  the 
object ;  but  his  plan  did  contemplate  the  creating  of  an  armed  force 
which  should  act  in  the  very  heart  of  the  South.  He  was  not  averse 
to  the  shedding  of  blood,  and  thought  the  practice  of  carrying  arms 
would  be  a  good  one  for  the  colored  people  to  adopt,  as  it  would  give 
them  a  sense  of  their  manhood.  No  people,  he  said,  could  have  self- 
respect,  or  be  respected,  who  would  not  fight  for  their  freedom.  He 
called  my  attention  to  a  map  of  the  United  States,  and  pointed  out 
to  me  the  ranges  which  stretch  away  from  the  borders  of  New  York 
into  the  Southern  States.  '  These  mountains,'  he  said,  l  are  the  basis 
of  my  plan.  God  has  given  ttie  strength  of  the  hills  to  freedom ;  they 
were  placed  here  for  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  race ;  they  are 
full  of  natural  forts,  where  one  man  for  defence  will  be  equal  to  a 
hundred  for  attack  ;  they  are  full  also  of  good  hiding-places,  where 
large  numbers  of  brave  men  could  be  concealed,  and  baffle  and  elude 
pursuit  for  a  long  time.  I  know  these  mountains  well,  and  could 
take  a  body  of  men  into  them  and  keep  them  there,  despite  of  all  the 
efforts  of  Virginia  to  dislodge  them.  The  true  object  to  be  sotight  is, 
first  of  all,  to  destroy  the  money-value  of  slave  property ;  and  that 
can  only  be  done  by  rendering  such  property  insecure.  My  plan, 
then,  is  to  take  at  first  about  twenty-five  picked  men,  and  begin  on 
a  small  scale  ;  supply  them  arms  and  ammunition,  and  post  them  in 
squads  of  five  on  a  line  of  twenty-five  miles.  The  most  persuasive 
and  judicious  of  them  shall  then  go  down  to  the  fields  from  time  to 
time,  as  opportunity  offers,  and  induce  the  slaves  to  join  them,  seek 
ing  and  selecting  the  most  restless  and  daring.'  He  saw  that  in  this 
part  of  the  work  the  utmost  care  must  be  used  to  avoid  treachery  and 
disclosure.  Only  the  most  conscientious  and  skilled  should  be  sent 
on  this  perilous  duty  ;  with  care  and  enterprise  he  thought  he  could 
soon  gather  a  force  of  a  hundred  hardy  men,  who  would  be  content 
to  lead  the  free  and  adventurous  life  to  which  he  proposed  to  train 


420  LIFE    AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1854. 

them.  When  these  were  properly  drilled,  and  each  man  had  found 
the  place  for  which  he  was  best  suited,  they  would  begin  work  in 
earnest;  they  would  run  off  the  slaves  in  large  numbers,  retain  the 
brave  and  strong  ones  in  the  mountains,  and  send  the  weak  and 
timid  to  the  North  by  the  '  underground  railroad  ; '  his  operations 
would  be  enlarged  with  increasing  numbers,  and  would  not  be  con 
fined  to  one  locality. 

"  When  I  asked  him  how  he  would  support  these  men,  he  said 
emphatically  he  would  subsist  them  upon  the  enemy.  Slavery  was 
a  state  of  war,  and  the  slave  had  a  right  to  anything  necessary  to  his 
freedom.  '  But,'  said  I,  '  suppose  you  succeed  in  running  off  a  few 
slaves,  and  thus  impress  the  Virginia  slaveholders  with  a  sense  of  in 
security  in  their  slaves,  —  the  effect  will  only  be  to  make  them  sell  their 
slaves  farther  South.'  'That/  said  he,  l  will  be  first  what  I  want  to 
do  ;  then  I  would  follow  them  up.  If  we  could  drive  slavery  out  of 
one  county,  it  would  be  a  great  gain ;  it  would  weaken  the  system 
throughout  the  State.'  '  But  they  would  employ  bloodhounds  to 
hunt  you  out  of  the  mountains.'  *  That  they  might  attempt,'  said 
he,  '  but  the  chances  are  we  should  whip  them  ;  and  when  we  should 
have  whipped  one  squad,  they  would  be  careful  how  they  pursued.' 
1  But  you  might  be  surrounded  and  cut  off  from  your  means  of  sub 
sistence.'  He  thought  that  could  not  be  done  so  they  could  not  cut 
their  way  out ;  but  even  if  the  worst  came,  he  could  but  be  killed, 
and  he  had  no  better  use  for  his  life  than  to  lay  it  down  in  the  cause 
of  the  slave.  When  I  suggested  that  we  might  convert  the  slave 
holders,  he  became  much  excited,  and  said  that  could  never  be ;  'he 
knew  their  proud  hearts,  and  that  they  would  never  be  induced  to 
give  up  their  slaves  until  they  felt  a  big  stick  about  their  heads.'  He 
thought  I  might  have  noticed  the  simple  manner  in  which  he  lived, 
adding  that  he  had  adopted  this  in  order  to  save  money  to  carry  out 
his  purposes.  This  was  said  in  no  boastful  tone,  for  he  felt  that  he 
had  delayed  already  too  long,  and  had  no  room  to  boast  either  his 
zeal  or  his  self-denial.  Had  some  men  made  such  display  of  rigid 
virtue,  I  should  have  rejected  it  as  affected,  false,  or  hypocritical,  but 
in  John  Brown  I  felt  it  to  be  as  real  as  iron  or  granite.  From  this 
night  spent  with  John  Brown  in  1847,  while  I  continued  to  write 
and  speak  against  slavery,  I  became  all  the  less  hopeful  of  its  peace 
ful  abolition.  My  utterances  became  more  and  more  tinged  by  the 
color  of  this  man's  strong  impressions." J 

1  Mr.  Douglass  adds  the  true  version  of  a  famous  anecdote  :  "  Speaking 
at  an  antislavery  convention  in-  Ohio,  I  expressed  my  apprehension  that 
slavery  could  only  be  destroyed  by  bloodshed,  when  I  was  suddenly  and 
sharply  interrupted  by  my  good  old  friend  Sojourner  Truth,  with  the  ques- 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  421 

There  can  be  no  question  that  what  Brown  saw  and  did 
in  Kansas  gave  a  new  tone  to  his  scheme.  I  do  not  much 
rely  upon  the  memory  of  Mr.  Arny,  who  as  a  witness  before 
Senator  Mason's  committee  showed  himself  apt  at  forget 
ting  and  misplacing  events ;  but  a  part  of  his  testimony 
bearing  upon  this  matter  must  have  some  foundation  in  fact. 
He  mentions  a  conversation  held  with  Brown  in  Kansas 
late  in  1858,  in  which  Brown  said  the  only  way  to  abolish 
slavery  was  to  post  a  company  of  men  somewhere  in  the 
mountains  of  the  slave  States  to  assist  slaves  in  escaping, 
and  thus  make  the  system  of  slavery  insecure.  "  I  told 
him  that  I  thought  he  was  doing  an  injury  to  the  whole 
country  in  pursuing  that  course  ;  that  it  was  contrary  to  his 
former  views  on  the  subject;  that  I  did  not  suppose  he 
could  get  any  person  to  assist  him  in  it ;  that  I  felt  satisfied 
his  good  friend  Gerrit  Smith  would  not  assist  him,  because 
Mr.  Smith  had  placed  in  our  hands  ten  thousand  dollars, 
and  made  it  an  especial  condition  that  every  dollar  of  it 
should  go  for  food  or  medicine,  and  not  for  matters  of  war ; 
he  professed  to  be  a  peace  man.  I  told  him  I  knew  he  was 
acquainted  with  Dr.  Howe,  and  I  did  not  suppose  Dr.  Howe 
would  do  anything  of  that  sort :  no  Republican  would.  His 
answer  was,  that  he  disliked  the  do-nothing  policy  of  the 
Abolitionists ;  they  would  never  effect  anything  by  their 
milk-and-water  principles.  As  to  the  Republicans,  they  were 
of  no  account,  for  they  were  opposed  to  carrying  the  war 
into  Africa;  they  were  opposed  to  meddling  with  slavery  in 
the  States  where  it  existed.  He  said  his  doctrine  was  to 
free  the  slaves  by  the  sword.  I  then  again  asked  him  how 

tion,  'Frederick,  is  God  dead?'  'No,'  I  answered,  'and  because  God 
is  not  dead,  slavery  can  only  end  in  blood.'  My  quaint  old  sister  was  of 
the  Garrison  school  of  non-resistants,  and  was  shocked  at  my  sanguinary 
doctrine  ;  but  she,  too,  became  an  advocate  of  the  sword  when  the  war  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  Union  was  declared."  I  have  slightly  abbreviated 
Douglass's  statement  here  and  there.  Possibly  in  writing  from  memory, 
after  Brown's  death,  he  may  have  unconsciously  mingled  with  the  scheme 
of  1847  features  that  did  not  take  shape  in  Brown's  mind  until  after  his 
Kansas  experiences.  Thomas  Thomas  assures  me  that  Brown's  plan  before 
1851  was  to  occupy  land  at  the  South  as  a  slaveholder,  using  trusty  colored 
men  as  his  nominal  slaves,  and  through  them  indoctrinating  the  real  slaves 
with  the  hopes  of  freedom. 


422  LIFE   AXD   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

he  reconciled  such  opinions  with  his  peace  principles  that 
he  held  when  I  first  knew  him  in  Virginia,  more  than  twenty 
years  ago.  He  said  that  the  aggressions  of  slavery,  the 
murders  and  robberies  perpetrated  upon  himself  and  mem 
bers  of  his  family,  the  violation  of  the  laws  by  Atchison  and 
others  in  Kansas  in  1855,  and  from  that  time  down  to  the 
murders  on  the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  convinced  him  that  peace 
was  but  an  empty  word." 

It  was  a  year  before  this  that  Brown,  in  September,  1857, 
began  to  prepare  the  minds  of  his  Eastern  friends  for  the 
full  scope  of  his  purposes.  He  was  then  at  Tabor,  in  West 
ern  Iowa,  where  he  had  opened  a  small  school  for  military 
drill,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the  Garibaldian  Briton,  Hugh 
Forbes,  the  adventurer  already  described.  Brown  wrote  to 
Theodore  Parker,  September  11,  — 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Please  find  on  other  side  first  number  of  a  series 
of  tracts  lately  gotten  up  here.  I  need  not  say  I  did  not  prepare  it  j 
but  I  would  be  glad  to  know  what  you  think  of  it,  and  much  obliged 
for  any  suggestions  you  see  proper  to  make.  My  particular  object  in 
writing  is  to  say  that  I  am  in  immediate  want  of  some  five  hundred 
or  one  thousand  dollars  for  secret  service,  and  no  questions  asked.  I 
want  the  friends  of  freedom  to  "  prove  me  now  herewith."  Will  you 
bring  this  matter  before  your  congregation,  or  exert  your  influence  in 
some  way  to  have  it,  or  some  part  of  it,  raised  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  George  L.  Stearns,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  subject  to  my  order?  I  should 
highly  prize  a  letter  from  you,  directed  on  the  envelope  to  Jonas 
Jones,  Esq.,  Tabor,  Fremont  County,  Iowa.  Have  no  news  to  send 
by  letter. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  tract  enclosed  was  a  dull  and  heavy  paper  entitled 
"  The  Duty  of  the  Soldier,"  and  bearing  on  its  face  the  in 
scription,  "  Presented  with  respectful  and  kind  feelings  to 
the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  United  States  army  in  Kan 
sas."  Parker  probably  caused  Brown  to  know  what  was  his 
opinion  of  this  tract,  as  I  did  when  I  received  a  similar  letter. 
It  was  not  easy  for  any  of  us  in  that  autumn,  when  business 
was  greatly  depressed,  to  raise  money  for  an  object  so  indefi 
nite.  I  sent  him  some  money  (seventy-two  dollars),  which 


1857.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  423 

he  received  Oct.  3,  1857,  and  others  no  doubt  contributed 
something ;  but  no  movement  was  made  before  winter,  nor 
did  he  further  disclose  his  purposes  to  us  at  that  time.  But 
when  he  reached  Kansas  at  last,  in  November,  he  hastened 
to  communicate  them  in  general  terms  to  Kagi,  Cook,  Ste 
phens,  and  others  who  afterward  joined  him  in  his  Virginia 
campaign.  Cook's  confession,  while  in  prison,  is  explicit  on 
this  point,  and  is  confirmed  by  Parsons,  Moffat,  and  others, 
who  received  some  part  of  the  plan  from  Brown  in  Kansas. 
Cook  said :  — 

"  I  became  acquainted  with  Captain  Brown  in  his  camp  on  Middle 
Creek,  K.  T.,  just  after  the  battle  of  BLick  Jack,  and  was  with  him 
in  camp  until  it  was  broken  up  and  his  company  disbanded  by  Colonel 
Sumner,  of  the  First  Cavalry.  I  next  saw  him  at  the  convention  at 
Topeka,  July  4,  and  some  days  afterward  in  Lawrence.  I  did  not 
see  him  again  until  the  fall  of  1857,  when  I  met  him  at  the  house  of 
E.  B.  Whitman,  four  miles  from  Lawrence,  about  the  first  of  Novem 
ber.  I  was  then  told  that  he  intended  to  organize  a  company  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  aggressions  of  the  proslavery  men.  I 
agreed  to  join  him,  and  was  asked  if  I  knew  of  any  other  young  men, 
who  were  perfectly  reliable,  who  I  thought  would  join.  I  recom 
mended  Richard  Realf,  Luke  F.  Parsons,  and  R.  J.  Hinton.  I 
received  a  note  from  Brown  the  next  Sunday  morning  while  at 
breakfast,  in  Lawrence,  requesting  me  to  come  up  that  day,  and 
to  bring  Realf,  Parsons,  and  Hinton  with  me.  Realf  and  Hinton 
were  not  in  town.  Parsons  and  myself  went,  and  had  a  long  talk 
with  Captain  Brown.  A  few  days  afterward  I  received  another 
note  which  read  as  follows :  — 

CAPTAIN  COOK. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  You  will  please  get  everything  ready  to  join  me  at  To 
peka  by  Monday  night  next.  Come  to  Mrs.  Sheridan's,  two  miles  south  of 
Topeka,  and  bring  your  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  and  other  articles  you 
may  require.  Bring  Parsons  with  you  if  he  can  get  ready  in  time.  Please 
keep  very  quiet  about  the  matter. 

Yours,  etc., 

JOHN  BROWN. 

u  I  made  all  my  arrangements  for  starting  at  the  time  appointed. 
Parsons,  Realf,  and  Hinton  could  not  be  ready.  I  left  them  at  Law 
rence  and  started  for  Topeka ;  stopped  at  the  hotel  over  night,  and 
left  early  the  next  morning  for  Mrs.  Sheridan's  to  meet  Captain 
Brown.  At  Topeka  we  were  joined  by  Stephens,  Moffat,  and  Kagi. 
Left  Topeka  for  Nebraska  City,  and  camped  at  night  on  the  prairie 


424  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1857. 

northeast  of  Topeka.  Here  for  the  first  time  I  learned  that  we  were 
to  leave  Kansas  to  attend  a  military  school  during  the  winter  in  Ash- 
tabula  County,  Ohio.  Next  morning  I  was  sent  back  to  Lawrence 
to  get  a  draft  of  eighty  dollars  cashed,  and  get  Parsons.  Realf,  and 
Hiu ton  to  come  back  with  me.  Captain  Brown  had  given  me  orders 
to  take  boat  to  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  and  stage  from  there  to  Tabor,  Iowa. 
Hinton  could  not  leave  at  that  time.  I  started  with  Realf  and  Par 
sons  on  a  stage  for  Leaven  worth,  and  then  left  for  Weston,  where 
we  took  stage  for  St.  Joseph,  and  thence  to  Tabor.  I  found  C.  P. 
Tidd  and  Leeman  at  Tabor,  where  we  stayed  some  days,  making 
preparations  to  start.  Here  we  found  that  Captain  Brown's  ultimate 
destination  was  the  State  of  Virginia.  Some  warm  words  passed 
between  him  and  myself  in  regard  to  the  plan,  which  I  had  supposed 
was  to  be  confined  entirely  to  Kansas  and  Missouri.  Realf  and  Par 
sons  were  of  the  same  opinion  with  me.  After  a  good  deal  of  wrang 
ling  we  consented  to  go  on,  as  the  rest  of  the  party  were  so  anxious 
that  we  should  go  with  them.  At  Tabor  we  procured  teams  for  the 
transportation  of  about  two  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles,  which  had  been 
brought  on  as  far  as  Tabor  a  year  before,  awaiting  the  order  of  Cap 
tain  Brown.  There  were  also  other  stores,  consisting  of  blankets, 
clothing,  boots,  ammunition,  and  about  two  hundred  revolvers  of  the 
Massachusetts  Arms  patent,  all  of  which  we  transported  across  Iowa 
to  Springdale,  and  from  there  to  Liberty,  at  which  place  they  were 
shipped  for  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio,  where  they  remained  till  brought 
to  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  and  from  there  transported  to  the  Kennedy 
Farm,  which  Brown  had  rented  for  six  months,  and  which  was  about 
five  miles  from  Harper's  Ferry.  It  was  the  intention  of  Captain 
Brown  to  sell  his  teams  in  Springdale,  and  with  the  proceeds  to  go 
on  with  the  rest  of  the  company  to  some  place  in  Ashtabula  County, 
Ohio,  where  we  were  to  have  a  good  military  instructor  during  the 
winter;  but  he  was  disappointed  in  the  sale,  and  it  was  decided  we 
should  remain  in  the  neighborhood  of  Springdale,  and  that  our  in 
structor,  Colonel  Forbes,  should  be  sent  to  us  from  the  East.  We 
stopped  over  winter  at  Mr.  Maxon's,  where  we  pursued  a  course  of 
military  studies." 

It  thus  appears  that  Brown  had  started  for  Virginia  with 
a  few  men,  and  with  the  Kansas  rifles  and  revolvers,  at  least 
three  months  before  he  communicated  to  Mr.  Stearns,  the 
owner  of  the  arms,  that  he  had  any  purpose  of  using  them 
outside  of  Kansas  and  Missouri.  It  is  also  plain  that  he 
imparted  his  purposes  little  by  little  to  his  armed  followers. 
Edwin  Coppoc,  an  Iowa  youth,  who  joined  Brown  at  Spring- 


1858.]  THE  PLANS  DISCLOSED.  425 

dale,  said  to  the  Virginians  who  captured  and  hung  him: 
"  I  am  a  Republican  philanthropist,  and  came  here  to  aid  in 
liberating  negroes.  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Captain 
Brown  in  Iowa  as  he  returned  from  Kansas,  and  agreed  to 
join  his  company.  Brown  wrote  to  me  in  July  to  come  on 
to  Chambersburg,  where  he  first  revealed  the  whole  plot. 
The  whole  company  was  opposed  to  making  the  first  demon* 
stration  at  Harper's  Ferry,  but  Captain  Brown  would  have 
it  his  own  way,  and  we  had  to  obey  orders."  1 

C.  W.  Moffat,  of  Montour,  Iowa,  who  was  one  of  Brown's 
company  in  the  winter  of  1857-58,  says  :  — 

"  We  spent  the  winter  in  the  vicinity  of  Iowa  City.  Our  efforts 
there  were  directed  towards  starting  a  Sharpens  rifle  military  school, 
of  which  a  man  named  Stephens,  —  known  better  in  Kansas  as 
Whipple,  —  was  to  be  the  instructor  ;  but  our  plans  were  interfered 
with  by  pecuniary  embarrassments.  Then  Brown  went  to  Ohio  (for 
which  we  had  started  in  the  first  place)  to  form  another  school. 
There  was  also  to  be  one  in  Canada,  —  three  in  all.  When  Brown 
left  he  gave  Whipple  charge  of  the  school,  and  I  had  sent  Forbes 
round  by  water  to  Ohio.  Forbes  had  been  engaged  as  drill-master 
at  a  hundred  dollars  a  month,  and  when  we  stopped  in  Iowa  Brown 
said  he  would  have  to  give  Forbes  the  choice  of  the  schools  :  if  Forbes 
would  come  back  to  Iowa,  Whipple  would  take  the  school  in  Ohio 
or  in  Canada.  But  when  he  got  to  Ohio,  Brown  found  that  Forbes 
had  gone  away,  and  so  gave  up  the  Ohio  school." 

This  is  as  good  a  place  as  any  to  speak  once  for  all  of 
this  Hugh  Forbes,  who  proved  to  be  the  false  member  of 
the  little  band,  and  betrayed  the  confidence  of  his  employer 
through  vanity  and  emptiness  of  head,  rather  than  through 
malice  of  heart.  I  have  already  spoken  of  his  employment 
by  Brown  eight  months  before  ;  but  his  earlier  history  and 
his  general  character  were  thus  portrayed  by  Horace  Greeley, 
in  his  usual  lively  manner,  in  October,  1859,  after  Forbes 
had  promulgated  some  futile  disclosures  of  Brown's  plans  : 

"This  Forbes  appeared  in  New  York  sometime  after  the  explosion 
of  the  European  revolution  of  1848,  and  claimed  to  have  borne  an 
important  part  in  that  movement.  Of  course  he  was  needy,  and  the 

1  See  Owen  Brown's  statement  in  chap.  xv. 


426  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

Herald  says  he  was  {  at  one  time  a  reporter  or  translator  on  the 
Tribune.'  This  is  quite  probable,  though  I  do  not  recollect  it. 
Some  time  late  in  1856  (I  think  it  was)  1  I  was  apprised  that  ho  was 
going  out  to  Kansas  to  help  the  Free-State  men,  then  threatened 
with  annihilation  by  the  Border  Ruffians  of  Missouri,  backed  by 
Federal  functionaries  and  troops.  Lawrence  had  then  been  twice 
beleaguered  and  once  sacked  ;  Osawatomie  had  been  twice  ravaged 
and  burned  j  Leavenworth  had  been  swept  clean  of  Free-State  men 
by  a  Missouri  raid,  —  William  Phillips  being  butchered  while  de 
fending  his  own  house,  his  brother  badly  wounded  and  captured, 
while  those  who  made  no  resistance  were  sent  down  the  river  at  an 
hour's  notice.  As  Forbes  professed  to  be  a  capable  and  experienced 
military  officer,  especially  qualified  for  guerilla  or  border  warfare,  and 
as  he  had  always  claimed  to  be  an  earnest  Red  Republican  and  foe  of 
every  form  of  human  slavery,  I  thought  his  resolution  natural  and 
commendable.  Knowing  him  to  be  poor,  I  gave  him  twenty  dollars 
as  he  was  starting;  others  gave  him  larger  sums,  —  how  much  in  all 
I  do  not  know ;  but  I  think  his  total  receipts  from  friends  of  Free 
Kansas  cannot  have  fallen  below  seven  hundred  dollars.  He  went 
—  was  absent  some  months  —  came  back  :  that  is  all  /  know  of  his 
services  to  the  Free-State  cause  in  any  shape.  Whether  he  was  not 
needed,  or  was  not  trusted,  or  was  found  incompetent,  I  do  not 
know  ;  I  only  know  that  he  did  nothing,  and  was  practically  worth 
nothing.2  I  believe  he  spent  part  of  the  money  given  him  in  print 
ing  a  pamphlet  embodying  his  notions  of  guerilla  or  partisan  war 
fare  :  of  course,  no  dollar  ever  came  back.  I  think  I  heard  of  him 
before  his  return,  clamoring  for  more  money.  In  due  time,  he  reap 
peared  in  New  York,  and  came  to  me  (as  to  others)  with  complaints 
that  he  had  been  deceived,  misled,  swindled,  beggared,  his  family  (in 

1  Really  in  April,  1857. 

2  Forbes  could  not  rest  quiet  under  Greeley's  censure,  and  published  in 
the  "  Herald  "  this  card  :  — 

NEW  YORK,  Oct.  25,  1859. 

There  having  appeared  in  yesterday's  "Tribune  "  a  false  and  malicious  attack  upon 
me,  I  shall,  after  the  trial  of  John  Brown,  publish  the  correspondence  between  himself, 
his  friends,  and  myself,  which  correspondence  commenced  about  two  years  ago,  and  was 
continued  during  the  spring  of  1859.  Some  Abolitionists  of  good  judgment  insisted 
strongly  that  I  should  make  Brown  desist  from  his  projects,  which  they  considered 
would  prove  fatal  to  the  antislavery  cause  ;  and  as  there  were  sundry  persons  in  the 
free  States  interested,  copies  of  most  of  the  letters  were  furnished  to  each  of  them  and 
to  Brown.  I  could  not  myself  take  all  the  copies,  therefore  some  friends  occasionally 
copied  for  me.  I  feel  sure  that  none  of  these  letters  were  suffered  to  be  seen  by  the 
Secretary  of  War  :  first,  because  I  have  faith  in  the  reliability  of  those  who  had  them  in 
their  hands  ;  and,  secondly,  because  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that,  had  such  authen 
tic  evidence  been  placed  before  him,  he  could  have  been  taken  so  by  surprise  as  he  was 
at  Harper's  Ferry. 

H.  FORBES.  ' 


1857.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  427 

Paris)  turned  into  the  streets  to  starve,  etc.  I  tried  to  ascertain  who 
had  deceived  him,  what  promises  made  to  him  had  been  broken,  etc., 
but  with  little  success.  All  I  could  make  out  was  that  some  one  — 
he  now  says  it  was  Brown  —  had  promised  him  something  in  the 
way  of  pecuniary  recompense  for  his  services,  which  had  not  been 
made  good,  and  that  his  family  were  consequently  reduced  to  the 
brink  of  starvation.  /  do  not  believe  that  John  Brown  ever  wilfully 
deceived  him  or  any  one  else.  I  am  very  sure  that  no  one  was  ever 
authorized  to  engage  the  services  of  '  Colonel  Forbes '  in  behalf  of 
the  Free- State  men  of  Kansas  on  condition  that  said  Forbes  should 
be  authorized  to  charge  his  own  price  for  those  services  and  draw  at 
pleasure  on  some  responsible  party  for  payment.  I  have  never  heard 
of  any  one's  version  of  the  matter  but  Forbes's ;  and  I  confidently 
infer  from  this,  that,  if  there  was  mutual  misunderstanding  and  disap 
pointment  in  the  premises,  the  employing  party  had  decidedly  the 
worst  of  it." 


In  December,  1857,  there  began  to  arrive  a  series  of  let 
ters  written  by  this  Forbes  to  Dr.  Howe,  Charles  Sumner, 
and  myself,  which  greatly  puzzled  us  all.  Brown's  Massa 
chusetts  friends,  either  from  his  inadvertence,  or  because  he 
was  not  yet  ready  to  disclose  his  ultimate  purpose,  had  not 
been  informed  by  him  who  Forbes  was;  they  had  never 
seen  him,  and  only  heard  of  him  casually  and  incidentally. 
They  had  never  been  consulted  by  Brown  in  regard  to  pay 
ing  Forbes,  nor  of  course  had  Brown  given  Forbes  any 
assurances  that  they  would  pay  him  the  salary  stipulated 
for  his  services  ;  of  which,  in  fact,  they  knew  nothing  what 
ever.  It  was  therefore  with  much  surprise  and  mystifica 
tion  that  about  Christmas-time,  1857,  we  received  passionate 
and  denunciatory  letters,  written  by  Forbes,  complaining  of 
ill-treatment  at  our  hands,  and  assuming  to  hold  us  respon 
sible  for  the  termination  of  his  engagement  with  Brown ; 
by  which,  he  said,  he  had  been  reduced  to  poverty,  and  his 
family  in  Paris,  deprived  of  pecuniary  aid  from  him,  had 
suffered  great  hardship.  Two  of  these  letters  were  ad 
dressed  to  Senator  Sumner,  and  were  forwarded  by  him  to 
Dr.  Howe  and  to  me,  who,  in  great  ignorance  as  to  what 
such  abusive  epistles  meant,  answered  them  with  curtness 
and  severity.  This  correspondence  temporarily  closed  in 
January,  1858,  and  the  substance  of  it  was  communicated 


428  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

to  Brown,  then  in  Iowa,  with  the  request  that  he  would  ex 
plain  the  meaning  of  Forbes's  course,  and  state  what  their 
relations  with  each  other  were.  I  also  communicated  the 
matter  to  Theodore  Parker,  with  whom  I  was  then  in  fre 
quent  correspondence;  and,  as  it  happens,  my  letter  of 
January,  1858,  to  Parker  has  been  preserved.  I  wrote  :  — 


F.  B.  Sanborn  to  T.  Parker. 

CONCOKD,  Jan.  15,  1858. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  send  you  a  letter  this  day  received  from 
Forbes.  During  the  week  I  have  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Sum- 
ner,  who  sent  me  two  letters  of  Forbes  to  him,  in  which  he  says 
these  same  things.  Now,  if  it  were  not  for  the  wife  and  children, 
who  are  undoubtedly  in  suffering,  the  man  might  be  hanged  for  all 
me,  —  for  his  whole  style  towards  me  is  a  combination  of  insult  and 
lunacy.  But  T  fear  there  was  such  an  agreement  between  him  and 
Brown,  though  Brown  has  told  me  nothing  of  it ;  and  if  so,  he  has  a 
claim  upon  somebody,  though  not  particularly  upon  us.  Is  there 
anything  that  can  be  done  for  him  ?  I  have  written  to  Brown  in 
quiring  about  the  matter,  but  cannot  get  an  answer  before  the  middle 
of  February.  Have  you  heard  anything  from  Brown  or  Whitman  ? 
When  you  do,  please  let  me  hear  of  it.  Forbes's  threats  are  of  no 
account,  and  they,  with  the  vulgar  abuse  which  he  uses,  show 
what  sort  of  man  he  is.  I  shall  answer  his  letter,  and  send  him 
ten  dollars. 

January  17. 

Mr.  Sunnier  suggests  that  in  my  note  to  Forbes  I  might  have 
been  "  less  sharp  ;  "  but  the  character  of  F.?s  epistles  convinces  me 
that,  if  I  erred  at  all,  it  was  on  the  side  of  gentleness.  I  have  since 
received  a  letter  from  Forbes  himself,  in  which  he  goes  over  the 
same  charges  and  insinuations  with  "  damnable  iteration."  This 
I  have  also  answered,  explaining  more  fully  my  position  in  the  mat 
ter.  Forbes  threatens  terrible  things,  —  meaning,  as  I  conjecture,  to 
give  notice  at  the  South  of  Brown's  position  and  designs.  Should  he 
do  this,  he  would  deserve  all  the  suffering  which  his  own  carelessness 
has  brought  on  his  family ;  but  their  suffering  troubles  me,  and  I  am 
trying  to  do  something  to  relieve  it,  and  also  to  find  out  from  Brown 
the  true  condition  of  affairs. 

Yours  affectionately, 

F.  B.  SANBORN. 


1858.1 


THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  429 


I  wrote  thus  to  Forbes  himself,  and  cite  the  letter  here 
only  because  it  preserves  some  facts  and  dates  which  might 
otherwise  be  lost :  — 

F.  B.  Sanborn  to  Hugh  Forbes. 

CONCORD,  Jan.  15,  1858. 

SIR,  —  Yours  of  the  9th  and  14th  is  received.  I  regret  that  you  I 
should  have  continued  the  abusive  strain  of  your  letter  to  Mr.  Sum- 
ner,  towards  a  person  of  whom  you  are  wholly  ignorant,  and  whose 
character  you  so  greatly  mistake.  Let  me  give  you  some  facts, 
which  you  may  believe  or  not,  as  you  choose.  I  became  acquainted 
with  Captain  Brown  a  little  more  than  a  year  ago,  and  have  since 
been  his  warm  friend  and  admirer.  Being  a  member  of  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Kansas  Committee,  I  interested  myself  with  my  col 
leagues  in  his  behalf,  and  we  furnished  him  with  some  five  thousand 
dollars  in  arms  and  money.  As  a  temporary  member  of  the  National 
Committee,  I  procured  the  passage  of  a  resolution  appropriating  five 
thousand  dollars  from  that  committee  also,  of  which,  however,  only 
five  hundred  dollars  has  been  paid.  I  also  introduced  him  to  a  pub 
lic  meeting  of  my  townsmen,  who  raised  something  for  him.  In  the 
summer  I  visited  Mr.  Gerrit  Smith,  and  made  arrangements  with 
him  for  the  settlement  of  property  worth  one  thousand  dollars  on  the 
wife  and  daughter  of  Captain  Brown.  The  money  was  raised  in 
Boston  by  the  men  whom  you  calumniate.  I  visited  the  families  in 
the  wilderness  where  they  live,  and  arranged  the  transfer  of  property. 
Mr.  Smith  first  mentioned  your  name  to  me, — unless  it  were  a 
member  of  his  family,  Mr.  Morton.  Captain  Brown  had  never 
done  so,  nor  did  any  one  hint  to  me  that  there  was  any  agreement 
between  you  and  him  of  the  kind  you  mention.  I  think  I  wrote  to 
Brown  from  Peterboro',  informing  him  that  you  were  at  Davenport, 
having  seen  your  letter  to  Mr.  Smith  announcing  that  fact.  On 
September  14  I  received  Mr.  Smith's  letter,  asking  that  some  money 
be  raised  for  your  family,  but  merely  on  general  grounds.  I  was 
pledged  to  aid  and  support  Brown,  and  could  not  give  money  to 
persons  of  whom  I  knew  little  or  nothing.  Had  Brown  or  yourself 
informed  me  of  your  agreement,  the  case  would  have  been  different. 
I  kept  Mr.  Smith's  draft  just  a  week,  returning  it  to  him  September 
21 ;  it  was  out  of  his  hands  just  eleven  days.  Since  then,  I  have 
had  a  few  letters  from  Brown,  and  have  seen  some  from  you,  but 
have  heard  nothing  of  any  compact.  To  answer  Brown's  call  for 
"  secret  service  "  money,  I  procured  about  six  hundred  dollars  to  be 
sent  him,  which,  as  he  has  not  yet  come  into  active  operations,  has 


430  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

probably  been  sufficient.  My  property  is  small,  —  my  income  this 
year  hardly  up  to  my  expenses  j  but  to  carry  out  the  plan  which  Cap 
tain  Brown  has  matured,  if  the  time  seemed  favorable,  I  would  sacri 
fice  both  income  and  property,  as  he  very  well  knows.  But  it  is 
probable  that  Captain  Brown  placed  too  much  confidence  in  the 
expectations  of  others,  and  that  he  may  have  mistaken  hopes  for 
promises.  Does  he  join  in  your  vituperation  of  his  Boston  friends  ? 
I  know  he  does  not. 

I  can  excuse  much  to  one  who  has  so  much  reason  for  anxiety  as 
you  have  in  the  distress  of  your  family.  Yet  be. assured  that  if  you 
had  written  to  me  (or  if  Captain  Brown  had  done  so)  the  true  nature 
of  your  compact  with  him,  I  would  have  supported  your  wife  and 
children  rather  than  have  allowed  wThat  has  happened  to  take  place. 
You  knew  my  address,  —  why,  then,  did  you  not  write  to  me  rather 
than  send  a  slanderous  letter  to  Mr.  Sumner  ? 

As  for  your  threats,  you  are  at  liberty  to  speak,  write,  and  publish 
what  you  please  about  me,  —  only  be  careful  to  keep  within  the 
limits  of  your  knowledge  ;  do  not  tax  your  imagination  for  facts.  I 
have  written  to  Captain  Brown  for  his  statement  of  the  relation  be 
tween  you,  and  have  also  sent  to  Mr.  Gerrit  Smith  for  any  information 
in  his  possession.  In  the  mean  time  I  send  you  ten  dollars,  promising 
that  if  I  find  you  have  any  further  claim  on  me,  either  in  law,  jus 
tice,  or  humanity,  I  will  discharge  it  to  the  uttermost. 

The  gentlemen  with  whom  I  am  associated,  and  for  whose  action 
I  am  in  any  way  responsible,  are  honorable  men,  and  as  far  from 
deserving  the  vulgar  slanders  you  heap  upon  them  as»your  language 
is  lacking  in  common  courtesy  and  justice.  They  always  keep  and 
always  will  keep  their  engagements  ;  but  they  have  made  none  with 
you.  You  cite  the  people  of  New  Haven.  I  have  nothing  to  do 
with  them,  nor  with  the  other  towns  which  have  failed  in  their 
promises. 

I  never  saw  Hugh  Forbes,  and  have  no  personal  reason  to 
esteem  him,  since  his  entire  correspondence  with  me  and 
with  my  Boston  friends  was  absurdly  violent  and  unreason 
able.  Horace  Greeley,  and  those  who  were  bored  by  him 
in  person,  at  New  York  and  Washington,  have  spoken  of 
him  with  much  impatience,  declaring  that  he  was  at  once 
fanatical  and  mercenary,  and  wholly  wanting  in  common- 
sense.  In  New  York  he  was  a  fencing-master  and  a  hang 
er-on  at  the  "  Tribune  "  office,  while  his  wife  and  daughter 
lived  in  Paris  upon  remittances  sent  by  him  from  New 
York.  Gerrit  Smith,  at  whose  house  he  once  spent  a  day 


1857/J  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  431 

or  two,  spoke  of  him  to  me  as  a  handsome,  soldierly-looking 
man,  skilful  in  the  sword-exercise,  and  with  some  military 
experience,  picked  up  under  Garibaldi  in  1848-49.  He  had 
been  a  silk-merchant  of  some  sort  at  Sienna,  it  was  said, 
before  he  joined  Garibaldi.  Judged  by  his  letters,  his  lit 
tle  book  ("Manual  of  the  Patriotic  Volunteer"),  and  the 
various  accounts  given  by  persons  who  knew  him,  he  was 
a  brave,  vainglorious,  undisciplined  person,  with  little  dis 
cretion,  and  quite  wanting  in  the  qualities  which  would 
fit  him  to  be  a  leader  of  American  soldiers.  Yet  he  was 
ambitious,  eager  to  head  a  crusade  against  slavery,  and 
apparently  desirous  of  taking  Brown's  place  as  commander 
of  what  he  regarded  as  a  great  antislavery  movement,  sup 
ported  by  thousands  in  the  Northern  States.  Accustomed 
to  see  European  insurrections  managed  by  committees  out 
wardly  similar  to  the  various  antislavery  committees  which 
he  found  or  heard  of  in  America,  he  hastily  inferred  that 
these  American  committees  were  all  working  for  the  same 
revolutionary  end,  and  were  ready  to  promote  a  design 
which  Brown  had  as  yet  communicated  to  none  of  them, 
and  which  none  of  them  would  have  aided,  had  they  known 
it.  He  was  really  connected  with  Brown's  enterprise  but  a 
few  months  ;  having  joined  his  rendezvous  at  Tabor,  in 
Iowa,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1857,  and  parted  from  him  in 
early  November  of  the  same  year.  His  complaining  letters 
were  the  first  intimation  received  by  the  Boston  friends  of 
Brown  that  there  was  any  peculiar  relation  between  him 
and  the  Kansas  hero  ;  and  these  letters,  by  a  singular  chance, 
occasioned  the  first  disclosure  of  Brown's  plans  to  his  Bos 
ton  friends. 

Frederick  Douglass  says  of  Forbes,  whom  he  saw  in 
November,  1857,  and  afterwards  kept  track  of  for  a 
while  :  — 

"  After  remaining  with  Brown  a  short  time,  he  came  to  me  in  Ro 
chester  with  a  letter  from  him,  asking  me  to  receive  and  assist  him. 
I  was  not  favorably  impressed  with  Forbes  at  first ;  but  I  '  conquered 
my  prejudices,'  took  him  to  a  hotel,  and  paid  his  board  while  he 
remained.  Just  before  leaving,  he  spoke  of  his  family  in  Europe 
as  in  destitute  circumstances,  and  of  his  desire  to  send  them  some 
money.  I  gave  him  a  little, — I  forget  how  much, — and  tli rough 


432  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

Miss  Ottilia  Assing,  a  German  lady  deeply  interested  in  the  John 
Brown  scheme,  he  was  introduced  to  several  of  my  German  friends 
in  New  York.  But  he  soon  wore  them  out  by  his  endless  begging; 
and  when  he  could  make  no  more  money  by  professing  to  advance 
the  John  Brown  project,  he  threatened  to  expose  it  and  all  connected 
with  it.  I  think  I  was  the  first  to  be  informed  of  his  tactics,  and  I 
promptly  communicated  them  to  Captain  Brown.  Through  my 
friend  Miss  Assing  I  found  that  Forbes  had  told  Brown's  designs  to 
Horace  Greeley,  and  to  the  government  officials  at  Washington,  of 
which  I  informed  Captain  Brown ;  and  this  led  to  the  postponement 
of  the  enterprise  another  year.  It  was  hoped  that  by  this  delay  the 
story  of  Forbes  would  be  discredited ;  and  this  calculation  was 
correct,  —  for  nobody  believed  the  scoundrel,  though  he  told  the 
truth." 

Brown's  own  method  of  dealing  with  the  loquacious 
betrayer  of  his  counsels  (with  which  so  slight  a  person 
should  never  have  been  intrusted)  was  peculiar.  While  at 
the  house  of  Douglass,  in  Rochester,  he  received,  early  in 
February,  a  letter  from  Forbes,  forwarded  by  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  from  West  Andover,  Ohio,  where  the  latter  was  then 
living.  Upon  this  he  wrote  to  his  son  as  follows :  — 

To  John  Brown,  Jr. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN,  —  Forbes's  letter  to  me  of  the  27th  of  January  I 
enclose  back  to  you,  and  will  be  glad  to  have  you  return  it  to  him  with 
something  like  the  following  (unless  you  c"an  think  of  some  serious 
objection),  as  I  am  anxious  to  draw  him  out  more  fully,  and  would 
also  like  to  keep  him  a  little  encouraged  and  avoid  an  open  rupture 
for  a  few  weeks,  at  any  rate.  Suppose  you  write  Forbes  thus  :  — 

"  Your  letter  to  my  father,  of  27th  January,  after  mature  reflec 
tion,  I  have  decided  to  return  to  you,  as  I  am  unwilling  he  should, 
with  all  his  other  cares,  difficulties,  and  trials,  be  vexed  with  what  I 
am  apprehensive  he  will  accept  as  highly  offensive  and  insulting, 
while  I  know  that  he  is  disposed  to  do  all  he  consistently  can  for 
you,  and  will  do  so,  unless  you  are  yourself  the  cause  of  his  disgust. 
I  was  trying  to  send  you  a  little  assistance  myself,  —  say  about  forty 
dollars  ;  but  I  must  hold  up  till  I  feel  different  from  what  I  now  do. 
I  understood  from  my  father  that  he  had  advanced  you  already  six 
hundred  dollars,  or  six  months'  pay  (disappointed  as  he  has  been), 
to  enable  you  to  provide  for  your  family ;  and  that  he  was  to  give 
you  one  hundred  dollars  per  month  for  just  so  much  time  as  you  con 
tinued  in  his  service.  Now,  you  in  your  letter  undertake  to  instruct 


1858.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  433 

him  to  say  that  he  had  positively  engaged  you  for  one  year.  I  fear  he 
will  not  accept  it  well  to  he  asked  or  told  to  state  what  he  considers 
an  untruth.  Again,  I  suspect  you  have  greatly  mistaken  the  man, 
if  you  suppose  he  will  take  it  kindly  in  you,  or  any  living  man,  to 
assume  to  instruct  him  how  he  should  conduct  his  own  business  and 
correspondence.  And  I  suspect  that  the  seemingly  spiteful  letters 
you  say  you  have  written  to  some  of  his  particular  friends  have  not 
only  done  you  great  injury,  but  also  weakened  his  hands  with  them. 
While  I  have,  in  my  poverty,  deeply  sympathized  with  you  and 
your  family,  who,  I  ask,  is  likely  to  be  moved  by  any  exhibition  of 
a  wicked  and  spiteful  temper  on  your  part,  or  is  likely  to  be  dictated 
to  by  you  as  to  their  duties  ? 

u  I  ask  you  to  look  over  your  letter  again.  You  begin  with  say 
ing,  '  With  a  little  energy,  all  will  yet  be  right.'  Is  that  respectful  ? 
and  does  it  come  with  a  good  grace  from  you  to  the  man  you  thus 
address  ?  Look  it  all  over ;  and  if,  after  having  done  so,  you  wish 
him  to  have  it,  —  go  on  !  you  can  do  so.  But  as  a  friend  I  would 
advise  a  very  different  course." 

As  I  conclude  Forbes  does  not  hold  you  as  deeply  committed  to 
him,  he  may  listen  to  you ;  and  I  hope  he  will.  I  want  to  see  how 
a  sharp  but  well-merited  rebuke  will  affect  him ;  and  should  it  have 
the  desired  effect,  I  would  like  to  get  a  draft  for  forty  dollars,  pay 
able  to  his  order,  and  remit  him  at  once.  I  do  not  mean  to  dic 
tate  to  you,  as  he  does  to  me ;  but  I  am  anxious  to  understand  him 
fully  before  we  go  any  further,  and  shall  be  glad  of  the  earliest 
information  of  the  result.  .  .  . 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Having  established  his  little  company  at  Springdale,  in 
Iowa,  under  the  military  instruction  of  Stephens,  who  had 
served  in  the  United  States  Army,  Brown  came  eastward 
in  January,  1858,  —  first  to  West  Andover,  in  Ohio,  where 
his  son  John  was  then  living,  and  soon  after  to  Eochester, 
N.  Y.,  where  he  showed  himself,  early  in  February,  to  his 
good  friend  Frederick  Douglass,  and  took  shelter  from  ob 
servation  in  his  house.  Douglass  says  :  "  Brown  desired  to 
stop  with  me  several  weeks,  but  added,  '  I  will  not  stay  un 
less  you  will  allow  me  to  pay  board.'  Knowing  that  he  was 
no  trifler,  but  meant  all  he  said,  and  desirous  of  retaining 
him  under  my  roof,  I  charged  three  dollars  a  week.  WThile 
here  he  spent  most  of  his  time  in  correspondence.  He 

28 


434  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

wrote  often  to  George  L.  Stearns,  of  Boston,  Gerrit  Smith, 
of  Peterboro',  and  many  others,  and  received  many  let 
ters  in  return.  When  he  was  not  writing  letters,  he  was 
writing  and  revising  a  constitution,  which  he  meant  to  put 
in  operation  by  the  men  who  should  go  with  him  in  the 
Virginia  mountains.  He  said  that  to  avoid  anarchy  and 
confusion,  there  should  be  a  regularly  constituted  govern 
ment,  which  each  man  who  came  with  him  should  be  sworn 
to  honor  and  support.  I  have  a  copy  of  this  constitution, 
in  Captain  Brown's  own  handwriting,  as  prepared  by  him 
self  at  my  house."  Douglass  adds  :  — 

"  His  whole  time  and  thought  were  given  to  this  subject.  It  was 
the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  and  the  last  thing  at  night  ;  till,  I 
confess,  it  "began  to  be  something  of  a  bore  to  me.  Once  in  a  while 
he  would  say  he  could,  with  a  few  resolute  men,  capture  Harper's 
Ferry  and  supply  himself  with  arms"  belonging  to  the  Government  at 
that  place  ;  but  he  never  announced  his  intention  to  do  so.  It  was, 
however,  very  evidently  passing  in  his  mind  as  a  thing  that  he  might 
do.  I  paid  but  little  attention  to  such  remarks,  although  I  never 
doubted  that  he  thought  just  what  he  said.  Soon  after  his  coming  to 
me  he  asked  me  to  get  for  him  two  smoothly  planed  boards,  upon  which 
he  could  illustrate,  with  a  pair  of  dividers,  by  a  drawing,  the  plan  of 
fortification  which  he  meant  to  adopt  in  the  mountains.  These  forts 
were  to  be  so  arranged  as  to  connect  one  with  the  other  by  secret 
passages,  so  that  if  one  was  carried  another  could  be  easily  fallen 
back  upon,  and  be  the  means  of  dealing  death  to  the  enemy  at  the 
very  moment  when  he  might  think  himself  victorious.  I  was  less 
interested  in  these  drawings  than  my  children  were;  but  they 
showed  that  the  old  man  had  an  eye  to  the  means  as  well  as  to 
the  end,  and  was  giving  his  best  thought  to  the  work  he  was  about 
to  take  in  hand." 

From  Douglass's  house  Brown  wrote  again  to  Theodore 
Parker  in  these  words  :  — 

ROCHESTER,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  2,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  again  out  of  Kansas,  and  am  at  this  time 
concealing  my  whereabouts ;  but  for  very  different  reasons,  however, 
from  those  I  had  for  doing  so  at  Boston  last  spring.  I  have  nearly 
perfected  arrangements  for  carrying  out  an  important  measure  in 
which  the  world  has  a  deep  interest,  as  well  as  Kansas ;  and  only 
lack  from  five  to  eight  hundred  dollars  to  enable  me  to  do  so,  —  the 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  485 

same  object  for  which  I  asked  for  secret-service  money  last  fall.  It 
is  my  only  errand  here  j  and  I  have  written  to  some  of  our  mutual 
friends  in  regard  to  it,  but  they  none  of  them  understand  my  views 
so  well  as  you  do,  and  I  cannot  explain  without  their  first  committing 
themselves  more  than  I  know  of  their  doing.  I  have  heard  that 
Parker  Pillsbury  and  some  others  in  your  quarter  hold  out  ideas 
similar  to  those  on  which  I  act ;  but  I  have  no  personal  acquaintance 
with  them,  and  know  nothing  of  their  influence  or  means.  Cannot 
you  either  by  direct  or  indirect  action  do  something  to  further  me  f 
Do  you  not  know  of  some  parties  whom  you  could  induce  to  give 
their  abolition  theories  a  thoroughly  practical  shape  ?  I  hope  this 
will  prove  to  be  the  last  time  I  shall  be  driven  to  harass  a  friend  in 
such  a  way.  Do  you  think  any  of  my  Ganlsonian  friends,  either  at 
Boston,  Worcester,  or  any  other  place,  can  be  induced  to  supply  a 
little  "  straw/'  if  I  will  absolutely  make  u  bricks"?  I  have  written 
George  L.  Stearns,  Esq.,  of  Mcdford,  and  Mr.  F.  B.  Sanborn,  of 
Concord  ;  but  I  am  not  informed  as  to  how  deeply-dyed  Abolitionists 
those  friends  are,  and  must  beg  you  to  consider  this  communication 
strictly  confidential,  —  unless  you  know  of  parties  who  will  feel  and 
act,  and  hold  their  peace.  I  want  to  bring  the  thing  about  during 
the  next  sixty  days.  Please  write  N.  Hawkins,  care  William  J. 
Watkins,  Esq.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN.1 

Brown's  letters  of  the  same  date  and  for  a  few  weeks  af 
ter,  to  Colonel  Higginson  and  to  me,  were  of  a  similar  tenor, 
though  rather  more  explicit ;  but  they  conveyed  no  distinct 
intimation  of  his  plans.  He  wrote  to  Higginson,  February 
2.  from  Kochester:  "I  am  here,  concealing  my  whereabouts 
for  good  reasons  (as  I  think),  —  not,  however,  from  any 
anxiety  about  my  personal  safety.  I  have  been  told  that  you 
are  both  a  true  man  and  a  true  Abolitionist,  and  I  partly 
believe  the  whole  story.  Last  fall  I  undertook  to  raise  from 
five  hundred  to  one  thousand  dollars  for  secret  service,  and 
succeeded  in  getting  five  hundred  dollars.  I  now  want  to 
get,  for  the  perfecting  of  by  far  the  most  important  under 
taking  of  my  whole  life,  five  hundred  to  eight  hundred 
dollars  within  the  next  sixty  days.  I  have  written  Eev. 
Theodore  Parker,  George  L.  Stearns,  and  F.  B.  Sanborn, 
Esqs.,  on  the  subject,  but  I  do  not  know  as  either  Mr. 

1  Weiss's  Life  of  Theodore  Parker,  vol.  ii.  pp.  163,  164. 


436  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

Stearns  or  Mr.  Sanborn  are  Abolitionists.  I  suppose  they 
are."  On  the  12th  of  February  he  wrote  again,  in  response 
to  a  remark  in  Higginson's  reply  about  the  Underground 
Railroad  in  Kansas  :  "  Railroad  business  on  a  somewhat  ex 
tended  scale  is  the  identical  object  for  which  I  am  trying  to 
get  means.  I  have  been  connected  with  that  business,  as 
commonly  conducted,  from  my  boyhood,  and  never  let  an  i 
opportunity  slip.  I  have  been  operating  to  some  purpose 
the  past  season  ;  but  I  now  have  a  measure  on  foot  that  I 
feel  sure  would  awaken  in  you  something  more  than  a  com 
mon  interest  if  you  could  understand  it.  I  have  just  writ 
ten  my  friends  G-.  L.  Stearns  and  F.  B.  Sanborn,  asking  them 
to  meet  me  for  consultation  at  Peterboro',  N.  Y.  I  am 
very  anxious  to  have  you  come  along,  certain  as  I  feel  that 
you  will  never  regret  having  been  one  of  the  council."  It 
was  inconvenient  for  any  of  the  persons  addressed  to  take 
the  long  journey  proposed;  and  on  the  13th  I  wrote  for 
myself  and  Mr.  Stearns,  inviting  Brown  to  visit  Boston,  and 
offering  to  pay  his  travelling  expenses.  To  this  request 
Brown  replied,  February  17 :  "  It  would  be  almost  impos 
sible  for  me  to  pass  through  Albany,  Springfield,  or  any  of 
those  parts,  on  my  way  to  Boston,  and  not  have  it  known ; 
and  my  reasons  for  keeping  quiet  are  such  that  when  I  left 
Kansas  I  kept  it  from  every  friend  there ;  and  I  suppose  it 
is  still  understood  that  I  am  hiding  somewhere  in  the  Terri 
tory  ;  and  such  will  be  the  idea  until  it  comes  to  be  gener 
ally  known  that  I  am  in  these  parts.  I  want  to  continue 
that  impression  as  long  as  I  can,  or  for  the  present.  I  want 
very  much  to  see  Mr.  Stearns,  and  also  Mr.  Parker,  and  it 
may  be  that  I  can  before  long ;  but  I  must  decline  accepting 
your  kind  offer  at  present,  and,  sorry  as  I  am  to  do  so,  ask 
you  both  to  meet  me  by  the  middle  of  next  week  at  the 
furthest.  I  wrote  Mr.  Higginson,  of  Worcester,  to  meet  me 
also.  It  may  be  he  would  come  on  with  you.  My  reasons 
for  keeping  still  are  sufficient  to  keep  me  from  seeing  my 
wife  and  children,  much  as  I  long  to  do  so.  I  will  endeavor 
to  explain  when  I  see  you." l 

1  This  letter  was  written  from  Douglass's  house,  at  Rochester,  but  fixed 
the  place  of  meeting  at  Genlt  Smith's  house  in  Peterboro'.  At  this  time 
one  of  my  Kansas  correspondents  sent  word  that  Brown  had  disappeared  - 


1858.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  437 

On  the  7th  of  February  ray  friend  Edwin  Morton  wrote 
me  from  Gerrit  Smith's  house,  giving  the  substance  of  a 
similar  letter  which  Smith  had  just  received  from  Brown. 
"  He  wants  from  five  to  eight  hundred  dollars  for  secret 
service,  and  thinks  he  can  do  more  with  it  than  all  that  has 
yet  been  done.  That  is  his  errand.  He  wishes  to  avoid 
publicity,  and  so  does  not  come  here,  and  will  not  see  his 
family.  Meantime  he  is  staying  with  Fred  Douglass  under 
the  nom  de  guerre  of  N.  Hawkins,  —  to  which  name  he  de 
sires  letters  addressed,  care  of  Douglass.  This  is  news,  — • 
he  'expects  to  overthrow  slavery'  in  a  large  part  of  the 
country."  On  the  19th  of  February  Morton  wrote  me  again  : 
"John  Brown  is  here,  and  asks  me  to  say  he  is  waiting  here 
to  see  you.  If  you  cannot  come  within  the  time  he  named, 
—  say  the  middle  of  next  week,  —  let  him  know  by  letter 
here  (Peterboro'),  enclosed  to  me,  when  you  can  come.  He 
says  't  is  not  possible  for  him  to  go  East  under  the  circum 
stances.  He  would  very  much  like  to  see  you.  He  is  pleased 
to  find  Mr.  Smith  more  in  harmony  with  his  general  plan 
than  he  thought  he  might  be."  On  the  next  day  (February 
20)  Brown  himself  wrote  as  follows  to  his  son .  — 

PETERBORO',  N.  Y.,  Feb.  20,  1858. 

DEAR  SON  JOHN.  —  I  am  here  with  our  good  friends  Gerrit  Smith 
and  wife,  who,  I  am  most  happy  to  tell  you,  are  ready  to  go  in  fur 
a  share  in  the  whole  trade.  I  will  say  (in  the  language  of  another), 
in  regard  to  this  most  encouraging  fact,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the 
Lord."  I  seem  to  be  almost  marvellously  helped  ;  and  to  His  name 
be  praise !  I  had  to-day  no  particular  thing  to  write,  other  than  to 
let  you  share  in  my  encouragement.  I  have  been  looking  for  a  letter 
from  you  to  be  forwarded  from  Kochester ;  and  may  get  one  to-day. 
When  I  get  one,  will  write  you  further.  I  do  not  expect  to  remain 
here  long,  but  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  write  me  here,  enclosing  to 
Caleb  Calkins,1  Esq.,  Peterboro',  Madison  County,  N.  Y.  Jason 
and  family  well  on  the  8th. 

Your  affectionate  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

from  among  them,  and  that  some  of  the  Kansas  people  thought  him  insane. 
All  this,  combined  with  the  complaints  and  intimations  of  Forbes,  led  me 
to  imagine  that  Brown  had  some  plan  for  an  uprising  of  slaves  ;  but,  if  so, 
I  supposed  it  would  be  on  the  Kansas  border,  or  in  some  part  of  Missouri. 
1  This  was  the  faithful  clerk  of  Gerrit  Smith,  to  whose  hands  most  of 


438  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858 

Feb.  22. 

I  have  still  need  of  all  the  help  I  can  possibly  get,  but  am  greatly 
encouraged  in  asking  for  it.  Mr.  Smith  thinks  you  might  operate 
to  more  advantage  in  New  England,  about  Boston,  than  by  going  to 
Washington,  —  say  in  the  large  country  towns.  I  think  he  may  be 
right.  Do  as  you  think  best. 

Yours  ever,  J.  B. 

Theodore  Parker  and  George  Stearns  being  at  the  time  un 
able  to  accept  this  second  and  pressing  request  from  Brown 
for  a  meeting  at  Peterboro',  I  determined  to  go,  and  invited 
Colonel  Higgiuson  to  join  me  at  Worcester,  February  20. 
But  in  fact  I  made  the  journey  alone,  and  reached  Cana- 
stota,  ten  miles  from  Peterboro',  on  the  afternoon  of  Mon 
day,  February  22.  There  I  either  took  the  stage-coach,  or 
was  met  by  Mr.  Smith's  sleigh,  and  drove  up  over  the  hills 
to  his  house,  where  I  arrived  early  in  the  evening  of  W7ash- 
ington's  birthday.  Brown  had  been  there  since  the  preced 
ing  Thursday,  and  had  unfolded  much  of  his  plan  to  the 
•  Smiths.  After  dinner,  and  after  a  few  minutes  spent  with 
other  guests  in  the  parlor,  I  went  with  Mr.  Smith,  John 
Brown,  and  my  classmate  Morton,  to  the  room  of  Mr.  Mor 
ton  in  the  third  story.  Here,  in  the  long  winter  evening 
which  followed,  the  whole  outline  of  Brown's  campaign  in 
Virginia  was  laid  before  our  little  council,  to  the  astonish 
ment  and  almost  the  dismay  of  those  present.  The  constitu 
tion  which  he  had  drawn  up  for  the  government  of  his  men, 
and  of  such  territory  as  they  might  occupy,  was  exhibited 
by  Brown,  its  provisions  recited  and  explained,  the  proposed 
movements  of  his  men  indicated,  and  the  middle  of  May  was 
named  as  the  time  of  the  attack.  To  begin  this  hazardous 
adventure  he  asked  for  but  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  would 
think  himself  rich  with  a  thousand.  Being  questioned  and 
opposed  by  his  friends,  he  laid  before  them  in  detail  his 
methods  of  organization  and  fortification  ;  of  settlement  in 
the  South,  if  that  were  possible,  and  of  retreat  through  the 

his  large  pecuniary  affairs  were  intrusted,  and  whose  business  it  was  in  such 
matters  as  this  to  "  hear  and  see,  and  say  nothing."  Morton,  at  that  time 
the  tutor  of  Mr.  Smith's  son,  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  of  the  Pilgrim 
stock. 


1853.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  439 

North,  if  necessary ;  and  his  theory  of  the  way  in  which 
such  an  invasion  would  be  received  in  the  country  at  large. 
He  desired  from  his  friends  a  patient  hearing  of  his  state 
ments,  a  candid  opinion  concerning  his  plan,  and,  if  that 
were  favorable,  then  such  aid  in  money  and  support  as  we 
could  give  him.  We  listened  until  after  midnight,  proposing 
objections  and  raising  difficulties ;  but  nothing  could  shake 
the  purpose  of  the  old  Puritan.  Every  difficulty  had  been 
foreseen  and  provided  against  in  some  manner ;  the  grand 
difficulty  of  all, — the  manifest  hopelessness  of  undertaking 
anything  so  vast  with  such  slender  means,  —  was  met  with 
the  text  of  Scripture  :  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against 
us  ?"  He  had  made  nearly  all  his  arrangements  :  he  had  so 
many  men  enlisted,  so  many  hundred  weapons  ;  all  he  now 
wanted  was  the  small  sum  of  money.  With  that  he  would 
open  his  campaign  in  the  spring,  and  he  had  no  doubt  that 
the  enterprise  "  would  pay"  as  he  said. 

On  the  23d  of  February  the  discussion  was  renewed,  and, 
as  usually  happened  when  he  had  time  enough,  Captain 
Brown  began  to  prevail  over  the  objections  of  his  friends.1 
At  any  rate,  they  saw  that  they  must  either  stand  by  him, 
or  leave  him  to  dash  himself  alone  against  the  fortress  he 
was  determined  to  assault.  To  withhold  aid  would  onlyV 
delay,  not  prevent  him  ;  nothing  short  of  betraying  him  to| 
the  enemy  would  do  that.  As  the  sun  was  setting  over  the 
snowy  hills  of  the  region  where  we  met,  I  walked  for  an 
hour  with  Gerrit  Smith  among  those  woods  and  fields  (then 
included  in  his  broad  manor)  which  his  father  had  purchased 
of  the  Indians  and  bequeathed  to  him.  Brown  was  left  at 
home  by  the  fire,  discussing  points  of  theology  with  Charles 
Stewart,  an  old  captain  under  Wellington,  who  also  hap 
pened  to  be  visiting  at  the  house.  Mr.  Smith  restated  in 
his  eloquent  way  the  daring  propositions  of  Brown,  whose 
import  he  understood  fully ;  and  then  said  in  substance  : 
"  You  see  how  it  is  ;  our  dear  old  friend  has  made  up  his 
mind  to  this  course,  and  cannot  be  turned  from  it.  We  V 
cannot  give  him  up  to  die  alone  ;  we  must  support  him.  I 

1   "  Ah,  gentlemen,"  said  Edwin  Coppoc  at  Harper's  Ferry,  "  yon  don't 
know  Captain  Brown  :  when  he  wants  a  man  to  do  a  thing  he  does  it." 


440  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1858. 

will  raise  so  many  hundred  dollars  for  him  ;  you  must  lay 
the  case  before  your  friends  in  Massachusetts  and  perhaps 
they  will  do  the  same.  I  see  no  other  way."  For  myself, 
I  had  reached  the  same  conclusion,  and  engaged  to  bring 
the  scheme  at  once  to  the  attention  of  the  three  Massachu 
setts  men  to  whom  Brown  had  written,  and  also  of  Dr. 
S.  G.  Howe,  who  had  sometimes  favored  action  almost  as 
extreme  as  this  proposed  by  Brown.  I  returned  to  Boston 
on  the  25th  of  February,  and  on  the  sa'me  day  communi 
cated  the  enterprise  to  Theodore  Parker  and  Wentworth 
Higginson.  At  the  suggestion  of  Parker,  Brown,  who  had 
gone  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  was  invited  to  visit  Boston  secretly, 
and  did  so  the  4th  of  March,  taking  a  room  at  the  American 
House,  in  Hanover  Street,  and  remaining  for  the  most  part 
in  his  room  l  during  the  four  days  of  his  stay.  Mr.  Parker 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  project,  but  not  very  san 
guine  of  its  success.  He  wished  to  see  it  tried,  believing 
that  it  must  do  good  even  if  it  failed.  'Brown  remained  at 
the  American  House  until  Monday,  March  8,  when  he  de 
parted  for  Philadelphia.  On  the  6th  of  March  he  wrote  to 
his  son  John  from  Boston  :  "  My  call  here  has  met  with  a 
most  hearty  response,  so  that  I  feel  assured  of  at  least  toler 
able  success.  I  ought  to  be  thankful  for  this.  All  has  been 
effected  by  quiet  meeting  of  a  few  choice  friends,  it  being 
scarcely  known  that  I  have  been  in  the  city." 

Before  visiting  Gerrit  Smith,  and  while  doubly  occupied 
in  managing  his  delicate  negotiation  with  Forbes,  and  ar 
ranging  for  a  full  disclosure  of  his  purposes  to  his  wealthy 
friends,  John  Brown,  from  his  hiding-place  in  Rochester, 
addressed  this  pathetic  letter  to  his  household  in  the  wintry 
forest  of  North  Elba  :  — 

To  his  Family. 

ROCHESTER,  N".  Y.,  Jan.  30,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  am  (praised 
be  God  !)  once  more  in  York  State.  Whether  I  shall  be  permitted 
to  visit  you  or  not  this  winter  or  spring,  I  cannot  now  say ;  but  it  is 
some  relief  of  mind  to  feel  that  I  am  again  so  near  you.  Possibly,  if 
I  cannot  go  to  see  you,  I  may  be  able  to  devise  some  way  for  some 

1  This  was  No.  126,  I  remember. 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  441 

one  or  more  of  you  to  meet  me  somewhere.  The  anxiety  I  feel  to 
see  my  wife  and  children  once  more  I  am  unable  to  describe.  I  want 
exceedingly  to  see  my  big  baby  and  Ruth's  baby,  and  to  see  how  that 
little  company  of  sheep  look  about  this  time.  The  cries  of  my  poor 
sorrow-stricken  despairing  children,  whose  il  tears  on  their  cheeks  " 
are  ever  in  my  eyes,  and  whose  sighs  are  ever  in  my  ears,  may  how 
ever  prevent  my  enjoying  the  happiness  I  so  much  desire.  But, 
courage,  courage,  courage  !  —  the  great  work  of  my  life  (the  unseen 
Hand  that  u  guided  me,  and  who  has  indeed  holden  my  right  hand, 
may  hold  it  still,"  though  I  have  not  known  him  at  all  as  I  ought)  I 
may  yet  see  accomplished  (God  helping),  and  be  permitted  to  return, 
and  u  rest  at  evening." 

0  my  daughter  Ruth  !  could  any  plan  be  devised  whereby  you 
could  let  Henry  go  u  to  school "  (as  you  expressed  it  in  your  letter  to 
him  while  in  Kansas),  I  would  rather  now  have  him  "  for  another 
term  "  than  to  have  a  hundred  average  scholars.  I  have  a  particular 
and  very  important,  but  not  dangerous,  place  for  him  to  fill  in  the 
11  school,"  and  I  know  of  no  man  living  so  well  adapted  to  fill  it.  I 
am  quite  confident  some  way  can  be  devised  so  that  you  and  your 
children  could  be  with  him,  and  be  quite  happy  even,  and  safe ;  but 
God  forbid  me  to  flatter  you  into  trouble  !  I  did  not  do  it  before. 
My  dear  child,  could  you  face  such  music  if,  on  a  full  explanation, 
Henry  could  be  satisfied  that  his  family  might  be  safe  f  I  would 
make  a  similar  inquiry  of  my  own  dear  wife  ;  but  I  have  kept  her 
tumbling  here  and  there  over  a  stormy  and  tempestuous  sea  for  so 
many  years  that  I  cannot  ask  her  such  a  question.  The  natural  in 
genuity  of  Salmon  in  connection  with  some  experience  he  and  Oliver 
have  both  had,  would  point  him  out  as  the  next  best  man  I  could  now 
select ;  but  I  am  dumb  in  his  case,  as  also  in  the  case  of  Watson  and 
all  my  other  sons.  Jason's  qualifications  are,  some  of  them,  like 
Henry's  also. 

Do  not  noise  it  about  that  I  am  in  these  parts,  and  direct  to  N. 
Hawkins,  care  of  Frederick  Douglass,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  I  want  to 
hear  how  you  are  all  supplied  with  winter  clothing,  boots,  etc. 

God  bless  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father,  JOHN  BROWN. 

Ruth's  reply  to  this  letter  should  not  fail  to  be  quoted 
here :  — 

Ruth  Thompson  to  John  Brown. 

NORTH  ELBA,  Feb.  20,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  FATHER,  —  Your  letter  of  January  30  we  received  this 
week,  it  having  lain  in  the  postoffice  a  week.  Oliver  went  to  the 


442  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.          [1858. 

office  and  got  our  news;  there  were  two  letters  for  me,  but  the 
postmaster  did  not  give  him  yours.  We  did  not  get  it  this  week  in 
time  to  answer  it,  or  we  should  have  done  so  immediately.  I  am 
sorry  for  such  a  delay.  We  were  rejoiced  to  hear  that  you  were  so 
near  us,  and  we  hope  that  you  can  visit  us  yet  before  leaving  York 
State.  It  really  seems  hard  that  we  cannot  see  you,  when  you  have 
been  so  long  from  home  j  yet  we  are  glad  that  you  still  feel  encour 
aged.  Dear  father,  you  have  asked  me  rather  of  a  hard  question. 
I  want  to  answer  you  wisely,  but  hardly  know  how.  I  cannot  bear 
the  thought  of  Henry  leaving  me  again  ;  yet  I  know  I  am  selfish. 
When  1  think  of  my  poor  despised  sisters,  that  are  deprived  of  both 
husband  and  children,  I  feel  deeply  for  them ;  and  were  it  not  for 
my  little  children,  I  would  go  almost  anywhere  with  Henry,  if  by 
going  I  could  do  them  any  good.  What  is  the  place  you  wish  him  to 
fill?  How  long  would  you  want  him ?  Would  my  going  be  of  any 
service  to  him  or  you  ?  I  should  be  very  glad  to  be  with  him,  if  it 
would  not  be  more  expense  than  what  good  we  could  do.  I  say  we  ; 
could  I  not  do  something  for  the  cause  ?  Henry's  feelings  are  the 
same  that  they  have  been.  He  says  :  "  Tell  father  that  I  think  he 
places  too  high  an  estimate  on  my  qualifications  as  a  scholar ;  and  tell 
him  I  should  like  much  to  see  him."  I  wish  we  could  see  you,  and 
then  we  should  know  better  what  to  do  ;  but  will  you  not  write  to  us 
and  give  us  a  full  explanation  of  what  you  want  him  to  do  ?  ... 
Please  write  often. 

Your  affectionate  daughter, 

RUTH  THOMPSON. 

In  a  letter  of  February  24  from  Gerrit  Smith's  house, 
Brown  wrote  to  his  wife :  "  I  have  been  here  for  a  short 
time,  and  am  making  middling  good  progress,  I  think. 
Mr.  Smith  and  family  go  all  lengths  with  me."  A  week 
later  he  was  more  explicit :  — 

To  his  Wife. 

NEW  YORK,  March  2,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  — I  received  yours  of  the  17th  of  February  yes 
terday  ;  was  very  glad  of  it,  and  to  know  that  you  had  got  the  ten 
dollars  safe.  I  am  having  a  constant  series  of  both  great  encourage 
ments  and  discouragements,  but  am  yet  able  to  say,  in  view  of  all, 
"  hitherto  the  Lord  hath  helped  me."  I  shall  send  Salmon  some 
thing  as  soon  as  I  can,  and  will  try  to  get  you  the  articles  you  men 
tion.  I  find  a  much  more  earnest  feeling  among  the  colored  people 


1858.1 


THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  448 


than  ever  before  ;  but  that  is  by  no  means  unusual.  On  the  whole, 
the  language  of  Providence  to  me  would  certainly  seern  to  say, 
"  Try  on."  I  flatter  myself  that  1  may  be  able  to  go  and  see  you 
again  before  a  great  while ;  but  I  may  not  be  able.  I  long  to  see 
you  all.  All  were  well  with  John  and  Jason  a  few  days  since.  I 
had  a  good  visit  with  Mr.  Sanborn  at  Gerrit  Smith's  a  few  days  ago. 
It  would  be  no  very  strange  thing  if  he  should  join  me.  May  God 
abundantly  bless  you  all !  No  one  writes  rne  but  you. 
Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

As  this  letter  shows,  Brown  had  left  Peterboro'  in  or 
der  to  visit  and  confer  with  the  colored  people  of  New 
York,  Brooklyn,  and  Philadelphia  concerning  his  main 
plan.  He  was  to  have  visited  Philadelphia  with  Douglass 
before  going  to  Boston ;  but  while  in  Brooklyn  he  received 
this  letter  from  Douglass  :  — 

SYRACUSE,  Feb.  27,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  — When  we  parted,  we  were  to  meet  in  Phila 
delphia  on  Friday,  March  5.  I  write  now  to  postpone  going  to 
Philadelphia  until  Wednesday,  March  10.  Please  write  me  at 
Kochester  if  this  will  do,  and  if  you  wish  me  to  come  at  that  time. 
You  can,  I  hope,  find  work  enough  in  and  about  New  York  up  to 
that  date.  Please  make  my  warmest  regards  to  Mrs.  and  Mr. 
Gloucester,  and  accept  that  and  more  for  yourself. 

FRED  DOUGLASS. 

JOHN  BROWN,  ESQ. 

Brown  answered  this  note  March  2,  and  had  previously 
written  me  from  Brooklyn  as  follows  :  — 

BROOKLYN,  Feb.  26,  1858. 
F.  B.  SANBORN,  ESQ.,  Concord,  Mass. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  want  to  put  into  the  hands  of  my  young 
men  copies  of  Plutarch's  "  Lives,"  Irving's  "  Life  of  Washington," 
the  best-written  Life  of  Napoleon,  and  other  similar  books,  together 
with  maps  and  statistics  of  States.  Could  you  not  find  persons  who 
might  be  induced  to  contribute  old  copies  (or  other  ones)  of  that 
character,  or  find  some  person  who  would  be  willing  to  undertake  to 
collect  some  for  me  ?  I  also  want  to  get  a  quantity  of  best  white 
cotton  drilling,  —  some  hundred  pieces,  if  I  can  get  it.  The  use  of 
this  article  I  will  hereafter  explain.  Mr.  Morton  will  forward  your 


444  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

letter  here  to  me.  Anything  you  may  be  disposed  to  say  to  me 
within  two  or  three  days  please  enclose  to  James  N.  Gloucester, 
No.  265  Bridge  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  Persons  who  would  devote  their  time  to  the  good  work,  as 
agents  in  different  parts,  might  do  incalculable  good.  Can  you  find 
any  such  ? 

Yours,  J.  B. 

From  Gerrit  Smith's  house,  the  day  I  departed  for  Bos 
ton,  Brown  wrote  to  me  one  of  those  touching  and  prophetic 
letters  which  so  seldom  flowed  from  his  pen,  and  which  I 
have  cherished  as  the  most  complete  evidence  of  his  confi 
dence  in  my  friendship  and  unison  with  him :  — 

John  Brown  to  F.  B.  Sanborn. 

PETERBORO',  N.  Y.,  Feb.  24,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Mr.  Morton  has  taken  the  liberty  of  saying 
to  me  that  you  felt  half  inclined  to  make  a  common  cause  with  me. 
I  greatly  rejoice  at  this  ;  for  I  believe  when  you  come  to  look  at  the 
ample  field  I  labor  in,  and  the  rich  harvest  which  not  only  this  entire 
country  but  the  whole  world  during  the  present  and  future  genera 
tions  may  reap  from  its  successful  cultivation,  you  will  feel  that  you 
are  out  of  your  element  until  you  find  you  are  in  it,  an  entire  unit. 
What  an  inconceivable  amount  of  good  you  might  so  effect  by  your 
counsel,  your  example,  your  encouragement,  your  natural  and  ac 
quired  ability  for  active  service !  And  then,  how  very  little  we  can 

possibly  lose  !  Certainly  the  cause  is  enough  to  live  for,  if  not  to 

for.  I  have  only  had  this  one  opportunity,  in  a  life  of  nearly  sixty 
years  ;  and  could  I  be  continued  ten  times  as  long  again,  I  might 
not  again  have  another  equal  opportunity.  God  has  honored  but 
comparatively  a  very  small  part  of  mankind  with  any  possible  chance 
for  such  mighty  and  soul-satisfying  rewards.  But,  my  dear  friend, 
if  you  should  make  up  your  mind  to  do  so,  I  trust  it  will  be  wholly 
from  the  promptings  of  your  own  spirit,  after  having  thoroughly 
counted  the  cost.  I  would  Hatter  no  man  into  such  a  measure,  if  I 
could  do  it  ever  so  easily. 

I  expect  nothing  bat  to  "  endure  hardness  ;"  but  I  expect  to  effect 
a  mighty  conquest,  even  though  it  be  like  the  last  victory  of  Sam 
son.  I  felt  for  a  number  of  years,  in  earlier  life,  a  steady,  strong 


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1858.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  445 

desire  to  die  :  but  since  I  saw  any  prospect  of  becoming  a  "  reaper  " 
in  the  great  harvest,  I  have  not  only  felt  quite  willing  to  live,  but 
have  enjoyed  life  much ;  and  am  now  rather  anxious  to  live  for  a 
few  years  more. 

Your  sincere  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN.1 

Till  I  follow  my  noble  friend  to  that  other  world  on 
which  his  hopes  were  fixed,  I  can  never  read  this  letter 
without  emotion.  Yet  it  did  not  persuade  me  to  comply 
with  his  wish.  Long  accustomed  to  guide  my  life  by  lead 
ings  and  omens  from  that  shrine  whose  oracles  may  destroy 
but  can  never  deceive,  I  listened  in  vain,  through  months 
of  doubt  and  anxiety,  for  a  clear  and  certain  call.  But  it 
was  revealed  to  me  that  no  confidence  could  be  too  great, 
no  trust  nor  affection  too  extreme,  towards  this  aged  poor 
man  whom  the  Lord  had  chosen  as  his  champion.  In  any 
event  of  his  designs,  —  had  he  failed  as  conspicuously  as 
he  has  succeeded,  —  I  could  still  have  had  nothing  to  regret 
in  the  little  aid  I  afforded  him,  except  that  I  could  not  aid 
him  more.  The  work  upon  which  he  entered  was  danger 
ous,  and  even  desperate ;  none  saw  this  better  than  those 
who  stood  with  him :  but  his  commission  was  from  a  Court 
that  could  bear  him  out,  whatever  the  result.  It  is  a 
maxim  even  of  worldly  prudence  that  desperate  diseases 
require  desperate  remedies,  —  in  rebus  arduis  ac  tenui  spe 
fortissimo,  quoeque  consilia  stint  optima.  But  it  is  also  the 

1  This  letter,  which  is  now  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Stearns,  was  received 
by  me  soon  after  my  return  to  Concord.  On  my  way  through  Boston  I 
had  communicated  to  Theodore  Parker  (at  his  house  in  Exeter  Place,  to 
which  I  had  taken  Brown  in  January,  1857,  and  where  he  met  Mr.  Gar 
rison  and  other  Abolitionists)  the  substance  of  Brown's  plan  ;  and  upon 
receiving  the  letter  I  transmitted  it  to  Parker.  He  retained  it,  so  that  it 
was  out  of  my  possession  in  October,  1859,  when  I  destroyed  most  of  the 
letters  of  Brown  and  others  which  could  compromise  our  friends.  Some 
time  afterward,  probably  in  1862,  when  Parker  had  been  dead  two  years, 
my  letters  to  him  came  back  to  me,  and  among  them  this  epistle.  It  has 
to  me  an  extreme  value,  from  its  association  with  the  memory  of  my  best 
and  noblest  friends  ;  but  in  itself  it  is  also  a  remarkable  utterance.  That 
it  did  not  draw  me  into  the  field  as  one  of  Brown's  band  was  due  to  the 
circumstance  that  the  interests  of  other  persons  were  then  too  much  in  my 
hands  and  in  my  thoughts  to  permit  a  change  of  my  whole  course  of  life. 


446  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  11858. 

privilege  of  heroism,  as  of  beauty  and  of  sanctity,  to  im 
pose  its  own  conditions  upon  the  beholder :  they  claim  and 
they  receive  their  due  homage.     A  casual  glance,  a  frivo 
lous  mind,  might  be  deceived  in  John  Brown.     His  homely 
garb    and   plain  manners   did   not   betoken  greatness,   but 
neither  could  they  disguise  it.     That  antique  and  magnani 
mous  character  which  amid  wounds  and  fetters  and  fero 
cious   insults    suddenly    fastened   the   gaze   of    the   whole 
world  ;  those  words  of  startling  simplicity  uttered  among 
the   corpses   of   his  men,  or  before  his   judges,  or  in  his 
prison  cell,  and  listened  to  by  all  mankind,  —  all  things 
that  were  peculiar  to  John  Brown  and  distinguished  him 
among  the  multitude,  lost  nothing  of  their  force  when  he 
was,  seen  at  nearer  view  and  heard  within  the  walls  of  a 
chamber.     That  impressive   personality,   whose   echoes   so 
long  rilled  the  air  of  our  camps,  lacked  nothing  of  its  effect 
upon  the  few  who  came  within  his  influence   before   the 
world  recognized  him.     We  saw  this  lonely  and   obscure 
old  man  choosing  poverty  before  wealth,  renouncing   the 
ties  of  affection,  throwing  away  his  ease,  his  reputation, 
and  his  life  for  the  sake  of  a  despised  race  and  for  "  zeal  to 
his  country's  ancient  liberties."     Moved  by  this  example, 
shamed   by  this   generosity,   was  it   to  be   imagined   that 
young  men  and  devoted  Abolitionists  would  examine  cau 
tiously  the  grounds  of  prudence,  or  timidly  follow  a  scrupu 
lous  conservatism  ?     Without  accepting  Brown's   plans  as 
reasonable,  we  were  prepared  to  second  them  merely  because 
they  were  his,  —  under  the  impulse  of   that  sentiment  to 
which  Andrew  afterward   gave   utterance  when   he   said  : 
"  Whatever  might  be  thought  of  John  Brown's  acts,  John 
Brown  himself  was  right"     Three  courses  were  open  to  us, 
—  to  aid  him  so  far  as  we  could  ;  to  discountenance  and  op 
pose  his  plans  ;  or  to  remain  neutral.     Of  course  there  was 
no  thought  of  betraying  his  confidence,  nor  of  treating  him 
as  a  madman  incapable  of  counsel.     And  it  was  soon  evi 
dent  that  where  Brown  was  concerned  there  could  be  no 
neutrality  and  no  indifference. 

In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1858  the  Kansas  rifles,  pistols, 
etc.,  were  in  the  care  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  to  whom  his  father 
wrote  from  Mr.  Smith's  house,  Feb.  23,  1858  :  — 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  447 

u  I  have  become  satisfied  that  it  will  be  entirely  best  to  have  all 
my  freight  removed  from  Conneaut,  and  stored  away  safe  with  very 
quiet  friends,  and  all  marks  removed  from  the  boxes.1  I  have  lately 
learned  of  some  circumstances  which  satisfy  me  that  this  will  certainly 
be  a  prudent  measure ;  and  I  wish  you  to  effect  it  as  soon  as  you  can 
without  extra  effort  and  sacrifice.  Have  not  heard  from  you  for  some 
days.  Write  N.  Hawkins,  care  of  F.  Douglass." 

The  arrival  of  Brown  in  Boston  was  thus  indicated, 
Parker  being  the  first  to  learn  it :  — 

Brown  to  Theodore  Parker. 

AMERICAN  HOUSE,  BOSTON,  March  4,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  see  you  at  my  room 
(126)  in  this  house,  at  any  and  at  all  hours  that  may  suit  your  own 
convenience,  or  that  of  friends.  Mr.  Sanborn  asked  me  to  be  here 
by  Friday  evening,  and  as  I  was  anxious  to  have  all  the  time  I  could 
get,  I  came  on  at  once.  Please  call  by  yourself  and  with  friends  as 
you  can.  Please  inquire  for  Mr.  (not  Captain)  Brown,  of  New 
York.  Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

Parker  was  one  of  the  first  persons  who  called  on  Brown 
during  his  short  visit  to  Boston,  which  it  was  then  sup 
posed  would  be  his  last  until  he  should  have  struck  his 
great  blow  in  Virginia.  I  had  come  from  Gerrit  Smith's 
house  directly  to  Parker's  house  in  Boston,  and  had  com 
municated  Brown's  plans  to  Parker  at  Brown's  request  and 
Smith's.  On  the  same  day  at  Worcester,2  and  the  next  day 
at  Boston,  I  told  Higginsori  and  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe,  as  Brown 
desired  me  to  do.  I  asked  him  what  I  should  say  to  Mr. 

1  See  note  at  the  end  of  Chapter  XIII.,  for  the  disposal  of  these  arms 
and  their  removal  to  Harper's  Ferry. 

2  Before  Brown  had  quite  converted  us  to  his  support  at  Peterboro',  on 
the  23d  of  February,  I  began  a  letter  to  Higginson  which  was  never  fin 
ished,  but  on  the  back  of  which  Brown  that  day  drew  rude  outlines  of  his 
Virginia  forts.     I  have  this  sheet  still  ;  the  fragment  runs  thus  :   "DEAR 
FRIEND,  — You  ought  to  be  here  to  see  our  friend  Hawkins,  who  is  about 
entering  largely  into  the  wool  business,  in  which  he  has  been  more  or  less 
engaged  all  his  life.     He  now  has  a  plan  —  the  result  of  many  years'  care 
ful  study  —  "     Here  the  note  ends  ;  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  sheet  are 
Brown's  pencillings,  above  which  1  then  wrote,  "Woollen  machinery,  in 
vented  by  N.  Hawkins." 


448  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1858. 

Stearns.  Brown  replied  that  he  would  make  the  communi 
cation  himself  in  Boston,  as  he  did  about  March  5.  He  de 
sired  that  Wendell  Phillips  should  not  be  informed,  nor  did 
he  ever  reveal  his  plans  fully  to  Phillips.  On  the  suc 
ceeding  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sunday  he  saw  Parker,  Dr. 
Howe,  Mr.  Stearns,  Mr.  Higginson,  and  two  or  three  other 
persons.  He  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  show  himself  at 
Parker's  Sunday-evening  reception,  on  the  7th  of  March,  as 
he  had  done  when  in  Boston  the  year  before ;  and  therefore 
he  wrote  Mr.  Parker  a  letter,  which  I  carried  to  him  that 
afternoon. 

Brown  to    Theodore  Parker. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  March  7,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Since  you  know  I  have  an  almost  countless  brood 
of  poor  hungry  chickens  to  "  scratch  for,"  you  will  not  reproach  me 
for  scratching  even  on  the  Sabbath.  At  any  rate,  I  trust  God  will 
not.  I  want  you  to  undertake  to  provide  a  substitute  for  an  address 
you  saw  last  season,  directed  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  United 
States  Army.  The  ideas  contained  in  that  address  I  of  course  like, 
for  I  furnished  the  skeleton.  I  never  had  the  ability  to  clothe  those 
ideas  in  language  at  all  to  satisfy  myself;  and  I  was  by  no  means 
satisfied  with  the  style  of  that  address,  and  do  not  know  as  I  can  give 
any  correct  idea  of  what  I  want.  I  will,  however,  try. 

In  the  first  place  it  must  be  short,  or  it  will  not  be  generally  read. 
It  must  be  in  the  simplest  or  plainest  language,  without  the  least 
affectation  of  the  scholar  about  it,  and  yet  be  worded  with  great 
clearness  and  power.  The  anonymous  writer  must  (in  the  language 
of  the  Paddy)  be  "  afther  others,"  and  not  "  afther  himself  at  all,  at 
all."  If  the  spirit  that  communicated  Franklin's  Poor  Richard  (or 
some  other  good  spirit)  would  dictate,  I  tbink  it  would  be  quite  as 
well  employed  as  the  "  dear  sister  spirits"  have  been  for  some  years 
past.  The  address  should  be  appropriate,  and  particularly  adapted 
to  the  peculiar  circumstances  we  anticipate,  and  should  look  to  the 
actual  change  of  service  from  that  of  Satan  to  the  service  of  God.  It 
should  be,  in  short,  a  most  earnest  and  powerful  appeal  to  men's 
sense  of  right  and  to  their  feelings  of  humanity.  Soldiers  are  men, 
and  no  man  can  certainly  calculate  the  value  and  importance  of  get 
ting  a  single  "  nail  into  old  Captain  Kidd's  chest."  It  should  be 
provided  beforehand,  and  be  ready  in  advance  to  distribute  by  all 
persons,  male  and  female,  who  may  be  disposed  to  favor  the  right. 

I  also  want  a  similar  short  address,  appropriate  to  the  peculiar 
circumstances,  intended  for  all  persons,  old  and  young,  male  and 


1858.]  THE  PLANS  DISCLOSED.  449 

female,  slaveholding  and  non-slaveholding,  to  be  sent  out  broadcast 
over  the  entire  nation.  So  by  every  male  and  female  prisoner  on 
being  set  at  liberty,  and  to  be  read  by  them  during  confinement.  I 
know  that  men  will  listen,  and  reflect  too,  under  such  circumstances. 
Persons  will  hear  your  autislavery.  lectures  and  abolition  lectures 
when  they  have  become  virtually  slaves  themselves.  The  impres 
sions  made  on  prisoners  by  kindness  and  plain  dealing,  instead  of 
barbarous  and  cruel  treatment,  such  as  they  might  give,  and  instead 
of  being  slaughtered  like  wild  reptiles,  as  they  might  very  naturally 
expect,  are  not  only  powerful  but  lasting.  Females  are  susceptible 
of  being  carried  away  entirely  by  the  kindness  of  an  intrepid  and 
magnanimous  soldier,  even  when  his  bare  name  was  but  a  terror  the 
day  previous.1  Now,  dear  sir,  I  have  told  you  about  as  well  as  I 
know  how,  what  I  am  anxious  at  once  to  secure.  Will  you  write 
the  tracts,  or  get  them  written,  so  that  I  may  commence  colporteur? 
Very  respectfully  your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.    If  I  should  never  see  you  again,   please  drop  me  a  line 
(enclosed  to  Stephen  Smith,  Esq.,  Lombard  Street,  Philadelphia), 
at  once,  saying  what  you  will  encourage  me  to  expect.     You  are  at 
liberty  to  make  any  prudent  use  of  this  to  stir  up  any  friend. 
Yours  for  the  right, 

J.  B. 

Perhaps  Brown  was  not  aware  how  hard  was  the  task 
imposed  by  these  masterly  directions  in  the  art  of  writing. 
Parker,  who  was  then  overweighted  with  work,  never  under 
took  to  write  the  tracts  desired,  nor  were  they  written  by 
any  one  else ;  but  Parker  sent  Brown  from  his  library  on 
this  Sunday  the  report  of  General  McClellan  on  the  Euro 
pean  armies,  which  was  then  a  new  book,  and  was  thought 
likely  to  be  of  service  to  Brown.  At  the  same  time  Brown 
praised  Plutarch  as  a  book  he  had  read  with  great  profit  for 

1  A  Kansas  newspaper  said  in  1859  :  "  At  the  sacking  of  Osawatomie 
one  of  the  most  bitter  proslavery  men  in  Lykins  County  was  killed.  His 
name  was  Ed.  Timmons.  Sometime  afterward  Brown  stopped  at  the  log- 
house  where  Timmons  had  lived.  His  widow  and  children  were  there,  and 
in  great  destitution.  He  inquired  into  their  wants,  relieved  their  dis 
tresses,  and  supported  them  until  their  friends  in  Missouri,  informed 
through  Brown  of  the  condition  of  Mrs.  Timmons,  had  time  to  come  to 
her  and  carry  her  to  her  former  home.  Mrs.  Timmons  fully  appreciated 
the  great  kindness  thus  shown  her,  but  never  learned  that  John  Brown 
was  her  benefactor." 

29 


450  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

its  military  and  moral  lessons,  and  particularly  mentioned 
the  life  of  Sertorius,  the  Roman  commander  who  so  long 
carried  on  a  partisan  warfare  in  Spain.  He  wished,  as  he 
had  before  written  me,  to  get  a  few  copies  of  Plutarch  for 
his  men  to  read  in  camp,  and  inquired  particularly  about 
the  best  edition. 

Although  Brown  communicated  freely  to  the  four  persons 
just  named  his  plans  of  attack  and  defence  in  Virginia,  it 
is  not  known  that  he  spoke  to  any  but  me  of  his  pur 
pose  to  surprise  the  arsenal  and  town  of  Harper's  Ferry. 
Both  Dr.  Howe  and  Mr.  Stearns  testified  before  Mason's 
committee,  in  1860,  that  they  were  ignorant  of  Brown's  plan 
of  attack ;  which  was  true  so  far  as  the  place  and  manner 
of  beginning  the  campaign  were  concerned.  It  is  probable 
that  in  1858  Brown  had  not  definitely  resolved  to  seize 
Harper's  Ferry  ;  yet  he  spoke  of  it  to  me  beside  his  coal-fire 
in  the  American  House,  putting  it  as  a  question,  rather,  with 
out  expressing  his  own  purpose.  I  questioned  him  a  little 
about  it ;  but  it  then  passed  from  my  mind,  and  I  did  not 
think  of  it  again  until  the  attack  had  been  made,  a  year  and 
a  half  afterward.  That  it  was  then  seriously  a  part  of  his 
plan  may  be  inferred,  however,  from  letters  to  his  son  John 
written  from  Douglass's  house,  Feb.  4-5,  1858,  in  which  he 
said :  "  I  have  been  thinking  that  I  would  like  to  have  you 
make  a  .trip  to  Bedford,  Chambersburg,  Gettysburg,  and 
Uniontown,  in  Pennsylvania,  travelling  slowly  along,  and 
inquiring  out  every  man  on  the  way,  or  every  family  of  the 
right  stripe,  and  getting  acquainted  with  them  as  much  as 
you  could.  When  you  look  at  the  location  of  those  places, 
you  will  readily  perceive  the  advantage  of  getting  up  some 
acquaintance  in  those  parts."  After  advising  his  son  to  go 
to  Washington  and  call  on  such  members  of  Congress  as  Mr. 
Giddings  and  John  Sherman  of  Ohio,  Dr.  Chaffee  and  Mr. 
Burlingame  of  Massachusetts,  and  Mr.  Olin,  of  Troy,  N.  Y., 
in  hopes  to  raise  five  hundred  or  one  thousand  dollars  by 
their  aid  for  secret  service  ('*  Mr.  Burlingame  gave  me  fifty 
dollars  at  Boston "),  Brown  writes :  "  You  can  say  to  our 
friends  that  I  am  out  from  Kansas  for  that  express  purpose. 
I  think  Mr.  Sherman  and  Giddings  will  give  you  a  good  lift. 
Eli  Thayer  is  a  particular  friend.  I  have  no  doubt  he  would 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  451 

hook  on  his  team.  ...  Do  not  lisp  my  plans  or  theories  of 
any  kind,  other  than  by  mere  hints  to  such  persons  as  will 
first  commit  themselves.  You  may  say  we  are  as  strong 
Abolitionists  as  Gerrit  Smith."  March  4,  Brown  wrote 
from  Boston :  "  As  it  may  require  some  time  to  hunt  out 
friends  at  Bedford,  Chambersburg,  Gettysburg,  Hagerstown, 
Md.,  or  even  Harper's  Ferry,  Va.,  I  would  like  to  have  you 
arrange  your  business  so  as  to  set  out  very  soon,  unless  you 
hear  to  the  contrary  from  me  right  away.  Have  pretty 
much  concluded  not  to  have  you  go  to  Washington.  I  have 
but  little  'trust  in  princes'  myself;  still  I  have  no  doubt 
but  something  might  be  done  there.  I  expect  to  go  from 
here  to  Philadelphia  with  our  Eochester  friend  in  three  or 
four  days."  March  6,  he  wrote  again  from  Boston :  "  My 
call  here  has  met  with  a  most  hearty  response,  so  that  I  feel 
assured  of  at  least  tolerable  success.  I  ought  to  be  thankful 
for  this ;  all  has  been  effected  by  quiet  meetings  of  a  few 
choice  friends,  it  being  scarcely  known  that  I  have  been 
in  the  city.  I  go  from  here  to  Philadelphia,  to  be  there 
by  the  10th  instant.  I  want  you  to  meet  me  there,  if 
possible,  on  or  before  the  15th,  as  I  will  wait  until  then 
to  see  or  learn  from  you.  (Day  before  yesterday,  when  I 
wrote,  I  did  not  fully  understand  what  my  success  would 
be  here.)  I  expect  to  meet  our  Rochester  and  other  choice 
friends  there,  and  to  be  accompanied  by  one,  at  least,  from 
here." 

John  Brown,  Jr.,  accordingly  met  his  father,  with  Doug 
lass,  Henry  Highland  Garnet,  Stephen  Smith,  and  other  col 
ored  men  at  Philadelphia,  conferred  with  them  there,  and 
then  went  on  with  his  father  to  New  York  and  New  Ha 
ven,  where  they  called  (March  18)  at  the  house  of  Mr.  W.  H. 
Russell.  From  New  Haven  they  went,  March  19,  to  New 
York,  and  thence  to  North  Elba,  where  they  arrived  March 
23,  having  travelled  on  foot  from  Elizabethtown  to  save 
time  and  money.  They  remained  at  North  Elba  a  few  days, 
and  reached  the  house  of  Gerrit  Smith,  at  Peterboro',  as  Mr. 
Smith's  diary  shows,  April  2,  1858. 1  They  remained  there 

1  About  a  month  before  the  Forbes  disclosures,  which  caused  the  post 
ponement  of  the  attack  until  1859. 


452  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1858. 

from  ten  o'clock  that  day  till  the  next  morning  at  six,  and 
reported  to  Mr.  Smith  ("  who  seemed  then  fully  acquainted 
with  the  Virginia  plan,  and  in  hearty  sympathy  with  it," 
says  John  Brown,  Jr.)  what  had  been  said  and  done  at  Bos 
ton  and  Philadelphia.  I  had  already  written  to  Mr.  Smith, 
according  to  our  agreement  of  February  23,  what  Brown's 
Boston  friends  could  and  would  do.  Both  father  and  son 
discussed  the  plan  with  Mr.  Smith  in  his  study,  and  Mrs. 
Smith  took  part  in  the  conversation,  as  she  had  done  when 
I  was  at  Peterboro'  six  weeks  before.  During  the  afternoon 
Brown  and  Smith  walked  out  to  Mr.  Smith's  former  home, 
a  mile  or  two  away,  and  talked  over  the  scheme  alone. 
When  they  returned,  Mr.  Smith  (says  John  Brown,  Jr.,) 
"  was  buoyant  and  hopeful  about  it,  and  showed  great  ani 
mation  and  interest." 

From  Peterboro'  the  father  and  son  went  to  the  house  of 
Douglass,  in  Rochester,  where  they  separated  about  April 
4,  1858,  John  Brown  proceeding  at  once  to  St.  Catherine's 
in  Canada,  whence  he  wrote  to  his  son  on  the  8th  of  April 
as  follows :  — 

lt  I  came  on  here  direct  with  J.  W.  Loguen  the  day  after  you 
left  Rochester.  I  am  succeeding,  to  all  appearance,  beyond  my  ex 
pectations.  Harriet  Tubman  hooked  on  his  whole  team  at  once.1  He 
(Harriet)  is  the  most  of  a  man,  naturally,  that  I  ever  met  with. 
There  is  the  most  abundant  material,  and  of  the  right  quality,  in 
this  quarter,  beyond  all  doubt.  Do  not  forget  to  write  Mr.  Case 
(near  Rochester)  at  once  about  hunting  up  every  person  and  family 
of  the  reliable  kind  about,  at,  or  near  Bedford,  Chambersburg, 
Gettysburg,  and  Carlisle,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  also  Hagerstown  and 
vicinity,  Maryland,  and  Harper's  Fei'nj,  Va.  The  names  and  resi 
dences  of  all,  I  want  to  have  sent  me  at  Linden  ville." 

This  shows  that  Brown  was  constantly  thinking  of  the 
place  where  he  finally  made  the  attack ;  yet  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  declares  that  he  did  not  suppose  that  to  be  the  place 
fixed  upon,  but  some  less  accessible  spot  in  the  mountains 
near  by.  He  testified  on  this  point  in  1867  :  "  According 
to  the  plans  of  John  Brown,  as  explained  to  me  by  him,  and 
talked  over  at  an  interview  between  John  Brown,  Gerrit 

1  This  was  a  woman.     See  p.  453. 


1858.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  453 

Smith,  and  myself  in  the  summer  of  1859,  *  Harper's  Ferry 
was  not  designated  as  the  place  of  attack,  nor  was  any  par 
ticular  place  named ;  but  it  was  expressly  stated  that  the 
first  blow  would  be  struck  at  some  place  in  Virginia  or 
Maryland  ;  and  the  news  of  the  attack  on  Harper's  Ferry 
surprised  me,  both  on  account  of  the  place  upon  which  it 
had  been  made  and  the  time  when  it  occurred,  as  I  did  not 
expect  it  at  so  early  a  period." 

On  the  14th  of  April  Brown  was  still  at  St.  Catherine's 
among  the  Canadian  fugitives  from  slavery.  The  woman 
of  whom  he  spoke  in  his  letter  of  April  8  was  temporarily 
living  there  among  those  she  had  helped  away  from  bon 
dage  ;  but  her  more  permanent  home  was  in  Auburn,  N.  Y., 
on  some  property  she  had  bought  of  Senator  Seward.  She 
was  fully  conversant  with  Brown's  plans,  and  did  what  she 
could  in  her  wild  sibylline  way  to  further  them.  From 
Canada  he  went  to  Chicago,  where  he  was  on  the  25th  of 
April.  But  on  his  way  westward  he  sent  this  cautionary 
letter  to  North  Elba  :  — 

To  his  Family. 

INGERSOL,  CANADA  WEST,  April  16,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  Since  I  wrote  you 
I  have  thought  it  possible,  though  not  probable,  that  some  persons 
might  be  disposed  to  hunt  for  any  property  I  may  be  supposed  to 
possess,  on  account  of  liabilities  I  incurred  while  concerned  with  Mr. 
Perkins.  Such  claims  I  ought  not  to  pay  if  I  had  ever  so  much 
given  me  for  my  service  in  Kansas,  as  most  of  you  well  know  1 
gave  up  all  I  then  had  to  Mr.  Perkins  while  with  him.  I  think  if 
Henry  and  Ruth  have  not  yet  made  out  a  deed,  as  was  talked  of, 
they  had  better  not  do  it  at  present,  but  merely  sign  a  receipt  I  now 

1  Allusion  is  here  made  to  a  second  visit  of  John  Brown  and  his  son 
together  at  Peterboro'  a  few  months  before  the  attack.  When  in  consulta 
tion  with  Mr.  Smith,  says  John  Brown,  Jr.,  "  My  father  informed  him  that 
he  had  so  far  got  his  plans  perfected  that  within  a  few  months  at  least  he 
should  strike  the  blow.  The  place  in  Pennsylvania  at  which  arms,  etc., 
should  be  first  sent  had  been  fixed  upon  previous  to  this  time.  It  was 
Chambersburg;  and  the  whole  plan,  as  far  as  then  matured,  was  fully 
made  known  to  Mr.  Smith.  The  exact  place  had  not  been  determined 
on,  but  it  had  been  determined  to  commence  operations  in  the  vicinity 
of  Harper's  Ferry." 


454  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

send,  which  can  be  held  by  Watson ;  and  I  also  think  that  when  the 
contract  of  Gerrit  Smith  with  Franklin  and  Samuel  Thompson  is 
found,  he  had  better  lay  it  by  carefully  with  the  receipt,  and  that  all 
the  family  had  better  decline  saying  anything  about  their  land  mat 
ters.  Should  any  disturbance  ever  be  made,  it  will  most  likely  come 
directly  or  indirectly  through  a  scoundrel  by  the  name  of  Warren, 
wrho  defrauded  Mr.  Perkins  and  me  out  of  several  thousand  dollars. 
He  may  set  persons  we  suppose  to  be  friends  (who  may,  in  fact,  be 
so)  to  inquiring  out  matters.  It  can  do  no  harm  to  decline  saying 
much  about  such  things;  you  can  very  properly  say  the  land  belongs 
to  the  family.1  If  a  deed  has  been  made  by  Henry  and  Ruth,  it 
need  not  be  recorded  at  present.  I  expect  to  leave  for  Iowa  in  a  few 
days  ;  write  me  at  Chicago,  directing  to  Jason  Brown,  care  of  John 
Jones,  Esq.,  Box  764.  May  God  bless  you  all ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  Show  this  to  John  when  he  gets  .on.  Henry  and  Ruth 
should  both  sign  the  receipt. 

SPRINGDALE,  IOWA,  April  27,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  We  start  from  here 
to-day,  and  shall  write  you  again  when  we  stop,  which  will  be  in 
two  or  three  days.  I  have  just  bought  eight  barrels  of  flour  for  you, 
which  will  be  shipped  to  Watson,  care  of  James  A.  Allen,  Westport. 
You  can  divide  it  among  the  different  branches  of  the  family  so  as  to 
make  all  as  comfortable  as  may  be.  If  I  should  not  be  able  to  send 
you  money  to  pay  the  freight,  you  can  perhaps  sell  some  of  it  to 
some  of  your  neighbors  for  cash,  and  pay  the  freight  in  that  way. 
I  shall  try  to  send  you  some  pork  and  leather  soon.  I  am  trying  to 
arrange  so  as  to  have  Henry  come  out  to  see  me  at  Pennsylvania 
with  Oliver  (and  any  others),  if  it  can  be  consistently  done.  I  shall 
write  Oliver  and  any  others  when  and  where  to  find  us,  and  also 
provide  about  travelling  expenses.  They  will  not  probably  be  called 
on  before  the  middle  of  May,  and  possibly  not  so  soon.  May  God 
bless  you  all !  Write  Jason  Brown  at  Chatham,  Canada  West. 
Yours  ever, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  The  flour,  taken  either  by  John,  Henry,  Watson,  or  Sal 
mon,  may  be  credited  to  their  mother.  Do  not  fail  to  write,  all  of 
you,  —  Ellen  as  well  as  the  others.  Yours, 

J.  B. 

1  This  relates  to  the  farms  bought  with  the  subscription  of  one  thousand 
dollars  from  Boston  in  1857. 


1858.]  THE  PLANS  DISCLOSED.  455 

CHICAGO,  ILL.,  April  28,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  The  letters  of 
Henry,  Ruth,  and  Oliver  are  all  received,  and  most  glad  were  we 
to  get  them.  I  am  entirely  satisfied  with  the  arrangement  about 
who  shall  go  out  surveying.  Would  it  be  entirely  satisfactory  all 
round  to  have  Henry  manage  the  farms  for  both  families,  and  let 
Watson  go  with  Oliver  and  friend  Hinkley?  Say  frankly,  wife  and 
all  concerned.  Ten  of  the  company  got  here  this  morning ;  three 
more  will  probably  be  on  to-morrow.  We  that  are  now  here  leave 
for  Canada  West  this  evening.  Owen  is  here,  and  is  well.  Write 
as  directed  before.  I  now  enclose  two  drafts  (amount,  twenty-five 
dollars)  to  help  pay  travelling  expenses,  and  shall  send  more. 
Acknowledge  these.  Will  write  again  soon.  God  bless  you  all ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CHATHAM,  CANADA  WEST,  May  12,  1858. 

My  DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  have  just  re 
ceived  Oliver's  letter  of  the  14th  of  April  ;  also  one  from  wife  and 
Oliver,  of  the  5th  inst.  I  am  most  glad  of  them ;  and  I  am  thank 
ful  to  be  able  to  say  that  all  here  were  well  yesterday,  when  Owen 
and  some  others  left  for  the  eastward.  I  with  others  remain  behind 
to  wait  for  funds  to  arrive.  I  have  also  a  letter  from  John,  dated 
April  22,  enclosing  lines  from  Forbes,  with  printed  slips  attached. 
It  seems  now,  by  what  we  can  learn,  that  his  management  may 
occasion  some  hindrance  j  that  being  the  case,  you  at  home  will  have 
the  more  time  to  prepare,  and  will  wait  for  further  advice  in  the 
matter.  It  would  seem  as  though  F.  has  a  correspondent  some 
where.  Can  it  be  at  Lindenville  or  New  York  ?  I  wish  John 
would  think  over  the  matter,  and  see  if  he  can  get  any  light  on  the 
subject,  and  write  me,  enclosing  what  F.  has  lately  written  him, 
and  also  the  substance  of  what  he  has  lately  written  F.  I  suspect 
some  one  in  Dr.  McCune  Smith's  confidence  is  furnishing  F.  with 
information.  It  must  be  traced  out,  and  the  utmost  care  observed  in 
doing  it,  as  well  as  prudence  exercised  in  all  that  is  said,  written,  or 
done.  I  shall  write  you  as  often  as  I  can,  and  shall  assist  you  all  I 
can.  I  cannot  say  what  either  flour  or  pork  will  be  worth  when 
you  get  them  ;  you  can  easily  find  that  out  when  you  have  them. 
Shall  send  you  more  money  as  soon  as  I  can.  It  may  be  best  to  sell 
off  much  of  the  flour.  I  expect  to  leave  here  shortly,  but  I  want  to 
hear  from  you  right  away.  Enclose  in  a  sealed  envelope,  the  outer 
one  directed  to  James  M.  Bell,  Chatham,  as  above.  Was  very  glad 
to  hear  from  Ellen.  May  God  bless  and  finally  save  you  all !  Had 


456  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1858, 

a  good  Abolition  convention  herer  from  different^  parts ,  on  the  8th 
and  10th  hist.     Constitution  slightly  amended  and  adopted,  and  so 
ciety  organized.     Great  unanimity  prevailed.     I  hope  you  may  be 
able  to  get  the  old  granite  monument  home  this  summer. 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CHATHAM,  CANADA  WEST,  May  25,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  Oliver's  letter  of 
the  19th  is  just  received.  I  have  to  commend  him  for  his  prompti 
tude  in  replying  to  mine,  as  well  as  the  comprehensiveness,  brevity, 
and  spirit  of  that  reply.  We  are  completely  nailed  down  at  present, 
for  want  of  funds  j  and  we  may  be  obliged  to  remain  inactive  for 
months  yet,  for  the  same  reason.  You  must  all  learn  to  be  patient, 
—  or,  at  least,  I  hope  you  will.  If  you  have  not  been  obliged  to 
use  the  two  drafts  (amount,  twenty-five  dollars)  before  you  get  this, 
do  try  and  hold  them  till  I  write  you  further.  I  have  heard  nothing 
from  John  since  in  March,  and  feel  quite  anxious  on  his  account. 
You  need  not  reply  till  further  advised. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Meanwhile  the  Boston  friends  of  Brown  were  receiving 
plain  information  that  Forbes  was  at  Washington,  betraying 
the  Virginia  plan  to  Republican  Senators,  and  "perhaps  to 
members  of  the  proslavery  Administration.  Startlpd  by 
this,  some  of  us  wrote  to  Brown  at  Chatham,  May  10,  to 
which  he  soon  replied  thus  :  — 

John  Brown  to  F.  B.  Sanborn. 

CHATHAM,  CANADA  WEST,  May  14,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  much -prized  letter  of  the  10th  inst.  is  re 
ceived.  I  have  only  time  to  say  at  this  moment  that  as  it  is  an  invari 
able  rule  with  me  to  be  governed  by  circumstances,  or,  in  other  words, 
not  to  do  anything  while  I  do  not  know  what  to  do,  none  of  our  friends 
need  have  any  fears  in  relation  to  hasty  or  rash  steps  being  taken  by 
us.  As  knowledge  is  said  to  be  power,  we  propose  to  become  pos 
sessed  of  more  knowledge.  We  have  many  reasons  for  begging  our 
Eastern  friends  to  keep  clear  of  F.  personally,  unless  he  throws  him 
self  upon  them.  We  have  those  who  are  thoroughly  posted  up  to  put 
on  his  track,  and  we  beg  to  be  allowed  to  do  so.  We  also  beg  our 
friends  to  supply  us  with  three  or  four  hundred  dollars  without  delay, 


1858.]  THE  PLANS  DISCLOSED.  457 

pledging  ourselves  not  to  act  other  than  to  secure  perfect  knowledge 
of  facts  in  regard^  to  what  F.  has  really  done,  or  will  do,  so  that  we 
may  ourselves  know  how  we  ought  to  act.  None  of  us  here  or  with 
you  should  be  hasty,  or  decide  the  course  to  be  taken,  "while  under 
excitement.  "  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall 
direct  thy  paths."  A  good  cause  is  sure  to  be  safe  in  the  hands  of 
an  all-good,  all-wise,  and  all-powerful  Director  and  Father.  Dear 
Sir,  please  send  this  to  the  friends  at  Boston  and  Worcester  at  once ; 
and  in  the  mean  time  send  me  on  a  plain  copy  of  all  that  F.  may 
hereafter  write  and  say.  The  copy,  together  with  fifteen  dollars, 
is  received.  Direct  all  communications  on  outside  envelope  to 
James  M.  Bell,  Chatham,  Canada  West ;  the  inside,  *sealed,  to 
Jason  Brown. 

Yours  ever. 
(No  signature.) 

P.  S.  You  can  say  with  perfect  truth  to  F.  that  you  do  not  know 
what  has  become  of  me ;  and  you  might  ask  him  when  he  last  heard 
from  me,  and  where  I  was  at  the  time. 

The  narration  must  now  go  back  a  few  weeks  in  order 
to  take  up  events  as  they  occurred  at  the  East  while  Brown 
was  making  his  arrangements  for  a  foray  in  Virginia,  by 
visiting  Canada  and  the  West. 

Brown's  first  request  in  1858  was  for  a  fund  of  a  thousand 
dollars  only  ;  with  this  in  hand  he  promised  to  take  the  field 
either  in  April  or  May.  Mr.  Stearns  acted  as  treasurer  of 
this  fund,  and  before  the  1st  of  May  nearly  the  whole  amount 
had  been  paid  in  or  subscribed,  —  Stearns  contributing 
three  hundred  dollars,  and  the  rest  of  our  committee  smaller 
sums.  It  soon  appeared,  however,  that  the  amount  named 
would  be  too  small,  and  Brown's  movements  were  embar 
rassed  from  lack  of  money  before  the  disclosures  of  Forbes 
came  to  his  knowledge.  I  do  not  find  among  my  papers  the 
precise  language  of  Forbes's  threats,  but  the  effect  of  them 
is  visible  enough  in  the  letters  extant.  On  the  20th  of 
April,  1858,  I  had  written  thus  to  Higginson  of  the  secret 
committee  :  — 

"  I  have  lately  had  two  letters  from  Mr.  Hawkins,  who  has  just 
left  Canada  for  the  West,  on  business  connected  with  his  enterprise. 
He  has  found  in  Canada  several  good  men  for  shepherds,  and,  if  not 
embarrassed  by  want  of  means,  expects  to  turn  his  flock  loose  about 


458  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1858. 

the  15th  of  May.  He  has  received  four  hundred  and  ten  dollars  of 
the  five  hundred  guaranteed  him  in  Massachusetts,  hut  wants  more ; 
and  we  must  try  to  make  up  to  him  the  other  five  hundred  dollars. 
Part  of  it  is  pledged,  and  the  rest  ought  to  he  got,  though  with  some 
difficulty.  .  .  .  Hawkins's  address  is  *  Jason  Brown,'  under  cover  to 
John  Jones,  Chicago.  He  has  gone  West  to  move  his  furniture  and 
hring  on  his  hands.  He  has  received  two  hundred  and  sixty  dollars 
from  other  sources  than  our  friends,  and  is  raising  more  elsewhere, 
but  got  little  in  New  York  or  Philadelphia." 

On  the  28th  of  April  Brown  was  still  at  Chicago,  ignorant 
of  Forbes's  treachery,  and  was  on  his  way  a  day  or  two  later, 
with  a  dozen  or  twenty  "  shepherds,"  for  the  "  market  "  at 
Chatham  in  Canada,  where  he  wrote  his  Massachusetts 
friends  to  meet  him.  But  just  then  came  a  letter  to  me 
from  Forbes,  followed  by  one  to  Dr.  Howe,  threatening  to 
make  the  matter  public.  On  the  2d  of  May,  Dr.  Howe, 
Mr.  Stearns,  and  myself  met  for  consultation  on  the  new 
aspect  of  affairs  presented  by  these  letters  from  Washing 
ton,  where  Forbes  then  was.  Parker  was  also  consulted  on 
the  same  day,  and  I  wrote  the  result  (May  5)  to  Higginson 
as  follows  :  — 

"  It  looks  as  if  the  project  must,  for  the  present,  be  deferred,  for  I 
find  by  reading  Forbes's  epistles  to  the  doctor  that  he  knows  the  de 
tails  of  the  plan,  and  even  knows  (what  very  few  do)  that  the  doctor, 
Mr.  Stearns,  and  myself  are  informed  of  it.  How  he  got  this  knowl 
edge  is  a  mystery.  He  demands  that  Hawkins  be  dismissed  as  agent, 
and  himself  or  some  other  be  put  in  his  place,  threatening  otherwise 
to  make  the  business  public.  Theodore  Parker  and  G.  L.  Stearns 
think  the  plan  must  be  deferred  till  another  year ;  the  doctor  does 
not  think  so,  and  I  am  in  doubt,  inclining  to  the  opinion  of  the  two 
former." 

On  the  7th  of  May  Gerrit  Smith  wrote  me  : 1  "  It  seems 
to  me  that  in  these  circumstances  Brown  must  go  no  fur 
ther,  and  so  I  write  him.  I  never  was  convinced  of  the 
wisdom  of  his  scheme.  But  as  things  now  stand,  it  seems 
to  me  it  would  be  madness  to  attempt  to  execute  it.  Colonel 
Forbes  would  make  such  an  attempt  a  certain  and  most  dis 
astrous  failure.  I  write  Brown  this  evening."  On  the  9th 

1  This  letter  is  now  in  Colonel  Higginson's  possession. 


1858.1 


THE  PLANS  DISCLOSED.  459 


of  May  Higginson  wrote  to  Parker  a  brief  note  from  Brat- 
tleboro,  protesting  against  delay.  "  I  regard  any  postpone 
ment,"  he  said,  "  as  simply  abandoning  the  project ;  for  if 
we  give  it  up  now,  at  the  command  or  threat  of  H.  F.,  it 
will  be  the  same  next  year.  The  only  way  is  to  circumvent 
the  man  somehow  (if  he  cannot  be  restrained  in  his  malice). 
When  the  thing  is  well  started,  who  cares  what  he  says  ?  " 
He  soon  after  wrote  more  fully  to  Parker,  giving  many  ar 
guments  against  delay.  Parker  replied  :  "  If  you  knew  all 
we  do  about  f  Colonel '  Forbes,  you  would  think  differently. 
Can't  you  see  the  wretch  in  New  York  ?  "  At  the  same 
time  Dr.  Howe  wrote  to  Higginson  :  "  T.  P.  will  tell  you 
about  matters.  They  have  held  a  different  view  from  the 
one  I  have  taken,  which  agrees  mainly  with  yours.  I  think 
that  the  would-be  traitor  is  now  on  the  wrong  track.  I  told 
him  some  truth,  which  he  will  think  to  be  false1  (for  he 

1  Dr.  Howe  wrote  to  Forbes  as  follows  :  "  I  said  to  Senator  Sumner  that  I 
had  confidence  in  the  integrity  and  ability  of  Captain  Brown  ;  but  it  is  utterly 
absurd  to  infer  from  that  any  responsibility  for  his  acts.  I  have  confidence 
in  the  integrity  and  ability  of  scores  and  hundreds  of  men  for  whose  words 
and  acts  I  am  in  no  wise  responsible.  I  never  made  myself  responsible,  as 
a  member  of  the  Kansas  Committee,  or  as  an  individual,  neither  legally  nor 
morally,  for  any  contract  between  Captain  Brown  and  you.  I  was  an  active 
member  of  the  committee  from  its  formation  until  it  ceased  active  opera 
tions  (which  was  long,  long  ago),  and  never  heard  of  any  contract  with 
you  ;  and  I  know  that  the  committee  never  delegated  power  to  any  one  to 
bind  it  by  any  legal  or  even  moral  obligation  with  you.  So  the  brains  are 
out  of  that  allegation,  and  I  will  not  heed  any  ghosts  of  it  which  you  may 
parade  before  me  or  the  public.  Your  mistaken  notion  about  my  being  in 
any  way  responsible  for  Captain  Brown's  actions  is  the  key,  I  suppose,  to 
certain  enigmatical  allusions  in  your  last  letter  to  some  projected  expedi 
tion  of  his  ;  as  though  I  was  to  be  responsible  through  all  time  for  him  !  I 
infer  from  your  language  that  you  have  obtained  (in  confidence)  some  in 
formation  respecting  an  expedition  which  you  think  to  be  commendable, 
provided  you  could  manage  it,  but  which  you  will  betray  and  denounce  if 
he  does  not  give  it  up  !  You  are,  sir,  the  guardian  of  your  own  honor  ; 
but  1  trust  that  for  your  children's  sake,  at  least,  you  will  never  let  your 
passion  lead  you  to  a  course  that  might  make  them  blush.  In  order,  how 
ever,  to  disabuse  you  of  any  lingering  notion  that  I,  or  any  of  the  members 
of  the  late  Kansas  Committee  (whom  I  know  intimately)  have  any  respon 
sibility  for  Captain  Brown's  actions,  I  wish  to  say  that  the  very  last  com 
munication  I  sent  to  him  was  in  order  to  signify  the  earnest  wish  of  certain 
gentlemen,  whom  you  name  as  his  supporters  (in  your  letter  and  in  the 


460  LIFE    AND   LETTERS    OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1858. 

thinks  evil),  and  he  will  probably  be  bungling  about  in  the 
dark  and  hesitating  until  the  period  for  his  doing  harm  has 
passed.  Forbes  has  disclosed  what  he  knows  to  Senator 
Seward,  or  says  he  has."  A  few  days  after  this,  Dr.  Howe 
also  admitted  that  the  enterprise  must  be  postponed.  I 
was  in  almost  daily  consultation  with  him,  and  on  the  18th 
of  May  I  wrote  to  Higginson :  "  Wilson  as  well  as  Hale  and 
Seward,  and  God  knows  how  many  more,  have  heard  about 
the  plot  from  Forbes.  To  go  on  in  the  face  of  this  is  mere 
madness,  and  1  place  myself  fully  on  the  side  of  Parker, 
Stearns,  and  Dr.  Howe.  Mr.  Stearns  and  the  doctor  will 
see  Hawkins  in  New  York  this  week,  and  settle  matters 
finally." 

%  Following  up  Parker's  hint,  but  without  being  able  to 
meet  Forbes  in  New  York,  Higginson  wrote  to  him  a  letter 
which  after  a  time  found  him  out,  and  to  which  Forbes  re 
plied  from  Philadelphia,  June  6,  —  some  days  after  Brown 
had  definitely  agreed  to  the  postponement,  and  had  left  New 
England  for  Kansas.  The  letter  was  long  and  rambling, 
and  reads  more  like  the  epistle  of  a  lunatic  than  the  pro 
position  of  a  military  leader,  such  as  Forbes  professed  to  be. 
He  said  :  — 

11  The  patent  business  which  called  me  to  Washington  detained 
me  longer  than  I  anticipated ;  besides,  certain  financial  difficulties 
threw  obstacles  in  my  way.  ...  I  am  little  disposed  to  trust  certain 
letters  by  the  United  States  mail  addressed  to  obnoxious  individuals. 
You  can  get  from  F.  B.  Sanborn  and  Dr.  S.  G.  Howe  a  sight  of  my 
letters  to  them,  unless  Dr.  H.  may  have  thrown  them  behind  the 
fire,  as  he  said  he  would  do  if  he  did  not  like  their  tone,  —  as  if  he 

anonymous  one),  that  he  should  go  at  once  to  Kansas  and  give  his  aid  in 
the  coming  elections.  Whether  he  will  do  so  or  not,  we  do  not  know.  I 
may,  perhaps,  save  you  trouble  by  declaring  that  though  I  am  willing  to 
do  my  uttermost  to  aid  your  family,  or  any  distressed  family,  and  though 
I  am  willing  to  listen  to  any  supposed  claim  of  yours  upon  me,  or  any  of 
my  friends,  I  will  not  read  letters  couched  in  such  vituperative  and  abusive 
language  as  you  have  hitherto  used  to  Mr.  Sanborn  and  me.  I  will  read 
only  far  enough  to  see  the  spirit  of  the  communication;  and  if  it  is  similar 
to  that  of  your  former  letters,  I  shall  put  it  in  the  fire,  with  a  real  feeling 
of  regret  at  seeing  a  man  of  ability  and  acquirements  wilfully  injuring 
himself  and.his  family  by  his  own  passions."  With  this  plain  statement, 
all  correspondence  with  Forbes  from  Boston  closed. 


1858.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  461 

thought  himself  the  Pope,  or  the  autocrat  of  Austria,  Japan,  or 
China.  I  have  been  grossly  defrauded  in  the  name  of  humanity  and 
antislavery.  ...  I  have  for  years  labored  in  the  antislavery  cause, 
without  wanting  or  thinking  of  a  recompense.  Though  I  have  made 
the  least  possible  parade  of  my  work,  it  has  nevertheless  not  been 
entirely  without  fruit ;  the  very  protest  presented  to  the  United  States 
Senate  and  House  against  the  Clayton  clause  of  the  organic  act, 
which  deprived  foreigners  of  the  right  of  voting  in  Kansas,  was 
mainly  my  doing.  ...  I  consider,  therefore,  that  if  my  family  were 
from  any  circumstance  to  be  in  distress,  that  distress  ought  cheer 
fully  and  effectually  to  be  alleviated  by  the  antislavery  men  of  every 
school.  .  .  .  Patience  and  mild  measures  having  failed,  I  reluctantly 
have  recourse  to  harshness.  Let  them  not  flatter  themselves  that  I 
shall  eventually  become  weary  and  shall  drop  the  subject ;  it  is  as 
yet  quite  at  its  beginning.  The  Massachusetts  senators,  —  Sumner 
and  Wilson,  —  wrote  to  Boston  about  it ;  but  Howe,  Lawrence, 
Sanborn,  and  associates  prefer  to  accumulate  injury  on  injury  rather 
than  acknowledge  their  fallibility  by  redressing  a  wrong  they  have 
committed.  I  am  on  my  way  to  New  York,  but  I  shall  stop  in  this 
city  (Philadelphia)  for  three  days,  because  I  wish  to  see  some  anti- 
slavery  people  here.  I  had  letters  to  Mr.  Miller  McKim,  but  by  him 
I  was  told  that  I  could  expect  nothing  from  the  Pennsylvania  wing 
of  the  antislaveryites,  because  my  remedy  lay  in  New  England,  and 
because  funds  were  low  and  prospects  gloomy,"  etc. 

On  the  14th  of  May  (the  day  when  Brown's  letter  last 
cited  was  written),  Mr.  Stearns  had  sent  to  Brown  in  Canada 
an  important  letter,  to  which  he  added  a  second  on  the  15th. 
Here  they  are  :  — 

BOSTON,  May  14,  1858. 
MR.  JOHN  BROWN,  Chatham,  Canada  West. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Enclosed  please  find  a  copy  of  a  letter  to  Dr.  Howe 
from  Hon.  Henry  Wilson.  You  will  recollect  that  you  have  the  cus 
tody  of  the  arms  alluded  to,  to  be  used  for  the  defence  of  Kansas, 
as  agent  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Kansas  Committee.  In  conse 
quence  of  the  information  thus  communicated  to  me,  it  becomes  my 
duty  to  warn  you  not  to  use  them  for  any  other  purpose,  and  to  hold 
them  subject  to  my  order  as  chairman  of  said  committee.  A  member 
of  our  committee  will  be  at  Chatham  early  in  the  coming  week,  to 
confer  with  you  as  to  the  best  mode  of  disposing  of  them. 
Truly  your  friend, 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS, 
Chairman  Mass.  State  Kansas  Committee, 


462  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

MAY  15,  1858. 
MR.  JOHN  BROWN,  Chatham,  Canada  West. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  wrote  to  you  yesterday  informing  you  that  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Kansas  Committee  would  visit 
Chatham,  to  confer  about  the  delivery  of  the  arms  you  hold.  As  I 
can  find  no  one  who  can  spare  the  time,  I  have  to  request  that  you 
will  meet  me  in  New  York  City  sometime  next  week.  A  letter  to 
me,  directed  to  care  of  John  Hopper,  110  Broadway,  New  York,  will 
be  in  season.  Come  as  early  as  you  can.  Our  committee  will  pay 
your  expenses.  Truly  yours, 

GEORGE  L.  STEARNS, 
Chairman  Mass.  State  Kamas  Committee. 

Dr.  Howe  will  go  on  as  soon  as  he  knows  you  are  in  New  York. 

On  or  before  the  20th  of  May  Mr.  Stearns  met  Brown  in 
New  York  by  appointment,  and  wrote  to  Higginson  from 
there  that  "  we  are  all  agreed  "  about  the  recall  of  these 
arms  from  Virginia,  "  for  reasons  that  cannot  be  written." 
Previously,  on  the  12th  and  15th  of  May,  Dr.  Howe  had  re 
plied  to  Senator  Wilson's  letter  of  May  9  as  follows :  — 

BOSTON,  May  12,  1858. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  just  received  your  letter  of  the  9th.  I  under 
stand  perfectly  your  meaning.  No  countenance  has  been  given  to 
Brown  for  any  operations  outside  of  Kansas  by  the  Kansas  Commit 
tee.  I  had  occasion,  a  few  days  ago,  to  send  him  an  earnest  message 
from  some  of  his  friends  here,  urging  him  to  go  at  once  to  Kansas 
and  take  part  in  the  coming  election,  and  throw  the  weight  of  his 
influence  on  the  side  of  the  right.  There  is  in  Washington  a  disap 
pointed  and  malicious  man,  working  with  all  the  activity  which  hate 
and  revenge  can  inspire,  to  harm  Brown,  and  to  cast  odium  upon  the 
friends  of  Kansas  in  Massachusetts.  You  probably  know  him.  He 
has  been  to  Mr.  Seward.  Mr.  Hale,  also,  can  tell  you  something 
about  him.  God  speed  the  right ! 

MAY  15,  1858. 

When  I  last  wrote  to  you,  I  was  not  aware  fully  of  the  true  state 
of  the  case  with  regard  to  certain  arms  belonging  to  the  late  Kansas 
Committee.  Prompt  measures  have  been  taken,  and  will  be  resolutely 
followed  up,  to  prevent  any  such  monstrous  perversion  of  a  trust  as 
would  be  the  application  of  means  raised  for  the  defence  of  Kansas 
to  a  purpose  which  the  subscribers  of  the  fund  would  disapprove  and 
vehemently  condemn.  Faithfully  yours, 

S.  G.  HOWE. 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  463 

Dr.  Howe,  with  his  usual  ardor  to  act,  had  at  first  agreed 
with  Brown  and  with  Higginson ;  but,  as  these  letters  show, 
he  was  moved  by  the  awkward  complication  which  Brown's 
possession  of  these  Kansas  rifles  created  to  acquiesce  in  a 
different  view,  and  favor  postponement  of  the  attack,  —  as 
Parker,  Stearns,  and  Sanborn  did.  For  since  these  rifles, 
which  had  been  purchased  by  the  Massachusetts  Kansas  Com 
mittee  and  intrusted  to  Brown,  were  still,  so  far  as  Senator 
Wilson  arid  the  public  knew,  the  property  of  that  committee 
(though  really,  as  has  been  explained,  the  personal  property 
of  Mr.  Stearns),  it  would  expose  the  Kansas  Committee,  who 
were  ignorant  of  Brown's  later  plans,  to  suspicions  of  bad 
faith  if  those  arms  were  used  by  him  in  any  expedition  to 
Virginia.  Brown  saw  that  nothing  further  could  then  be 
done,  and  yielded,  though  with  regret,  to  the  postponement. 

When,  about  May  20,  Mr.  Stearns  met  Brown  in  New 
York,  it  was  arranged  that  hereafter  the  custody  of  the 
Kansas  rifles  should  be  in  Brown's  hands  as  the  agent,  not 
of  this  committee,  but  of  Mr.  Stearns  alone.  It  so  hap 
pened  that  Gerrit  Smith,  who  seldom  visited  Boston,  was 
coming  there  late  in  May,  to  deliver  an  address  before  the 
Peace  Society  at  its  anniversary.  He  arrived  and  took 
rooms  at  the  Revere  House,  where,  on  the  24th  of  May, 
1858,  the  secret  committee  (organized  in  March,  and  con 
sisting  of  Smith,  Parker,  Howe,  Higginson,  Stearns,  and 
Sanborn)  held  a  meeting  to  consider  the  situation.  It  had 
already  been  decided  to  postpone  the  attack,  and  the  arms 
had  been  placed  under  a  temporary  interdict,  so  that  they 
could  only  be  used,  for  the  present,  in  Kansas.  The  ques 
tions  remaining  were  whether  Brown  should  be  required  to 
go  to  Kansas  at  once,  and  what  amount  of  money  should  be 
raised  for  him  in  future.  Of  the  six  members  of  the  com 
mittee  only  one  (Higginson)  was  absent,  and  as  this  was 
the  only  occasion  when  Smith  acted  personally  with  his 
associates,  who  met  in  his  chamber  at  the  Revere  House, 
he  was  made  chairman  of  the  meeting.  It  was  unanimously 
resolved  that  Brown  ought  to  go  to  Kansas  at  once. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  this,  Brown  visited  Boston 
(May  31),  and  while  there  held  a  conversation  with  Hig 
ginson,  who  made  a  record  of  it  at  the  time, —  saying  that 


464  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858- 

Brown  was  full  of  regret  at  the  decision  of  the  Revere 
House  council  to  postpone  the  attack  till  the  winter  or 
spring  of  1859,  when  the  secret  committee  would  raise  for 
Brown  two  or  three  thousand  dollars ;  "  he  meantime  to 
blind  Forbes  by  going  to  Kansas,  and  to  transfer  the  prop 
erty  so  as  to  relieve  the  Kansas  Committee  of  responsibil 
ity,  and  they  in  future  not  to  know  his  plans.  On  probing 
Brown,"  Higginson  goes  on,  "  I  found  that  he  ...  consid 
ered  delay  very  discouraging  to  his  thirteen  men,  and  to 
those  in  Canada.  Impossible  to  begin  in  the  autumn ;  and 
he  would  not  lose  a  day  [he  finally  said]  if  he  had  three 
hundred  dollars ;  it  would  not  cost  twenty -five  dollars  apiece 
to  get  his  men  from  Ohio,  and  that  was  all  he  needed.  The 
knowledge  that  Forbes  could  give  of  his  plan  would  be 
injurious,  for  he  wished  his  opponents  to  underrate  him ; 
but  still  .  .  .  the  increased  terror  produced  would  perhaps 
counterbalance  this,  and  it  would  not  make  much  difference. 
If  he  had  the  means  he  would  not  lose  a  day."  He  com 
plained  that  some  of  his  Eastern  friends  were  not  men  of 
action ;  that  they  were  intimidated  by  Wilson's  letter,  and 
magnified  the  obstacles.  Still,  it  was  essential  that  they 
should  not  think  him  reckless,  he  said  ;  "  and  as  they  held 
the  purse,  he  was  powerless  without  them,  having  spent 
nearly  everything  received  this  campaign,  on  account  of 
delay,  —  a  month  at  Chatham,  etc."  Higginson  notes  down 
a  few  days  later  that  Dr.  Ho  we  told  him  Brown  left  Boston, 
June  3,  with  five  hundred  dollars  in  gold,  and  liberty  to 
retain  all  the  arms,  and  that  "  he  went  off  in  good  spirits." 
He  visited  North  Elba,  Ohio,  and  Iowa,  on  his  way  to  Kan 
sas,  and  finally  reached  Lawrence,  June  25,  1858.  * 

1  The  relation  of  the  Kansas  Committee  of  Massachusetts  to  the  rifles  they 
had  bought  was  one  thing  ;  that  of  Mr.  Stearns,  chairman  of  that  commit 
tee,  to  these  arms  was  quite  another  thing  in  1858.  He  had  then  virtually 
bought  back  the  two  hundred  rifles  from  the  committee,  which  at  this  time, 
though  never  formally  dissolved,  and  still  continuing  at  intervals  to  pass 
votes  and  write  letters  in  its  executi/e  committee,  had  long  been  practi 
cally  defunct,  for  the  very  good  reason  that  its  funds  were  exhausted  and 
there  was  little  expectation  of  raising  more.  It  had  supplied  the  starving 
people  of  Kansas  with  wheat  and  clothing  in  1857;  and  in  order  to  do  this 
had  advanced  money  far  beyond  the  amount  raised  in  that  year.  I  remem 
ber  this  with  some  distinctness,  because  I  had  myself  advanced  two  or  three 


1858.]  THE   PLANS   DISCLOSED.  465 

It  is  still  a  little  difficult  to  explain  this  transaction  con 
cerning  the  arms  without  leaving  a  suspicion  that  there  was 
somewhere  a  breach  of  trust ;  but  it  will  be  seen  that  Mr. 
Stearns,  and  those  of  his  colleagues  who  acted  with  him, 
although  they  could  not  in  honor  disclose  what  Brown  had 
imparted  to  them,  took  pains  to  free  their  uninformed  asso- 

hundred,  dollars  at  that  time  ;  but  the  principal  advances  were  made  by 
our  chairman,  Mr.  Stearns,  whose  liberality  where  his  heart  was  interested 
knew  no  bounds.  At  the  time,  therefore,  when  his  Massachusetts  friends 
first  heard  of  the  Virginia  plans  of  Brown,  and  gave  them  their  reluctant 
approval,  as  has  been  mentioned,  the  rifles  in  Brown's  possession,  though 
nominally  belonging  to  the  Massachusetts  Kansas  Committee,  were  pledged 
to  Mr.  Stearns,  along  with  the  other  property,  for  the  reimbursement  of 
his  advances.  I  have  forgotten  how  many  thousand  dollars ''he  paid  in  this 
way,  but  it  was  so  many  that  the  value  of  the  arms  was  not  enough  to  re 
imburse  him;  and  it  was  agreed  that  he  should  not  only  have  these,  but 
should  also  be  at  liberty  to  reimburse  himself  out  of  the  avails  of  promis 
sory  notes  given  by  the  Kansas  farmers  in  payment  for  the  wheat  and  other 
supplies  furnished  to  them  in  1857.  At  the  time  these  notes  were  given  it 
was  hoped  that  most  of  them  would  be  paid,  and  some  of  them  were  ;  but 
I  fancy  very  little  of  the  money  ever  came  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Stearns. 
Some  of  it  was  paid  to  John  Brown,  as  the  agent  of  the  committee,  in  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1858,  by  the  agents  of  Mr.  Whitman,  in  whose 
hands  most  of  the  notes  were  first  placed.  I  have  before  me,  in  Brown's 
handwriting,  an  "account  of  money,  etc.,  collected  of  E.  B.  Whitman's 
agents  on  National  Kansas  Committee  account,"  in  which  something  less 
than  two  hundred  dollars,  mostly  in  small  sums,  is  set  down  as  received 
from  S.  L.  Adair,  William  Partridge,  William  Hutchinson,  and  other 
Kansas  residents,  between  Aug.  21,  1858,  and  Jan.  20,  1859.  Mr.  Whit 
man  acted  as  agent  both  for  the  National  Committee  and  for  the  Mas 
sachusetts  Committee  ;  and  the  business  had  become  so  complicated  in 
one  way  and  another  that  when  Brown  levied  upon  the  agents  for 
moneys  claimed  by  him  under  votes  of  the  committees,  it  excited  a  lively 
dispute  in  Kansas.  The  Massachusetts  Committee,  however,  stood  firmly 
by  Brown,  even  after  its  three  active  members  (Stearns,  Howe,  and  San- 
born  )  were  apprised  of  his  Virginia  plans,  —  as  they  were  before  he  began 
to  collect  money  on  their  notes  in  1858.  In  reality  everything  that  the 
committee  had  done  was  completely  regular,  and  appropriate  to  the  exi 
gency  of  1856-57.  They  had  collected  much  money,  had  expended  it 
judiciously,  and  had  allowed  a  generous  individual,  their  chairman,  to 
place  in  their  hands  more  money,  for  which  he  was  willing  to  wait  without 
payment  until  the  property  of  the  committee  could  be  turned  into  cash  ; 
then,  to  give  him  all  the  security  in  its  power,  the  committee  had  made 
over  this  property  to  him,  with  no  restriction  as  to  what  he  should  do  with 
it ;  and  Mr.  Stearns  had  chosen  to  give  it  to  Brown. 

30 


466  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

elates  of  the  old  Kansas  Committee  from  all  reproach  of  hav 
ing  aided  Brown  in  his  Virginia  campaign.  They  were 
themselves  indifferent  to  this  reproach ;  but  they  could  not 
bear  to  be  charged  with  diverting  other  people's  money  into 
his  hands.  The  public  had  not  been  notified  in  1857  that  the 
Kansas  Committee  had  overdrawn  its  account  on  Dr.  Howe, 
Mr.  Stearns  etc. ;  and  that  the  arms  had  been  pledged  to 
the  chairman,  to  meet  this  overdraft,  long  before  any  of 
us  knew  aught  of  Brown's  Virginia  scheme.  When  Ve  did 
know  this,  it  was  too  late  to  inform  the  public,  except 
in  the  manner  undertaken  by  Dr.  Howe  in  his  letters  to 
Senator  Wilson.  As  soon  as  possible  after  Brown  had  con 
sented  to  the  alternative  of  going  to  Kansas  in  the  summer 
of  1858,  the  business  of  the  Kansas  Committee  was  put  in 
such  shape  that  its  responsibility  for  the  arms  in  Brown's 
possession  should  no  longer  fetter  his  friends  in  aiding  his 
main  design. 

Moreover,  it  was  agreed  that  Brown  should  not  inform 
them  of  his  plans  in  detail,  nor  burden  them  with  knowl 
edge  that  would  be  to  them  both  needless  and  inconvenient. 
They  were  willing  to  trust  him  with  their  money,  and  did  not 
want  him  to  report  progress  except  by  action.  This  was  the 
general  sentiment  of  the  six  persons  who  formed  the  secret 
committee  of  1858-59,  —  Gerrit  Smith,  Theodore  Parker, 
Dr.  Howe,  Mr.  Stearns,  Wentworth  Higginson,  and  myself, 
—  and  it  was  thus  pithily  expressed  by  Mr.  Smith,  when  I 
wrote  to  him  six  weeks  after  Brown  had  left  Boston :  — 


PETEKBORO',  July  26,  1S58. 
MR.  F.  B.  SANBORX. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  your  letter  of  the  23d  instant.  I  have 
great  faith  in  the  wisdom,  integrity,  and  bravery  of  Captain  Brown. 
For  several  years  I  have  frequently  given  him  money  toward  sus 
taining  him  in  his  contests  with  the  slave-power.  Whenever  he 
shall  embark  in  another  of  these  contests  I  shall  again  stand  ready 
to  help  him ;  and  I  will  begin  with  giving  him  a  hundred  dollars.  I 
do  not  wish  to  know  Captain  Brown's  plans  ;  I  hope  he  will  keep 
them  to  himself.  Can  you  not  visit  us  this  summer  ?  We  shall  be 
very  glad  to  see  you. 

With  great  regard,  your  friend, 

GERRIT  SMITH. 


/UL  n  Vj* 

9     J   J     I  J  J      J 


1859.]  THE   PLANS  DISCLOSED.  467 

Thus  matters  stood  fifteen  months  before  the  foray  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  so  far  as  Brown's  last  committee  were  con 
cerned.  His  own  movements  in  Canada  and  Kansas  will 
soon  be  related ;  but  I  may  here  continue  the  record  of  Mr. 
Smith's  hospitality  toward  the  old  hero.  Early  in  the  spring 
of  1859,  Brown  again  directed  his  steps  to  Peterboro',  where 
he  arrived  with  a  single  follower  (Jerry  Anderson),  April 
11,  1859.  My  classmate  Morton  was  still  residing  in  Mr. 
Smith's  family,  and  wrote  me  as  follows  at  the  dates 
named :  — 

Wednesday  Evening,  April  13,  1859. 

You  must  hear  of  Brown's  meeting  this  afternoon,  —  few  in  num 
bers,  but  the  most  interesting  I  perhaps  ever  saw.  Mr.  Smith  spoke 
well ;  G.  W.  Putnam  read  a  spirited  poem  ;  and  Brown  was  exceed 
ingly  interesting,  and  once  or  twice  so  eloquent  that  Mr.  Smith  and 
some  others  wept.  Some  one  asked  him  if  he  had  not  better  apply 
himself  in  another  direction,  and  reminded  him  of  his  imminent  peril, 
and  that  his  life  could  not  be  spared.  His  replies  were  swift  and 
most  impressively  tremendous.  A  paper  was  handed  about,  with 
the  name  of  Mr.  Smith  for  four  hundred  dollars,  to  which  others 
added.  Mr.  Smith,  in  the  most  eloquent  speech  I  ever  heard  from 
him,  said  :  "  If  I  were  asked  to  point  out  —  I  will  say  it  in  his  pres 
ence  —  to  point  out  the  man  in  all  this  world  I  think  most  truly  a 
Christian,  I  would  point  to  John  Brown."  I  was  once  doubtful  in 
my  own  mind  as  to  Captain  Brown's  course.  I  now  approve  it 
heartily,  having  given  my  mind  to  it  more  of  late.1 

April  18. 

Brown  left  on  Thursday  the  14th,  and  was  to  be  at  North  Elba 
to-morrow  the  19th.  Thence  he  goes  "  in  a  few  days"  to  you.  [He 
actually  reached  my  house  in  Concord,  Saturday,  May  7,  and  spent 
half  his  last  birthday  with  me.]  He  says  he  must  not  be  trifled  with, 
and  shall  hold  Boston  and  New  Haven  to  their  word.  New  Haven 
advises  him  to  forfeit  five  hundred  dollars  he  has  paid  on  a  certain 

1  When  I  first  met  Brown  at  Peterboro',  in  1858,  Morton  played  some 
fine  music  to  us  in  the  parlor,  — among  other  things  Schubert's  "  Serenade," 
then  a  favorite  piece,  —  and  the  old  Puritan,  who  loved  music  and  sang  a 
good  part  himself,  sat  weeping  at  the  air. 

"Northward  he  turneth  through  a  little  door, 

And  scarce  three  steps  ere  music's  golden  tongue 
Flattered  to  tears  this  aged  man  and  poor. 
But,  no ;  already  had  his  death-bell  rung  ; 
The  joys  of  all  his  life  were  said  and  sung." 


468  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

contract,  and  drop  it.  He  will  not.  From  here  he  \vent  in  good 
spirits,  and  appeared  better  than  ever  to  us,  barring  an  affection  of 
the  right  side  of  his  head.  I  hope  he  will  meet  hearty  encourage 
ment  elsewhere.  Mr.  Smith  gave  him  four  hundred  dollars,  I  twenty- 
five,  and  we  took  some  ten  dollars  at  the  little  meeting.  .  .  .  "L'ex- 
perience  demontre,  avec  toute  1'evideuce  possible,  que  c'est  la  societe 
que  pre'pare  le  crime,  et  que  le  coupable  n'est  que  l'iustrument  que 
Fexecute."  Do  you  believe  Quetelet  f 

June  1. 

Mr.  Smith  has  lately  written  to  John  Brown  at  New  York  to  find 
what  he  needed,  meaning  to  supply  it.  He  now  sends  to  him  ac 
cording  to  your  enclosed  address.  I  suppose  you  know  the  place 
where  this  matter  is  to  be  adjudicated.  Harriet  Tubinaii  suggested 
the  4th  of  July  as  a  good  time  to  "  raise  the  mill." 

June  30. 

News  from  Andover,  Ohio,  a  week  or  more  since,  from  our  friend. 
He  had  received  two  hundred  dollars  more  from  here,1  was  full  of 
cheer,  and  arranging  his  wool  business,"  but  I  do  not  look  for  a 
result  so  soon  as  many  do. 

This  message  from  Brown,  about  June  20,  1859,  shows 
that  he  was  already  mustering  his  men  and  moving  his  arms 
toward  Virginia ;  and  it  was  about  the  4th  of  July,  as  Har 
riet  Tubman  the  African  Sibyl  had  suggested,  that  Brown 
first  showed  himself  in  the  counties  of  Washington  and 
Jefferson,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  lordly  Potomac.  Before 
relating  his  adventures  there,  I  must  pause  to  recite  his  last 
Kansas  episode. 

1  That  is,  from  Gerrit  Smith. 


1858.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  469 


CHAPTEE   XIII. 
FROM  CANADA,  THROUGH  KANSAS,  TO  CANADA. 

IT  is  now  a  humiliating  thought  that  in  1858-59  Canada 
was  the  only  safe  refuge  of  the  American  fugitive  slave. 
That  simple  hero,  whose  guide  was  the  North  Star,  and  to 
whom  the  roar  of  Niagara  meant  freedom,  used  to  call  his 
resort  to  British  protection  "shaking  the  paw  of  the  Lion." 
"Slaves  could  not  breathe  in  England"  a  hundred  years 
ago ;  but  the  atmosphere  of  Canada  was  as  wholesome  to 
the  freedmew  in  Judge  Taney's  time  as  that  of  England  was 
in  Lord  Mansfield's.  When  John  Brown  wished  to  organize 
quietly  his  foray  against  Virginian  slavery,' he  withdrew  to 
Chatham,  in  Canada,  where,  in  May,  1858,  he  held  his  little 
convention  among  the  fugitives,  and  promulgated  his  "  Pro 
visional  Constitution."  Here  is  the  beginning  of  the  in 
strument,  as  it  came  from  the  mind  and  the  pen  of  John 
Brown :  — 

PROVISIONAL    CONSTITUTION l  AND    ORDINANCES    FOR    THE 
PEOPLE    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Preamble. 

Whereas  j  Slavery,  throughout  its  entire  existence  in  the  United 
States,  is  none  other  than  a  most  barbarous,  unprovoked,  and  un 
justifiable  war  of  one  portion  of  its  citizens  upon  another  portion  — 

1  On  the  10th  of  May,  1858,  when  the  Chatham  convention  adjourned, 
it  was  voted  "that  John  Brown  (commamler-in-chief),  J.  H.  Kagi  (secre 
tary  of  war),  Richard  Realf  (secretary  of  state),  Charles  P.  Tidd,  E.  Whip- 
pie  (A.  D.  Stephens),  C.  W.  Moffat,  John  E.  Cook,  Owen  Brown,  Stewart 
Taylor,  Osborne  P.  Anderson,  A.  M.  Ellsworth,  Richard  Richardson,  W. 
H.  Leeman,  and  John  Laivrencc  be,  and  hereby  are,  appointed  a  committee 
to  whom  is  delegated  the  power  of  the  convention  to  fill  by  election  all  the 
offices  specially  named  in  the  Provisional  Constitution  which  may  be  va 
cant  after  the  adjournment  of  this  convention."  Those  in  italics  were 
colored  men. 


470  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1858 

the  only  conditions  of  which  are  perpetual  imprisonment  and  hope 
less  servitude  or  absolute  extermination  —  in  utter  disregard  and 
violation  of  those  eternal  and  self-evident  truths  set  forth  in  our 
Declaration  of  Independence  : 

Therefore,  We,  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  oppressed 
people  who  by  a  recent  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  are  declared 
to  have  no  rights  which  the  white  man  is  bound  to  respect,  together 
with  all  other  people  degraded  by  the  laws  thereof,  do,  for  the  time 
being,  ordain  and  establish  for  ourselves  the  following  Provisional 
Constitution  and  Ordinances,  the  better  to  protect  our  persons,  prop 
erty,  lives,  and  liberties,  and  to  govern  our  actions : 

Qualifications  for  Membership. 

ART.  I.  All  persons  of  mature  age,  whether  proscribed,  oppressed, 
and  enslaved  citizens,  or  of  the  proscribed  and  oppressed  races  of  the 
United  States,  who  shall  agree  to  sustain  and  enforce  the  Provisional 
Constitution  and  Ordinances  of  this  organization,  together  witli  all 
minor  children  of  such  persons,  shall  be  held  to  be  fully  entitled  to 
protection  under  the  same. 

This  whole  constitution,  much  ridiculed  in  1859,  will 
bear  a  careful  examination,  and  will  be  found  well  suited  to 
its  purpose,  —  the  government  of  a  territory  in  revolt,  of 
which  the  chief  occupants  should  be  escaped  slaves.  Mr. 
Bagehot  once  said  that  "  the  men  of  Massachusetts  could 
work  any  constitution ; "  and  so  perhaps  Brown  and  his 
men  might  have  done. 

Upon  the  intelligence  received  from  Boston,  in  May. 
1858,  the  little  party  of  liberators  in  Canada  separated, 
some  going  one  way,  some  another.  Richard  Bealf  wrote 
to  Brown,  May  31,  from  Cleveland,  Ohio :  — 

"  I  learn  from  George  Gill  that  a  certain  Mr.  Warner,  living  at 
Milan,  has  been  told  that  a  quantity  of  material  was  located  in  a 
certain  county1  (name  correctly  given),  and  that  this  Warner  has 

1  At  this  time  the  arms  of  Brown  were  stored  at  Lindenville,  Ohio,  in 
charge  of  Mr.  E.  A.  Fobes,  to  whom  Brown  had  written  from  Chatham, 
May  11,  saying  :  "The  conduct  of  Colonel  Forbes  has  been  so  strange  of 
late  as  to  render  it  important  that  he  get  no  clew  to  where  the  arms  are 
stored,  or  other  articles,  and  that  he  should  know  nothing  of  rny  where 
abouts.  You  will  greatly  oblige  me  and  many  other  friends  of  freedom  by 


1858.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  471 

mentioned  it  to  another  man.  All  these  are,  Gill  says,  true  men ; 
but  I  do  not  like  the  idea  any  more  for  that.  Nor  am  I  better  pleased 
to  learn  from  the  same  source  that  a  certain  Mr.  Reynolds  (colored), 
who  attended  our  convention,  has  disclosed  its  objects  to  the  members 
of  a  secret  society  (colored)  called  '  The  American  Mysteries,'  or 
some  other  confounded  humbug.  I  suppose  it  is  likely  that  tliese 
people  are  good  men  enough  ;  but  to  make  a  sort  of  wholesale  di  vulge- 
ment  of  matters  at  hazard  is  too  steep  even  for  me,  who  am  not  by  any 
means  over-cautious.  Cook  also,  I  learn,  conducted  himself  here  in  a 
manner  well  calculated  to  arouse  suspicion.  According  to  Parsons, 
he  stated  in  his  boarding-house  that  he  was  here  on  a  secret  expedi 
tion,  and  that  the  rest  of  the  company  were  under  his  orders.  He 
made  a  most  ostentatious  display  of  his  equipments ;  was  careful  to  let 
it  be  known  that  he  had  been  in  Kansas;  stated,  among  other  recitals 
of  impossible  achievements,  that  he  had  killed  five  men  ;  and,  in  short, 
drew  largely  on  his  imagination  in  order  to  render  himself  conspicu 
ous.  He  found  out  and  called  upon  a  lady  friend  whom  he  knew  in 
Connecticut,  talked  a  great  deal  too  much  to  her;  and  wound  up  his 
performances  by  proposing  to  Parsons,  Gill,  and  Taylor  a  trip  to  the 
same  locality  on  the  same  errand  in  the  event  of  postponement.1  He 
has  taken  his  tools  with  him.  It  pains  me  to  be  obliged  to  say  these 
things  of  one  whom  I  have  known  so  long ;  but  T  should  be  lacking 
in  common  honesty  if  1  withheld  them  from  you,  —  and  especially 
now,  when  we  have  to  tread  with  double  care.  I  am  not  at  all  sure 
but  that,  in  the  event  of  deferment,  our  chief  danger  will  accrue  from 
him  and  his  dreadful  affliction  of  the  cacoethes  loquendi,  which,  ren 
dered  into  English,  means  i  rage  for  talking,'  or  '  tongue  malady.' " 

At  the  time  Realf  wrote,  Brown  was  in  Boston ;  June  9 
he  was  at  North  Elba ;  a  few  days  later,  at  West  Andover, 
Ohio ;  June  22,  at  Chicago ;  and  on  Sunday,  June  25,  he 
reached  Lawrence,  in  Kansas ;  where  James  Kedpath  met 
him  in  company  with  Richard  Hinton.  Redpath  says  :  — 

u  We  were  at  supper  that  day  at  a  hotel  in  Lawrence,  when  a 
stately  old  man,  with  a  flowing  white  beard,  entered  the  room  and 
took  a  seat  at  the  public  table.  I  immediately  recognized  in  the 
stranger  John  Brown.  Yet  many  persons  who  had  previously  known 
him  did  not  penetrate  his  patriarchal  disguise." 

getting  all  who  may  know  anything  about  either  to  observe  the  utmost 
secrecy  about  the  whole  matter." 

1  This  trip  to  Harper's  Ferry  is  perhaps  that  mentioned  in  Brown's  last 
interriew  with  Cook,  Dec.  2,  1859. 


472  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

The  narrative  is  continued  by  Hinton,  who  says :  — 

"  On  this  Sunday  I  held  a  conversation  with  Captain  Brown, 
which  lasted  nearly  the  whole  afternoon.  The  purport  of  it  was,  on 
his  part,  inquiries  as  to  various  public  men  in  the  Territory,  and  the 
condition  of  political  affairs.  He  was  very  particular  as  to  the 
movements  and  character  of  Captain  Montgomery.  The  massacre 
of  the  Marais  des  Cygnes  was  then  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 
I  remember  an  expression  which  he  used.  Warmly  giving  utterance 
to  my  detestation  of  slavery  and  its  minions,  and  impatiently  wishing 
for  some  effectual  means  of  injuring  it,  Captain  Brown  said  to  me 
most  impressively,  '  Young  men  must  learn  to  wait.  Patience  is 
the  hardest  lesson  to  learn.  I  have  waited  for  twenty  years  to 
accomplish  my  purpose.'  He  reminded  me  of  a  message  that  I  had 
sent  him  in  1857,  and  said  he  hoped  I  meant  what  I  said,  for  he 
should  ask  the  fulfilment  of  that  promise,  and  perhaps  very  soon  • 
further  adding  that  he  wanted  to  caution  me  against  rash  promises. 
Young  men  were  too  apt  to  make  them,  and  should  be  very  careful. 
The  promise  given  was  of  great  importance  j  and  I  must  be  prepared 
to  stand  by  it,  or  disavow  it  now.  Kagi,  who  was  present  at  the 
same  time,  gave  me  to  understand  that  their  visit  to  Kansas  was 
caused  by  the  betrayal  of  their  plans  by  Colonel  Forbes  to  the  Ad 
ministration  j  and  that  they  wished  to  give  a  different  impression  by 
coming  to  the  West.  Both  said  they  intended  to  stay  some  time ; 
and  that  night  Captain  Brown  announced  that  they  should  go  to 
southern  Kansas  in  the  morning,  to  see  Captain  Montgomery  and 
visit  the  Adairs  near  Osawatomie. 

11 1  did  not  see  Brown  again  until  September,  when  I  met  him  at 
Mr.  Adair's.  Both  he  and  Kagi  were  sick  with  the  fever  and  ague, 
and  had  been  for  some  time.  In  the  interim  Brown  had  been  in 
Linn  and  Bourbon  Counties,  and  other  parts  of  southern  Kansas. 
One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  negotiate  with  Snyder  the  blacksmith, 
upon  whose  claim  the  massacre  of  the  Marais  des  Cygnes  occurred, 
for  its  purchase.  This  claim  is  about  half  a  mile  from  the  State  line, 
—  the  buildings  in  an  admirable  position  for  defence.  Brown  saw 
both  the  moral  and  material  .ad vantages  of  the  position,  and  was  de 
sirous  of  obtaining  possession.  Snyder  agreed  to  sell  ;  but  soon 
after,  having  a  better  offer,  he  broke  the  contract.  The  Captain  had 
in  the  interval,  with  the  assistance  of  Kagi,  Tidd,  Stephens,  Lee- 
man,  and  another  member  of  his  company,  prepared  a  very  strong 
fortification,  where  they  could  have  successfully  resisted  a  large  force. 
In  my  journey  through  the  border  counties  I  found  that  a  general 
feeling  of  confidence  prevailed  among  our  friends  because  John 
Brown  was  near.  Over  the  border  the  Missourians  were  remarkably 


1858.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  473 

quiet  from  June  until  October,  in  the  belief  that  the  old  hero  was  in 
their  vicinity.  When  the  farm  was  abandoned,  Brown  and  Kagi 
came  to  Mr.  Adair's,  where  I  met  them.  .  .  .  Brown  was  then  more 
nervous  and  impatient  in  his  manner  than  I  had  before  observed. 
Captain  Montgomery's  name  was  introduced,  and  Brown  was  enthu 
siastic  in  praise  of  him,  avowing  perfect  confidence  in  his  integrity 
and  purposes.  l  Captain  Montgomery,'  he  said,  '  is  the  only  soldier 
I  have  met  among  the  prominent  Kansas  men.  He  understands  my 
system  of  warfare  exactly.  He  is  a  natural  chieftain,  and  knows 
how  to  lead.'  He  spoke  of  General  Lane  and  his  recent  killing  of 
Gains  Jenkins  ;  said  he  would  not  say  one  word  against  Lane  in  his 
misfortunes,  but  he  told  the  General  himself  that  he  was  his  own 
worst  enemy.  Of  his  own  early  treatment  at  the  hands  of  ambitious 
leaders,  he  said :  i  They  acted  up  to  their  instincts.  As  politicians 
they  thought  every  man  wanted  to  lead,  and  therefore  supposed  I 
might  be  in  the  way  of  their  schemes.  While  they  had  this  feeling,  of 
course  they  opposed  me.  Committees  and  councils  could  not  control 
my  movements,  therefore  they  did  not  like  me.  Many  men  did  not  like 
the  manner  in  which  I  conducted  warfare,  and  they  too  opposed  me. 
But  politicians  and  leaders  soon  found  that  I  had  different  purposes, 
and  forgot  their  jealousy.  They  have  all  been  kind  to  me  since.'  " 

Brown  preferred  Montgomery  to  the  other  Kansas  lead 
ers  ;  and  on  the  9th  of  July  he  wrote  to  his  son  John  from 
Sugar  Mound,  in  southern  Kansas:  "I  am  now  writing  in 
the  log-cabin  of  the  notorious  Captain  James  Montgomery, 
whom.  I  deem  a  very  brave  and  talented  officer,  and,  what  is 
infinitely  more,  a  very  intelligent,  kind,  gentlemanly,  and 
most  excellent  man  and  lover  of  freedom."  l 

Not  long  after  this  letter  Brown  wrote  to  me  from  the 
region  made  famous  by  the  Marais  des  Cygnes  murders, 
where  he  was  then  residing  under  tbe  name  of  Captain 
Shubel  Morgan,  with  a  small  company  whom  be  had  en 
listed  according  to  tbis  compact,  which  he  signed  by  his 
assumed  name :  — 


ARTICLES  OF  AGREEMENT  FOR  SHUBEL  MORGAN'S  COMPANY. 

We,  the  undersigned,  members   of  Shubel   Morgan's   company, 
hereby  agree  to  be  governed  by  the  following  rules:  — 

1  James  Montgomery,  one  of  the  bravest  partisans  on  the  Kansas  border, 
and  during  the  Civil  War  colonel  of  a  black  regiment  in  South  Carolina. 


474  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

I.  A  gentlemanly  and  respectful  deportment  shall  at  all  times  and 
places  be  maintained  towards  all  persons ;  and  all  profane  or  indecent 
language  shall  be  avoided  in  all  cases. 

II.  No  intoxicating  drinks  shall  be  used  as  a  beverage  by  any 
member,  or  be  suffered  in  camp  for  such  purpose. 

III.  No  member  shall  leave   camp  without  leave   of  the   com 
mander. 

IV.  All  property  captured  in  any  manner  shall  be  subjected  to  an 
equal  distribution  among  the  members. 

V.  All  acts  of  petty  or  other  thefts  shall  be  promptly  and  properly 
punished,  and  restitution  made  as  far  as  possible. 

VI.  All  members  shall,  so  far  as  able,  contribute  equally  to  all 
necessary  labor  in  or  out  of  camp. 

VII.  All  prisoners  who  shall  properly  demean  themselves  shall 
be  treated  with  kindness  and  respect,   and  shall   be   punished   for 
crime  only  after  trial  and  conviction,  being  allowed  a   hearing    in 
defence. 

VIII.  Implicit  obedience  shall  be  yielded  to  all  proper  orders  of 
the  commander  or  other  superior  officers. 

IX.  All    arms,    ammunition,  etc.,  not   strictly  private   property, 
shall  ever  be  held  subject  to,  and  delivered  up  on,  the  order  of  the 
commander.1 

* 
NAMES.  DATE,  1858.  NAMES.  DATE,  1858. 

Shubel  Morgan,  July  12.  E.  W.  Snyder,  July  15. 

C.  P.  Tidd,  "  "  Elias  J.  Snyder,  "  " 

J.  H.  Kagi,  "  «  John  H.  Snyder,  "  " 

A.  Wattles,  "  "  Adam  Bishop,  "  " 

Saml.  Stevenson,  "  "  Wm.  Hairgrove,  "  " 

J.  Montgomery,  "  "  John  Mikel,  "  " 

T.  Homyer  [Wiener  ?],  "  "  Wm.  Partridge,  "  " 

Simon  Snyder,  "  14. 

John  Brown  on  Guard  at  Fort  Snyder. 

MISSOURI  LINE  (ON  KANSAS  SIDE),  July  20,  1858. 

F.  B.  SANBORN,  ESQ.,  AND  FRIENDS  AT  BOSTON  AND  WORCES 
TER,  —  I  am  here  with  about  ten  of  my  men,  located  on  the  same 
quarter-section  where  the  terrible  murders  of  the  19th  of  May  were 
committed,  called  the  Hamilton  or  trading-post  murders.  Deserted 
farms  and  dwellings  lie  in  all  directions  for  some  miles  along  the 

1  This  paper  is  in  Kagi's  handwriting,  and  contains  the  signature  of 
Montgomery  as  a  private. 


1858.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  475 

line,  and  the  remaining  inhabitants  watch  every  appearance  of  per 
sons  moving  about,  with  anxious  jealousy  and  vigilance.  Four  of 
the  persons  wounded  or  attacked  on  that  occasion  are  staying  with 
me.  The  blacksmith  Snyder,  who  fought  the  murderers,  with  his 
brother  and  son,  are  of  the  number.  Old  Mr.  Hairgrove,  who  was 
terribly  wounded  at  the  same  time,  is  another.  The  blacksmith  re 
turned  here  with  me,  and  intends  to  bring  back  his  family  on  to  his 
claim  within  two  or  three  days.  A  constant  fear  of  new  troubles 
seems  to  prevail  on  both  sides  of  the  line,  and  on  both  sides  are  com 
panies  of  armed  men.  Any  little  affair  may  open  the  quarrel  afresh. 
Two  murders  and  cases  of  robbery  are  reported  of  late.  I  have  also 
a  man  with  me  who  fled  from  his  family  and  farm  in  Missouri  but  a 
day  or  two  since,  his  life  being  threatened  on  account  of  being  ac 
cused  of  informing  Kansas  men  of  the  whereabouts  of  one  of  the 
murderers,  who  was  lately  taken  and  brought  to  this  side.  I  have 
concealed  the  fact  of  my  presence  pretty  much,  lest  it  should  tend  to 
create  excitement ;  but  it  is  getting  leaked  out,  and  will  soon  be 
known  to  all.  As  I  am  not  here  to  seek  or  secure  revenge,  I  do  not 
mean  to  be  the  first  to  reopen  the  quarrel.  How  soon  it  may  be 
raised  against  me  I  cannot  say ;  nor  am  I  over  anxious.  A  portion 
of  my  men  are  in  other  neighborhoods.  We  shall  soon  be  in  great 
want  of  a  small  amount  in  a  draft  or  drafts  on  New  York,  to  feed  us. 
We  cannot  work  for  wages,  and  provisions  are  not  easily  obtained 
on  the  frontier. 

T  cannot  refrain  from  quoting,  or  rather  referring  to,  a  notice  of 
the  terrible  affair  before  alluded  to,  in  an  account  found  in  the  "  New 
York  Tribune"  of  May  31,  dated  at  Westport,  May  21.  The  writer 
says :  "  From  one  of  the  prisoners  it  was  ascertained  that  a  number 
of  persons  were  stationed  at  Snyder's,  a  short  distance  from  the  Post, 
a  house  built  in  the  gorge  of  two  mounds,  and  flanked  by  rock-walls, 
—  a  fit  place  for  robbers  and  murderers."  At  a  spring  in  a  rocky 
ravine  stands  a  very  small  open  blacksmith's-shop,  made  of  thin  slabs 
from  a  saw-mill.  This  is  the  only  building  that  has  ever  been  known 
to  stand  there,  and  in  that  article  is  called  a  "  fortification."  It  is  to 
day,  just  as  it  was  on  the  19th  of  May,  —  a  little  pent-up  shop,  con 
taining  Snyder's  tools  (what  have  not  been  carried  off)  all  covered 
with  rust,  —  and  had  never  been  thought  of  as  a  "  fortification  "  be 
fore  the  poor  man  attempted  in  it  his  own  and  his  brother's  and  son's 
defence.  I  give  this  as  an  illustration  of  the  truthfulness  of  that 
whole  account.  It  should  be  left  to  stand  while  it  may  last,  and 
should  be  known  hereafter  as  Fort  Snyder. 

I  may  continue  here  for  some  time.  Mr.  Russell  and  other  friends 
at  New  Haven  assured  me  before  I  left,  that  if  the  Lecompton  abom 
ination  should  pass  through  Congress  something  could  be  done  there 


476  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

to  relieve  me  from  a  difficulty  I  am  in,  and  which  they  understand. 
Will  not  some  of  my  Boston  friends  "  stir  up  their  minds"  in  the 
matter?  1  do  believe  they  would  be  listened  to.1 

You  may  use  this  as  you  think  best.  Please  let  friends  in  New 
York  and  at  North  Elba2  hear  from  me.  I  am  not  very  stout ;  have 
much  to  think  of  and  to  do,  and  have  but  little  time  or  chance  for 
writing.  The  weather,  of  late,  has  been  very  hot.  I  will  write  you 
all  when  I  can. 

I  believe  all  honest,  sensible  Free-State  men  in  Kansas  consider 
George  Washington  Brown's  "  Herald  of  Freedom"  one  of  the  most 
mischievous,  traitorous  publications  in  the  whole  country. 

July  23.  Since  the  previous  date  another  Free-State  Missourian 
has  been  over  to  see  us,  who  reports  great  excitement  on  the  other 
side  of  the  line,  and  that  the  house  of  Mr.  Bishop  (the  man  who  fled 
to  us)  was  beset  during  the  night  after  he  left,  but  on  finding  he  was 
not  there  they  left.  Yesterday  a  proslavery  man  from  West  Point, 
Missouri,  came  over,  professing  that  he  wantecl  to  buy  Bishop's  farm. 
1  think  he  was  a  spy.  He  reported  all  quiet  on  the  other  side.  At 
present,  along  this  part  of  the  line,  the  Free-State  men  may  be  said, 
in  some  sense,  to  u  possess  the  field  j  n  but  we  deem  it  wise  to  "  be 
on  the  alert."  Whether  Missouri  people  are  more  excited  through 
fear  than  otherwise,  I  am  not  yet  prepared  to  judge.  The  black 
smith  (Snyder)  has  got  his  family  back ;  also  some  others  have  re 
turned,  and  a  few  new  settlers  are  coming  in.  Those  who  fled  or 
were  driven  off  will  pretty  much  lose  the  season.  Since  we  came 
here  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  of  Governor  Denver's  men  have 
moved  a  little  nearer  to  the  line,  I  believe. 

AugustQ.  Have  been  down  with  the  ague  since  last  date,  and 
had  no  safe  way  of  getting  off  my  letter.  I  had  lain  every  night 
without  shelter,  suffering  from  cold  rains  and  heavy  dews,  together 
with  the  oppressive  heat  of  the  days.  A  few  days  since,  Governor 
Denver's  officer  then  in  command  bravely  moved  his  men  on  to  the 
line,  and  on  the  next  adjoining  claim  with  us.  Several  of  them  im 
mediately  sought  opportunity  to  tender  their  service  to  me  secretly. 
I  however  advised  them  to  remain  where  they  were.  Soon  after  I 


1  The  allusion  here  is  to  Brown's  contract  with  Charles  Blair,  who  was 
to  make  the  thousand  pikes.     Brown  had  not  been  able,  for  lack  of  money, 
to  complete  the  payment,  and  was  afraid  his  contract  would  be  forfeited, 
and  the  money  paid  would  be  lost.     He  therefore  communicated  the  facts 
to  Mr.  Russell,  who  was  then  the  head  of  a  military  school  at  New  Haven, 
and  had  some  assurance  from  him  of  money  to  be  raised  in  Connecticut  to 
meet  this  contract. 

2  Gerrit  Smith,  and  his  own  family. 


1858.]  THROUGH  KANSAS  TO  CANADA.  477 

came  on  the  line  my  right  name  was  reported ;  but  the  majority  did 
not  credit  the  report. 

I  am  getting  better.     You  will  know  the  true  result  of  the  election 
of  the  2d  inst.  much  sooner  than  I  shall,  probably.     I  am  in  no  place 
for  correct  general  information.     May  God  bless  you  all ! 
Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

When  recovering  from  fever  he  wrote  this  shorter  letter : 

OSAWATOMIE,  KANSAS,  Sept.  10,  1858. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  AND  OTHER  FRIENDS,  —  Your  kind  and  very 
welcome  letter  of  the  llth  July  was  received  a  long  time  since, 
but  I  was  sick  at  the  time,  and  have  been  ever  since  until  now ;  so 
that  I  did  not  even  answer  the  letters  of  my  own  family,  or  any  one 
else,  before  yesterday,  when  I  began  to  try.  I  am  very  weak  yet, 
but  gaining  well.  All  seems  quiet  now.  I  have  been  down  about 
six  weeks.  As  things  now  look  I  would  say  that  if  you  had  not 
already  sent  forward  those  little  articles,1  do  not  do  it.  Before  I  was 
taken  sick  there  seemed  to  be  every  prospect  of  some  business  very 
soon ;  and  there  is  some  now  that  requires  doing  j  but,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  I  think  not  best  to  send  them. 

I  have  heard  nothing  direct  from  Forbes  for  months,  but  expect  to 
when  I  get  to  Lawrence.  I  have  but  fourteen  regularly  employed 
hands,  the  most  of  whom  are  now  at  common  work,  and  some  are 
sick.  Much  sickness  prevails.  How  we  travel  may  not  be  best  to 
write.  I  have  often  met  the  "  notorious  "  Montgomery,  and  think 
very  favorably  of  him. 

It  now  looks  as  though  but  little  business  can  be  accomplished 
until  we  get  our  mill  into  operation.  I  am  most  anxious  about  that, 
and  want  you  to  name  the  earliest  date  possible,  as  near  as  you  can 
learn,  when  you  can  have  your  matters  gathered  up.  Do  let  me  hear 
from  you  on  this  point  (as  soon  as  consistent),  so  that  I  may  have 
some  idea  how  to  arrange  my  business.  Dear  friends,  do  be  in  earn 
est  :  the  harvest  we  shall  reap,  if  we  are  only  up  and  doing. 

Sept.  13,  1858. 

Yours  of  the  25th  August,  containing  draft  of  Mr.  S.  for  fifty  dol 
lars  is  received.  I  am  most  grateful  for  it,  and  to  you  for  your  kind 

1  The  whistles,  etc.,  mentioned  in  this  note,  sent  to  me  from  Brooklyn 
in  March,  1858.  "  Please  get  for  me  (if  you  can)  a  quantity  of  whistles 
such  as  are  used  by  the  boatswain  on  ships  of  war.  They  will  be  of  great 
service.  Every  ten  men  ought  to  have  one  at  least.  Also  some  little 
articles  as  marks  of  distinction,  which  I  mentioned  to  you." 


478  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

letter.  This  would  have  been  sooner  mailed  but  for  want  of  stamps 
and  envelopes.  I  am  gaining  slowly,  but  hope  to  be  on  my  legs 
soon.  Have  no  further  news. 

Mailed,  September  15.     Still  weak. 

Your  friend. 

To  his  Family. 

OSAWATOMIE,  KANSAS,  Sept.  9,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  received  Henry's  letter 
of  the  21st  July  a  long  time  ago,  but  was  too  sick  to  answer  it  at 
the  time,  and  have  been  ever  since  till  now.  I  am  still  very  weak, 
but  gaining  pretty  well.  I  was  never  any  more  sick.  I  left  the 
Missouri  line  about  six  weeks  since ;  soon  after,  T  was  taken  down. 
Things  are  now  very  quiet,  so  far  as  I  know.  What  course  I  shall 
next  take,  I  cannot  tell,  till  I  have  more  strength.  I  have  learned 
with  pain  that  the  flour  did  not  go  on,  and  shall  try  to  send  you  some 
money  instead  of  it,  so  that  Mr.  Allen  may  be  well  paid  for  the  bar 
rel  he  lent.  I  can  write  you  no  more  now,  but  I  want  to  know  how 
you  all  get  along.  Enclose  everything  to  Augustus  Wattles,  Moneka, 
Linn  County,  Kansas,  in  sealed  envelope,  with  my  name  only  on  it. 
God  bless  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

OSAWATOMIE,  KANSAS,  Sept.  13,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE,  —  Your  letter  of  the  25th  August  I  was  most  glad 
to  get,  notwithstanding  it  told  me  of  your  trials  ;  and  1  would  be 
thankful  that  the  same  hand  that  brought  me  your  letter  brought  me 
another,  supplying  me  with  the  means  of  sending  you  some  relief.  I 
hope  you  will  all  learn  to  put  your  trust  in  God,  and  not  become  dis 
couraged  when  you  meet  with  poor  success  and  with  losses.  I  wrote 
you  two  or  three  days  ago,  telling  you  how  I  had  been  sick,  but  was 
getting  better.  I  am  still  very  weak,  and  write  with  great  labor.  I 
enclose  draft  for  fifty  dollars,  payable  to  Watson.  I  want  Mr.  Allen 
paid  out  of  it,  to  his  full  satisfaction,  for  the  barrel  of  flour  lent,  as  a 
first  thing,  and  the  balance  used  to  supply  substantial  comforts  for 
the  family,  or  to  pay  any  little  debts.  I  shall  have  the  means,  after  a 
while,  of  paying  for  another  yoke  of  oxen,  and  I  hope  to  have  it  soon; 
but  of  that  I  cannot  be  certain.  It  would  be  well  to  make  consider 
able  inquiry  for  a  good,  youngish  yoke,  without  faults,  and  also  to 
find  where  you  can  get  them  most  reasonably  for  the  money.  Do 
not,  any  of  you,  go  in  debt  for  a  team.  You  may,  perhaps,  hire  a 
few  days'  work  of  some  good  team  to  log  with,  or  of  some  good  man 
to  help  to  pile  logs  without  a  team,  and  I  will  endeavor  to  send  the  pay 


1858.]  THROUGH  KANSAS  TO  CANADA.  479 

on  for  that  soon.  Do  the  best  you  can,  and  neither  be  hasty  nor  dis 
couraged.  You  myst  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  this  at  once,  and 
tell  me  all  how  you  get  along.  May  God  abundantly  bless  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband. 

OSAWATOMIE,  KANSAS,  Oct.  11,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  wrote  you  sometime 
since,  enclosing  G.  Smith's  check  for  fifty  dollars,  payable  to  order 
of  Watson.  Since  then  I  have  no  word  from  any  of  you,  but  am  in 
hopes  of  getting  something  to-morrow.  I  have  been  very  feeble  ever 
since,  but  have  improved  a  good  deal  now  for  about  one  week.  I  can 
now  see  no  good  reason  why  I  should  not  be  located  nearer  home,  as 
soon  as  I  can  collect  the  means  for  defraying  expenses.  I  still  intend 
sending  you  some  further  help  as  soon  as  I  can.  Will  write  you  how 
to  direct  to  me  hereafter.  No  more  now. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

MONEKA,  KANSAS,  Nov.  1,  1858. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  have  just  written  to  John 
H.  Painter,  of  Springdale,  Cedar  County,  Iowa,  to  send  you  a  New 
York  draft,  payable  to  Oliver.  I  have  strong  hopes  of  your  getting 
one  to  the  amount  of  his  note.  At  any  rate,  it  is  all  the  means  I  now 
have  of  giving  you  a  little  further  help.  Should  you  get  it,  you  need 
not  send  him  the  note,  as  my  letter  is  good  against  the  note.  I  would 
be  glad  to  have  you  pay  the  taxes,  if  you  can  so  manage  as  to  do  it  and 
be  comfortable.  I  shall  do  all  I  can  to  help  you,  and  as  fast  as  I  can. 
How  soon  I  shall  be  able  to  see  you  again,  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  still 
live  in  hopes.  I  cannot  now  tell  you  how  to  direct  to  me,  but  will 
advise  you  further  as  soon  as  I  can.  Things  at  this  moment  look 
quite  threatening  along  the  line.  I  am  much  better  in  health  than  I 
was  when  I  wrote  last,  but  not  very  strong  yet.  May  God  bless  you 
all! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

MONEKA,  KANSAS,  Nov.  1,  1858. 

DEAR  FRIENDS,  —  Your  letter  of  the  10th  October  from  Hudson 
was  received  in  good  time,  but  I  was  not  then  in  a  condition  to  reply 
at  once.  Things  at  this  moment  look  rather  threatening  in  this  im 
mediate  neighborhood  ;  but  what  will  come  up  I  cannot  say.  I  am 
obliged  to  you  for  your  efforts  to  prevent  Watson  from  going  to  Cali 
fornia,  and  will  try  to  express  my  gratitude  by  hinting  to  you  that  a 
business  and  copartnership,  such  as  you  allude  to,  would  be  very  likely 
to  require  a  good  deal  of  the  capital  (real  or  fictitious)  of  others,  where- 


480  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1858. 

by  you  would  be  likely  to  run  into  debt,  and  into  some  other  entan 
glements.  Could  you  not  do  moderately  well  by  taking  a  dairy  again? 
That  business  has  for  the  last  half  century  been  subject  to  as  few 
fluctuations  in  Ohio  as  any  other  (I  think).  Beside  that,  I  suppose 
you  already  understand  it,  tolerably  well  at  least.  I  may  take  wholly 
a  wrong  view  of  the  subject.  My  health  is  some  improved,  but  I  am 
still  weak.  Shall  write  to  you  where  to  direct  when  I  know  where 
to  do  so. 

May  God  bless  you  all !  Your  friend. 

These  letters  are  not  signed,  because  Brown  was  still  a 
proscribed  person  in  Kansas,  and  was  liable  at  any  time  to 
engage  in  new  contests  which  might  lead  to  his  arrest  by 
the  Democratic  governor  or  the  Federal  troops.  At  the 
date  of  the  last  letter,  Governor  Denver,  who  had  succeeded 
Walker  and  Stanton,  had  resigned,  and  there  was  a  short 
interregnum.  Captain  Montgomery,  with  an  armed  force 
much  larger  than  any  that  Brown  bad  commanded,  for 
some  months  patrolled  southern  Kansas,  and  retaliated 
on  the  Border  Ruffians  as  he  saw  occasion.  Montgomery 
was  Brown's  friend,  and  had  carried  Brown's  opinions 
very  far.  Just  before  April  1,  1858,  while  pursued  by 
United  States  troops,  he  turned  and  put  them  to  flight, 
firing  upon  them  and  killing  two  dragoons,  —  the  first 
and  last  time  that  the  national  soldiers  were  fired  upon  by 
the  Free-State  men  in  Kansas.  These  troubles  in  southern 
Kansas  were  mainly  over  when  Brown  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  his  family,  just  a  year  before  his  execution  :  — 

John  Brown  to  his  Children  in  Ohio. 

OSAWATOMIE,  KANSAS,  Dec.  2,  1858. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  —  I  have  a  moment  to  write  you,  and  I  hasten 
to  improve  it.  My  health  is  some  improved  since  I  wrote  you  last, 
but  still  I  get  a  shake  now  and  then.  Other  friends  are  middling 
well,  I  believe.  In  some  of  the  border  counties  south,  there  is  the 
worst  feeling  at  this  time,  which  affords  but  little  prospect  of  quiet. 
Other  portions  of  the  Territory  are  comparatively  undisturbed.  The 
winter  may  be  supposed  to  have  fairly  set  in,  which  may  compel 
parties  to  defer  hostilities  at  least.  I  want  you  to  write  my  family  to 
inquire  particularly  whether  they  are  so  circumstanced  as  to  be  able 
to  get  through  the  winter  without  suffering,  so  that  I  may  hear  from 


1859.]  THROUGH  KANSAS  TO  CANADA.  481 

them  when  I  know  where  to  have  you  direct  to  me.    I  have  but  this 
moment  returned  from  the  south,  and  expect  to  go  back  at  once. 

Your  affectionate  friend. 

P.  S.     Am  still  preparing  for  my  other  journey.  Yours. 

P.  S.  I  want  you,  some  of  you,  for  the  present,  to  write  John, 
saying  all  about  the  condition  of  your  different  families,  and  whether 
you  are  suffering  for  anything,  or  are  likely  to  be,  and  for  what,  that 
I  may  get  the  information  by-and-by,  through  him,  when  there  is 
any  chance.  You  may  depend  on  my  doing  all  in  my  power  to 
make  you  comfortable.  To  God  and  his  infinite  grace  I  commend 
you  all. 

By  his  "  other  journey,"  Brown  meant  his  Virginia  expe 
dition ;  but  he  was  then  preparing  also  for  his  raid  into 
Missouri,  to  rescue  slaves  from  one  or  two  plantations 
there.  He  has  told  the  story  of  this  raid  in  his  own 
inimitable  manner,  summing  up  in  a  short  letter  the  his 
tory  of  the  whole  year  1858  in  southern  Kansas.  It  was 
addressed  to  the  "  New  York  Tribune,"  and  published  both 
there  and  in  the  Lawrence  "  Eepublican  "  :  — 


TRADING  POST,  KANSAS,  January,  1859. 

GENTLEMEN,  —  You  will  greatly  oblige  a  humble  friend  by  allow 
ing  the  use  of  your  columns  while  I  briefly  state  two  parallels,  in  my 
poor  way. 

Not  one  year  ago  eleven  quiet  citizens  of  this  neighborhood,  — 
William  Robertson,  William  Colpetzer,  Amos  Hall,  Austin  Hall, 
John  Campbell,  Asa  Snyder,  Thomas  Stilwell,  William  Hairgrove, 
Asa  Hairgrove,  Patrick  Ross,  and  B.  L.  Reed,  —  were  gathered  up 
from  their  work  and  their  homes  by  an  armed  force  under  one  Hamil 
ton,  and  without  trial  or  opportunity  to  speak  in  their  own  defence 
were  formed  into  line,  and  all  but  one  shot,  —  five  killed  and  five 
wounded.  One  fell  unharmed,  pretending  to  be  dead.  All  were  left 
for  dead.  The  only  crime  charged  against  them  was  that  of  being 
Free- State  men.  Now,  I  inquire  what  action  has  ever,  since  the 
occurrence  in  May  last,  been  taken  by  either  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Governor  of  Missouri,  the  Governor  of  Kansas,  or 
any  of  their  tools,  or  by  any  proslavery  or  Administration  man,  to 
ferret  out  and  punish  the  perpetrators  of  this  crime  ? 

31 


482  LITE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN   BROWN.  [1859. 

Now  for  the  other  parallel.1  On  Sunday,  December  19,  a  negro 
man  called  Jim  came  over  to  the  Osage  settlement,  from  Missouri, 
and  stated  that  he,  together  with  his  wife,  two  children,  and  another 
negro  man,  was  to  be  sold  within  a  day  or  two,  and  begged  for  help 
to  get  away.  On  Monday  (the  following)  night,  two  small  com 
panies  were  made  up  to  go  to  Missouri  and  forcibly  liberate  the  five 
slaves,  together  with  other  slaves.  One  of  these  companies  I  assumed 
to  direct.  We  proceeded  to  the  place,  surrounded  the  buildings,  lib 
erated  the  slaves,  and  also  took  certain  property  supposed  to  belong 
to  the  estate.  We  however  learned  before  leaving  that  a  portion 
of  the  articles  we  had  taken  belonged  to  a  man  living  on  the  plan 
tation  SLS  a  tenant,  and  who  was  supposed  to  have  no  interest  in  the 
estate.  We  promptly  returned  to  him  all  we  had  taken.  We  then 
went  to  another  plantation,  where  we  found  five  more  slaves,  took 
some  property  and  two  white  men.  We  moved  all  slowly  away  into 
the  Territory  for  some  distance,  and  then  sent  the  white  men  back, 
telling  them  to  follow  us  as  soon  as  they  chose  to  do  so.  The  other 
company  freed  one  female  slave,  took  some  property,  and,  as  I  am 
informed,  killed  one  white  man  (the  master),  who  fought  against 
the  liberation. 

Now  for  a  comparison.  Eleven  persons  are  forcibly  restored  to 
their  natural  and  inalienable  rights,  with  but  one  man  killed,  and 
all  "hell  is  stirred  from  beneath."  It  is  currently  reported  that  the 

1  On  the  back  of  the  original  draft  of  "Old  Brown's  Parallels,"  in 
Brown's  handwriting,  is  the  following  indorsement  by  him  in  pencil  of 
stations  on  the  "  Underground  Railroad"  through  Kansas  :  — 
Raynard,  Holton.  Nemalia  City. 

Dr.  Fuller,  six  miles.  On  River  Road,  Martin  Stowell,  Mount  Ver- 

Smith,  Walnut  Creek,  fifteen.  non. 

Mills  and    Graham  (attorneys),    Albany,  Dr.  Whitenger  and  Sibley,  Nebraska  City, 
twenty-five.  Mr.  Vincent,  Ira  Reed,  Mr.  Gardner. 

Besides  these  entries  appear  the  following  :  — 

Teamsters,  Dr.    To  cash  each,  $1.00 $2.00 

Linsley,  Dr.  at  Smith's 1.00 

On  the  other  end  of  the  same  page,  — 

Cash  received  by  J.  Brown  on  his  private  account,  of  J.  H.  Painter 
on  note $100. 00 

Cash  received  by  J.  Brown  on  his  private  account,  of  J.  H.  Painter 
for  saddle 10.00 

Cash  received  by  J.  Brown  on  his  private  account,  of  J.  H.  Painter       / 
for  wagon 38.10 

"  J.  Brown  paid  for  company  :  For  G.  Gill,  $5.70  ;  to  Pearce,  $39.00  ; 
to  Painter,  $8.00  ;  to  Townsend  for  shoes,  $1.65  ;  to  Pearce,  $3.00  ;  to  Car 
penter,  $10.00  ;  to  Kagi,  $8.00  ;  to  Carpenter  for  making  shirts,  $2.00." 

These  are  part  of  the  cost  of  the  journey,  no  doubt. 


1859.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  483 

Governor  of  Missouri  has  made  a  requisition  upon  the  Governor  of 
Kansas  for  the  delivery  of  all  such  as  were  concerned  in  the  last- 
named  "  dreadful  outrage."  The  Marshal  of  Kansas  is  said  to  be 
collecting  a  posse  of  Missouri  (not  Kansas)  men  at  West  Point,  in 
Missouri,  a  little  town  about  ten  miles  distant,  to  lt  enforce  the  laws." 
All  proslavery,  conservative,  Free-State,  a,ud  dough-face  men  and 
Administration  tools  are  filled  with  holy  horror. 

Consider  the  two  cases,  and  the  action  of  the  Administration  party. 
Respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

When  Brown  was  about  to  set  forth  from  Osawatomie 
with  his  freedmen,  Gerrit  Smith,  who  had  heard  of  his  foray 
in  Missouri,  and  rejoiced  at  it,  sent  me  this  letter :  — 

PETERBORO',  Jan.  22,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  yours  of  the  19th.  I  am  happy  to  learn 
that  the  Underground  Railroad  is  so  prosperous  in  Kansas.  I  cannot 
help  it  now,  in  the  midst  of  the  numberless  calls  upon  me.  But  I 
send  you  twenty-five  dollars,  which  I  wish  you  to  send  to  our  noble 
friend  John  Brown.  Perhaps  you  can  get  some  other  contributions 
to  send  along  with  it.  He  is  doubtless  in  great  need  of  all  he  can 
get.  The  topography  of  Missouri  is  unfavorable.  Would  that  a 
spur  of  the  Alleghany  extended  from  the  east  to  the  west  borders  of 
the  State!  Mr.  Morton  has  not  yet  returned.  We  hope  he  may 
come  to-night.  In  haste,  your  friend, 

GERRIT  SMITH. 

P.  S.    Dear  Theodore  Parker  !     May  Heaven  preserve  him  to  us ! 

It  was  not  far  from  January  20  when  Brown  started 
northward  with  his  freedmen  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Pottawatomie,  where  he  had  sheltered  them.  The  follow 
ing  letter  was  received  by  Brown  while  tarrying  a  day  at 
Major  J.  B.  Abbott's  house  on  the  Wakarusa,  near  Lawrence, 
with  the  eleven  fugitives,  —  the  same  brave  Abbott  who 
rescued  Branson  three  years  before.  It  was  written  in  reply 
to  one  sent  from  Brown  by  messenger  to  Judge  Conway ; 
upon  the  back  of  it  is  a  pencil  memorandum  in  the  hand 
writing  of  Brown,  apparently  giving  the  names  of  safe 
stopping-places  on  the  route  northward,  as  follows  :  "  Sheri 
dan's,  Hill,  Holton,  Fuller's,  Smith's,  Plymouth,  Indians, 
Little  Nemeha,  Dr.  Blanchard's,  .Tabor." 


484  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

Judge  Conway  to  John  Brown. 

LAWRENCE,  K.  T.,  Jan.  23,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  been  able  to  see  Whitman  but  once  since  I 
got  your  previous  letter,  and  then  he  promised  to  come  and  see  me 
about  it ;  but  he  has  not  done  so.  I  am  of  opinion  that  you  will  not 
be  able  to  get  any  funds  from  him.  He  expressed  himself  to  me 
since  his  return  from  the  East  as  dissatisfied  at  your  proceedings  in 
Lawrence  when  you  were  here  before.  He  has  always  complaints 
to  make  about  his  pecuniary  sufferings  in  connection  with  the  Na 
tional  Kansas  Committee.  Still,  it  may  be  as  well  fur  you  to  look 
after  him  at  this  time.  Anything  I  can  do  for  you  I  will  do  ;  but  I 
am  extremely  pinched  for  money,  and  am  unable  to  do  anything  in 
that  way.  If,  however,  you  can  suggest  anything  within  my  power 
by  which  I  may  aid  you,  I  am  at  your  service.  You  know  Mr. 
Whitman  is  living  out  of  town.  He  does  not  come  in  very  often.  I 
shall  keep  u  entirely  dark,"  of  course. 

Very  truly  your  friend,  M.  F.  CONWAY. 

The  retreat  from  southern,  Kansas  with  his  freedmen, 
and  particularly  the  first  stage,  of  his  journey  from  Osawa- 
tomie  to  Lawrence,  was  one  of  the  boldest  adventures  of 
Brown.  With  a  price  on  his  head,  with  but  one  white 
companion,  himself  an  outlaw,  with  twelve  fugitives  who 
had  been  advertised  the  world  over,  and  with  their  prop 
erty  loaded  into  an  odd-looking  wagon  and  drawn  by  the 
cattle  taken  from  the  slave-owner  in  Missouri,  Brown  pushed 
forward,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  regardless  of  warnings  and 
threats,  but  relying  on  the  mercy  of  God  and  on  his  own 
stout  heart.  His  next  and  most  dangerous  stage  was  from 
Holton  in  Jackson  County,  thirty  miles  north  of  Topeka, 
to  the  Nebraska  border.  At  Holton  he  occupied  the  cabin 
of  Albert  Fuller,  and  went  forth  from  there  with  his  Topeka 
reinforcements,  to  win  "  the  battle  of  the  spurs.7'  It  was 
at  this  encounter  that  he  made  that  capture  of  his  pursuers 
concerning  which  Brown's  biographers  have  romanced  a  lit 
tle,  saying,  among  other  things,  that  he  forced  his  prisoners 
to  pray  or  be  shot.  The  truth  of  that  matter  is  better  nar 
rated  thus : — 

"  One  of  the  party  captured  was  Dr.  Hereford,  a  young  physician 
from  Atchison, — a  wild,  rattling,  devil-may-care  kind  of  fellow, 


1859.]  THROUGH  KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  485 

always  ready  for  an  adventure,  but  who  really  had  nothing  very  bad 
in  his  composition.  Brown  took  him  under  his  especial  care.  One 
.  evening  he  called  upon  the  doctor  to  offer  prayer. 

"  '  By  God  ! '  said  the  doctor,  '  I  can't  pray.' 

"  l  Did  your  mother  never  teach  you  to  pray  ? ' 

"  '  Oh,  yes;  but  that  was  a  long  time  ago.7 

"  '  But  you  still  remember  the  prayer  she  taught  you,'  said 
Brown. 

"  '  Yes.' 

"  l  Well,  for  lack  of  a  better  one,  say  that.'  And  the  doctor  re 
peated  before  black  arid  white  comrades  of  the  camp  that  night  the 
rhyme,  '  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep,'  etc.,  to  the  amusement  of  his 
fellow- prisoners  and  others. 

"  On  his  return  home  he  related  this,  and  said  with  an  oath  that 
John  Brown  was  the  best  man  he  had  ever  met,  and  knew  more 
about  religion  than  any  man.  When  asked  whether  Brown  had 
ever  treated  them  badly,  or  used  harsh  language  while  they  were 
with  him,  he  said,  'No,'  —  that  they  were  all  treated  like  gentlemen ; 
had  the  same  fare  as  the  others ;  but  it  did  go  a  little  against  the 
grain  to  eat  with  and  be  guarded  by  i  damned  niggers.'  "  l 

Brown  appears  to  have  made  no  written  report  of  his 
retreat  with  the  freedmen  through  Kansas,  Nebraska,  Iowa, 
Illinois,  and  Michigan  to  Canada  ;  but  I  find  copious  accounts 
of  it  by  others.  He  reached  Lawrence  January  24,  1859, 
and  travelled  northward  slowly.  About  thirty  miles  from 
Topeka  he  found  shelter  in  a  vacant  log-cabin,  belonging  to 
Dr.  Fuller. 

"  Our  party,"  says  a  comrade,  "  consisted  only  of  the  captain, 
myself,  and  a  man  known  by  the  name  of  Whipple  in  Kansas,  but 
afterward  as  Stephens  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Kagi  and  Tidd  had  stayed 
at  Topeka  to  procure  provisions,  and  our  teamster  had  been  sent  back 
to  bring  them  along.  While  waiting  for  them,  we  found  ourselves 
surrounded  by  a  band  of  human  bloodhounds,  headed  by  the  notorious 
deputy-marshal  of  the  United  States,  Wood.  I  afterward  learned 

1  The  prisoners  all  cursed  terribly  at  their  ill  luck  in  being  captured. 
Brown  said  to  them  :  "  Gentlemen,  you  do  very  wrong  to  thus  take  the 
name  of  God  in  vain.  Besides,  it  is  very  foolish  ;  for  if  there  is  a  God 
you  can  gain  nothing  by  such  profanity  ;  and  if  there  is  no  God,  how  fool 
ish  it  is  to  ask  God's  curses  on  anything  ! "  The  men  saw  their  folly, 
ceased  swearing,  and  joined  willingly  in  the  morning  and  evening  prayers 
of  the  party  during  the  five  days  they  were  held  prisoners. 


486  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

that  he  was  put  on  our  track  by  a  traitor  from  New  Hampshire, 
named  Hussey.     Whipple  lived  alone  in  a  small  empty  cabin  near 
the  one  we  occupied.      There  had  been  heavy  rains,. which  produced 
a  freshet ;  and  one  day  as  he  walked  a  short  distance  from  the  cabin 
to  see  whether  the  waters  had  subsided,  eight  of  the  marshal's  men 
came  upon  him  suddenly,  and  asked  him  if  he  had  seen  any  negroes 
thereabout.      He  told  them  if  they  would  come  with  him  he  would 
show  them  some,  and  conducted  them  to  his  cabin  where  he  had  left 
his  rifle.     He  came  back  immediately  and  pointed  his  rifle  at  the 
leader,  commanding  him  to  surrender,  which  he  did  at  once.     The 
other  men  put  spurs  to  their  horses,  and  rode  off  as  fast  as  possible. 
From  that  time  I  was  the  sole  bodyguard  of  Captain  Brown,  the 
eleven  fugitives,  and  the  prisoner  who  had  surrendered,  —  Whipple 
keeping  a  sharp  lookout  as  our  sentry.      We  were  detained  at  this 
place  about  three  days.     At  last  our  provisions  arrived,  and  we  were 
joined  by  a  band  of  Topeka  boys  who  had  walked  down  in  the  night 
to  aid  us.      We  then  started  on  our  journey.      A  short  distance  from 
our  road  was  Muddy  Creek,  where  the  marshal,  supposing  our  party 
must  pass  that  way,  stationed  himself  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
creek,  with  eighty  armed  men,  for  he  had  made  careful  preparations, 
well  knowing  that  it  was  no  joke  to  attack  old  Brown.     Captain 
Brown  had  with  him  only  twenty-three  white  men,  all  told.     He 
placed  them  in  double  file,  in  front  of  the  emigrant  wagons,  and  said, 
*  Now  go  straight  at  'em,  boys  !      They  '11  be  sure  to  run.'      In  obe 
dience  to  this  order,  we  marched  towards  the  creek,  but  scarcely  had 
the  foremost  entered  the  water  when  the  valiant  marshal  mounted  his 
horse,  and  rode  off  in  haste.      His  men  followed  as  fast  as  possible, 
but  they  were  not  all  so  lucky  as  he  was  in  untying  their  horses  from 
the  stumps  and  bushes.     The  scene  was  ridiculous  beyond  descrip 
tion  ;   some  horses  were  hastily  mounted  by  two  men.     One  man 
grabbed  tight  hold  of  the  tail  of  a  horse,  trying  to  leap  on  from  be 
hind,  while  the  rider  was  putting  the  spurs  into  his  sides  ;  so  he  went 
flying  through  the  air,  his  feet  touching  the  ground  now  and  then. 
Those  of  our  men  who  had  horses  followed  them  about  six  miles, 
and  brought  back  with  them  four  prisoners  and  five  horses.     Mean 
while  Captain  Brown  and  the  rest  of  his  company  succeeded  in  draw 
ing  the  emigrant  wagons  through  the  creek  by  means  of  long  ropes. 
This  battle  of  Muddy  Creek  was  known  ever  after  in  Kansas  as  '  The 
Battle  of  the  Spurs.'    When  we  resumed  our  journey,  the  captain  did 
not  think  it  prudent  to  allow  the  five  prisoners  to  mount  their  horses 
lest  they  should  escape  and  bring  a  fresh  party  to  attack  us.      So  he 
told  them  they  must  walk  ;  but  as  he  meant  them  no  unkindness,  he 
would  walk  with  them.    They  went  on  together,  he  talking  with  them 
all  the  way  concerning  the  wickedness  of  slavery,  and  the  meanness  of 


1859.]  THROUGH  KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  487 

slavehunting.  He  kept  them  with  us  all  night ;  in  the  morning  he 
told  them  that  they  might  make  the  best  of  their  way  back  on  foot. 
Their  horses  were  retained  from  prudential  motives,  as  it  was  ob 
viously  not  for  the  safety  of  our  colored  emigrants  to  have  these  men 
return  very  speedily.  The  horses  captured  from  Marshal  Wood's 
posse  were  given  to  the  brave  Topeka  boys  who  had  walked  so  far 
to  help  us." 

Another  comrade,  Jacob  Willetts,  of  Topeka,  says  :  — 

"I  lived  on  a  farm  a  short  distance  from  Topeka  at  the  time 
Brown  was  last  in  Kansas.  When  he  came  up  north  he  stopped 
with  my  near  neighbor,  Mr.  Sheridan,  and  sent  for  me.  When  I  got 
there  he  wanted  me  to  go  to  town  on  business  for  him.  I  came  down 
that  night  with  him  to  cross  the  river,  and  on  the  way  he  told  me  he 
had  some  colored  people  with  him,  who  were  in  need,  and  asked  me  if 
I  could  do  anything  to  help  them.  They  had  no  shoes,  and  but  little 
to  eat.  I  went  out  among  the  houses  and  into  several  stores  and  got 
a  number  of  pairs  of  shoes  and  some  little  money  for  the  good  cause. 
As  we  were  going  down  to  the  river,  I  noticed  Brown  shivering,  and 
that  his  legs  trembled  a  good  deal.  I  suspected  something,  and  as  I 
sat  beside  him  on  my  horse  I  reached  down  and  felt  of  his  panta 
loons,  and  found  they  were  of  cotton,  thin  and  suited  to  summer,  not 
to  the  cold  weather  we  had  then.  I  asked  him  :  '  Mr.  Brown,  have 
you  no  drawers  ? 7  He  said  he  had  not.  '  Well,'  I  said,  '  there  is  no 
time  to  go  to  the  store  now ;  but  I  have  on  a  pair  that  were  new  to 
day,  and  if  you  will  take  them  you  can  have  them  and  welcome.' 
After  a  few  words  he  agreed  to  it.  We  got  down  beside  the  wagons 
on  the  boat ;  I  took  the  drawers  off,  and  he  put  them  on.  I  don't  re 
member  what  day  this  was ;  but  one  Sunday  morning,  not  a  great 
while  after,  we  got  word  that  Brown  was  surrounded  near  Holton.  I 
could  not  go  just  then,  but  got  started  during  the  day,  and  when  we 
got  to  Holton  we  found  that  the  way  had  been  cleared  and  Brown 
had  gone  on." 

Another  writer  continues  the  narrative  thus  :  — 

"  The  trip  after  leaving  Holton  was  accompanied  with  great  hard 
ships.  By  pressing  through  rapidly,  despite  extremely  cold  weather 
and  drifted  roads,  the  crossing  of  the  Missouri  was  made  at  Nebraska 
City  before  a  force  could  be  gathered  to  intercept  them.  At  Tabor 
Brown  had  formerly  been  received  with  great  hospitality  and  treated 
in  the  friendliest  manner;  but  the  very  people  who  had  formerly  con 
tributed  to  his  wants  so  liberally  now  felt  called  upon  to  assemble  and 
resolve  that  Brown's  conduct  in  crossing  into  a  slave  State  and  forcing 


488  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

negroes  away  was  inconsistent  with  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  and 
with  Christianity.  This  was  very  disagreeable  to  Bro\\rn,  who  sup 
posed  the  good  men  of  Tabor  were  the  friends  of  fugitives.  But  the 
Tabor  people,  though  good  Republican  voters,  were  alarmed,  and 
declared  such  fugitives  contraband.  A  public  meeting  was  called  for 
Monday  morning,  and  announced  in  the  churches  of  that  whole  region 
on  the  Sunday  preceding.  The  people  flocked  in,  and  a  Missouri  slave 
holder  was  there  as  well  as  John  Brown  and  his  lieutenant  John  Henry 
Kagi,  who  was  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  meeting  was  addressed 
by  a  deacon,  who  had  hitherto  been  reckoned  an  Abolitionist,  but 
now  called  on  his  fellow-Christians  to  declare  that  the  forcible  rescue 
of  slaves  was  robbery  and  might  lead  to  murder,  and  that  the  citizens 
of  Tabor  had  no  sympathy  with  John  Brown  in  his  late  acts.1  When 
the  deacon  had  offered  his  resolution  and  made  his  speech,  another 
resolution  was  offered  as  a  substitute  by  James  Vincent,  but  drawn 
up  by  Kagi,  to  this  effect :  — 

'  Whereas,  John  Brown  and  his  associates  have  been  guilty  of  robbery 
and  murder  in  the  State  of  Missouri, 

'  Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Tabor,  repudiate  his  conduct  and 
theirs,  and  will  hereupon  take  them  into  custody,  and  hold  them  to  await 
the  action  of  the  Missouri  authorities.' 

"  The  meeting  evaded  this  caustic  test  of  its  sincerity,  but  went  on 
denouncing  Brown  and  his  acts.  In  the  midst  of  these  natural  but 
disgraceful  proceedings,  John  Brown  arose,  and  left  the  meeting,  in 
aggrieved  silence." 

He  never  returned  to  Tabor,  but  from  Springdale,  a  week 
or  two  later,  he  wrote  to  a  friend  in  Tabor  as  follows  :  — 

RECEPTION  OF  BROWN  AND    PARTY  AT  GRINNELL,  IOWA,  COM 
PARED  WITH  PROCEEDINGS  AT  TABOR. 

SPRINGDALE,  IOWA,  Feb.  25,  1859. 

1 .  Whole  party  and  teams  kept  for  two  days  free  of  cost. 

2.  Sundry  articles  of  clothing  given  to  the  captives. 

3.  Bread,  meat,  cakes,  pies,  etc.,  prepared  for  our  journey. 

4.  Full  houses  for  two  nights  in  succession,  at  which  meetings 
Brown  and  Kagi  spoke,  and  were  loudly  cheered  and  fully  indorsed. 

1  Here  is  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  citizens  of  Tabor,  Feb.  7,  1859  : 
Resolved,  That  while  we  sympathize  with  the  oppressed,  and  will  do  all  that  we  con 
scientiously  can  to  help  them  in  their  efforts  for  freedom,  nevertheless  we  have  no 
sympathy  with  those  who  go  to  slave  States  to  entice  away  slaves  and  take  property 
or  life  when  necessary  to  attain  that  end. 

J.  S.  SMITH,  Secretary. 


1859.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  489 

Three  Congregational  clergymen  attended  the  meeting  on  Sabbath 
evening  (notice  of  which  was  given  out  from  the  pulpit).  All  of 
them  took  part  in  justifying  our  course  and  in  urging  contributions 
in  our  behalf.  There  was  no  dissenting  speaker  present  at  either 
meeting.  Mr.  Grinnell  spoke  at  length;  and  has  since  labored  to 
procure  us  a  free  arid  safe  conveyance  to  Chicago,  and  effected  it. 

5.  Contributions  in  cash  amounting  to  $26.50. 

6.  Last,  but  not  least,  public  thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  of 
fered  up  by  Mr.  Grinnell  in  the  behalf  of  the  whole  company  for  His 
great  mercy  and  protecting  care,  with  prayers  for  a  continuance  of 
those  blessings. 

As  the  action  of  Tabor  friends  has  been  published  in  the  newspa 
pers  by  some  of  her  people  (as  I  suppose),  would  not  friend  Gaston 
or  some  other  friend  give  publicity  to  all  the  above  ? 

Respectfully  your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

P.  S.  Our  reception  among  the  Quaker  friends  here  has  been  most 
cordial.  Yours  truly,  J.  B. 

To  quiet  the  scruples  of  some  persons  in  the  North,  Brown 
made  these  notes  for  a  speech :  — 

"VINDICATION  OF  THE  INVASION,  ETC. 

"The  Denver  truce  was  broken;  and  (1)  It  was  in  accordance 
with  my  settled  policy ;  (2)  It  was  intended  as  a  discriminating  blow 
at  slavery  ;  (3)  It  was  calculated  to  lessen  the  value  of  slaves  ;  (4)  It 
was  (over  and  above  all  other  motives)  right. 

"Duty  of  all  persons  in  regard  to  this  matter. 

"Criminality  of  neglect  in  this  matter. 

"  Suppose  a  case. 

"Ask  for  further  support." 

The  family  letters  at  this  period  are  few,  but  I  find  some. 
The  first  was  written  while  in  southern  Kansas  with  his 
fugitives,  waiting  for  a  favorable  time  to  take  them  to  Can 
ada;  but  he  did  not  trust  the  tidings  of  what  he  had  done 
or  exactly  where  he  was  to  a  letter,  which  might  be  taken 
from  the  mails  in  Missouri. 

To  his  Family. 

OSAWATOMIE,  KANSAS,  Jan.  11,  1859. 

DEAR  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  have  but  a  moment  in  which  to  tell 
you  that  I  am  in  middling  health  ;  but  have  not  been  able  to  tell  you 


490  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1859. 

as  yet  where  to  write  me.  This  I  hope  will  be  different  soon.  I 
suppose  you  get  Kansas  news  generally  through  the  papers.1  May 
God  ever  bless  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

TABOR,  IOWA,  Feb.  10,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  am  once  more  in  Iowa, 
through  the  great  mercy  of  God.  Those  with  me,  and  other  friends, 
are  well.  I  hope  soon  to  be  at  a  point  where  I  can  learn  of  your 
welfare,  and  perhaps  send  you  something  besides  my  good  wishes.  I 
suppose  you  get  the  common  news.  May  the  God  of  my  fathers  be 
your  God ! 

SPRINTGDALE,  CEDAR  COUNTY,  IOWA,  March  2,  1859. 
DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  write  to  let  you  know  that 
all  is  yet  well  with  me,  except  that  I  am  not  very  strong.  I  have 
something  of  the  ague  yet  hanging  about  me.  I  confidently  expect 
to  be  able  to  send  you  some  help  about  team,  etc.,  in  a  very  few 
days.  However,  if  I  should  be  delayed  about  it  longer  than  I  could 
wish,  do  not  be  discouraged.  I  was  much  relieved  to  find  on  coming 
here  that  you  had  got  the  draft  sent  by  Mr.  Painter.  He  has  been 
helping  me  a  little  in  advance  of  its  being  due,  since  I  got  on.  Do 
not  be  in  haste  to  buy  a  team  until  you  can  have  time  to  get  further 
word  from  me.  I  shall  do  as  fast  as  I  can ;  and  may  God  bless  and 
keep  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

Iowa  City  is  not  far  from  Springdale,  and  it  may  have 
been  the  proslavery  postmaster  there  concerning  whom  this 
anecdote  is  told :  In  the  midst  of  a  crowd  on  the  street- 
corner  a  quiet  old  countryman  was  seen  listening  to  a  cham 
pion  of  slavery,  who  was  denouncing  Brown  as  a  reckless, 
bloody  outlaw,  —  a  man  who  never  dared  to  fight  fair,  but 
skulked,  and  robbed,  and  murdered  in  the  dark ;  adding, 

1  They  would  thus  learn  that  he  had  made  his  foray,  and  that  both 
Governor  Medary  of  Kansas  and  President  Buchanan  had  set  a  price  on  his 
head.  Charles  Robinson's  account  of  this  foray  (published  twenty  years 
later  in  the  "  Topeka  Commonwealth")  is  characteristic  :  "Brown  and 
his  heroes  went  over  the  line  into  Missouri,  killed  an  old  peaceable  citi 
zen,  and  robbed  him  of  all  the  personal  effects  they  could  drive  or  carry 
away.  Such  proceedings  caused  the  Free-State  men  to  organize  to  drive 
him  from  the  Territory ;  and  he  went  to  Harper's  Ferry,  where  he  dis 
played  his  wonderful  generalship  in  committing  suicide." 


1859.]  THROUGH   KANSAS  TO   CANADA.  491 

"  If  I  could  get  sight  of  him  I  would  shoot  him  on  the  spot ; 
I  would  never  give  him  a  chance  to  steal  any  more  slaves." 
(C My  friend,"  said  the  countryman  in  his  modest  way,  "you 
talk  very  brave ;  and  as  you  will  never  have  a  better  oppor 
tunity  to  shoot  Old  Brown  than  right  here  and  now,  you  can 
have  a  chance."  Then,  drawing  two  revolvers  from  his 
pockets  he  offered  one  to  the  braggart,  requesting  him  to 
take  it  and  shoot  as  quick  as  he  pleased.  The  mob  orator 
slunk  away,  and  Brown  returned  his  pistols  to  his  pocket. 

When  this  affair  happened,  Brown's  expedition  from  Kan 
sas  back  to  Canada  was  nearly  over.  On  the  12th  of  March, 
1859,  he  saw  his  twelve  freedmen  (among  them  a  new 
born  infant)  safely  ferried  across  from  Detroit  to  Windsor, 
where  "  the  paw  of  the  Lion "  protected  them.1  After 
Brown's  capture  in  Virginia,  public  attention  was  directed 
to  them;  and  their  condition  was  described  by  several 
friends  who  visited  them.  When  they  heard  Brown's 
speech  in  court  read  to  them  they  burst  into  tears  and  sobs, 
declaring  that  they  wished  they  could  die  instead  of  their 
liberator ;  and  one  woman  said,  "  If  the  Bible  is  true,  he 
will  have  his  reward  in  heaven,  for  he  followed  the  Bible 
in  this  world."  His  action,  however,  like  that  of  earlier 
Christians,  brought  much  reproach  upon  himself  at  first. 
Even  his  stanch  friend  Dr.  Howe,  who  as  a  young  man 
had  taken  part  in  the  Greek  revolution,  the  French  revolu 
tion  of  July,  and  the  Polish  revolution  of  1831,  was  dis 
tressed,  on  his  return  from  Cuba  in  the  spring  of  1859,  to 
find  that  Brown  had  actually  been  taking  the  property  of 
slaveholders  to  give  their  escaping  slaves  an  outfit,  —  and 
for  a  time  withdrew  his  support.  Nor  did  he  ever  sustain 
Brown's  Virginia  scheme  again  so  heartily  as  he  had  done 
before  this  visit  to  Cuba  and  Carolina.2  Meanwhile,  the 

1  When  he  parted  from  them  Brown  said  :   "Lord,  permit  Thy  servant 
to  die  in  peace  ;    for  mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy  salvation  !     1    could   not 
brook  the  thought  that  any  ill  should  befall  you,  —  least  of  all,  that  you 
should  be  taken  back  to  slavery.     The  arm  of  Jehovah  protected  us." 

2  Dr.  Howe,  returning  from  Cuba  (whither  he  accompanied  Theodore 
Parker  in  February,  1859),  journeyed  through  the  Carolinas,  and  there  ac 
cepted  the  hospitality  of  Wade  Hampton  and  other  rich  planters  ;  and  it 
shocked  him  to  think  that  he  might  be  instrumental  iu  giving  up  to  fire 


492  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

secret  committee  were  not  idle.  The  fifty  dollars  sent 
to  Brown  in  Kansas,  Aug.  25,  1858,  and  acknowledged  by 
him  September  13,  came  from  Gerrit  Smith,  who  first  and 
last  gave  him  more  than  a  thousand  dollars.1  The  long 
letters  from  Kansas  were  sent  by  me  to  Higginson,  Oct.  13, 
1858,  with  this  comment :  — 

"  I  received  the  enclosed  letter  from  our  friend  a  week  or  two 
since.  You  see  he  is  anxious  ahout  future  operations.  Can  you  do 
anything  for  him  before  next  March  j  and  if  so,  what  ?  The  partners 
in  Boston  have  talked  the  matter  over,  but  have  not  yet  come  to  any 
definite  proposal.  I  send  you  also  an  older  letter,  which  should  have 
been  sent  to  you,  but  by  some  fault  of  others  was  not." 

Higginson  expressed  the  hope  that  the  enterprise  would 
not  be  deferred  longer  than  the  spring  of  1859,  and  made 
some  contribution  to  the  fund ;  as  did  also  Parker  and 
the  other  members  of  the  secret  committee.  No  active 
movement  to  raise  money  was  undertaken,  however,  until 
the  next  spring.  On  the  19th  of  January,  1859,  three 
weeks  after  Brown's  incursion  into  Missouri,  I  wrote  to 
Higginson  :  — 

"I  have  had  no  private  advices  from  J.  B.  since  I  wrote  you. 
He  has  begun  the  work  in  earnest,  I  fancy,  and  will  find  enough  to  do 
where  he  is,  for  the  present.  I  earnestly  hope  he  may  not  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  United  States  or  Missouri.  If  he  does  not,  I  think 
we  may  look  for  great  results  from  this  spark  of  fire.  If  Forbes  is  a 
traitor,  he  will  now  show  his  hand,  and  we  can  pin  him  in  some 


and  pillage  their  noble  mansions.     But  the  Civil  War  did  that  five  or  six 
years  later,  with  Howe's  full  consent. 

1  Most  of  the  smaller  sums  which  Brown  received  during  the  years 
1858  and  1859,  I  suppose,  passed  through  my  hands  ;  while  the  larger 
sums  were  paid  to  him  directly  by  Mr.  Stearns  or  other  contributors. 
Most  of  the  correspondence  on  this  Virginia  business  also  went  through 
my  hands  ;  it  being  Brown's  custom  to  write  one  letter,  to  be  read  by  the 
half-dozen  persons  with  whom  he  desired  to  communicate  ;  and  this  letter 
generally  (by  no  means  always)  coming  to  me  in  the  first  instance.  My 
custom  was  to  show  it  to  Mr.  Parker  and  Dr.  Howe,  when  they  were  at 
home,  then  to  send  it  to  Mr.  Stearns,  who  sometimes  forwarded  it  to 
Higginson  or  some  more  distant  correspondent,  and  sometimes  returned  it 
to  me. 


1859.]  THROUGH   KANSAS   TO   CANADA.  493 

I  also  wrote  later,  as  follows :  — 

March  4. 

u  Brown  was  at  Tabor  on  the  10th  of  February,  with  his  stock  in 
fine  condition,  as  he  says  in  a  letter  to  Gr.  Smith.  He  also  says  he 
is  ready  with  some  new  men  to  set  his  mill  in  operation,  and  seems 
to  be  coming  East  for  that  purpose.  Mr.  Smith  proposes  to  raise 
one  thousand  dollars  for  him,  and  to  contribute  one  hundred  dollars 
himself.  I  think  a  larger  sum  ought  to  be  raised  ;  but  can  we  raise 
so  much  as  this?  Brown  says  he  thinks  any  one  of  us  who  talked 
with  him  might  raise  the  sum  if  we  should  set  about  it;  perhaps  this 
is  so,  but  I  doubt.  As  a  reward  for  what  he  has  done,  perhaps 
money  might  be  raised  for  him.  At  any  rate,  he  means  to  do  the 
work,  and  I  expect  to  hear  of  him  in  New  York  within  a  few  weeks. 
Dr.  Howe  thinks  John  Forbes  and  some  others  not  of  our  party 
would  help  the  project  if  they  knew  of  it."  l 

Following  up  this  last  suggestion,  I  sounded  several  anti- 
slavery  men  of  wealth  and  influence  in  the  spring  of  1859, 
and  did  obtain  subscriptions  from  persons  who  were  willing 
to  give  to  a  brave  man  forcibly  interfering  with  slavery, 
without  inquiring  very  closely  what  he  would  do  next. 
But  Parker  (who  never  returned  to  Boston,  but  died  in 
Florence  soon  after  Brown's  execution)  contributed  nothing 
after  1858 ;  nor  did  Higginson  give  so  much,  or  interest 
himself  so  warmly  in  the  enterprise  after  its  first  postpone 
ment.  All  this  would  have  made  it  more  difficult  to  raise  the 
money  which  Brown  needed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  munifi 
cence  of  Mr.  Stearns,  who  at  each  emergency  came  forward 
with  his  indispensable  gifts.  After  placing  about  twelve 
hundred  dollars  in  Brown's  hands  in  the  spring  and  sum 
mer  of  1859,  he  still  continued  to  aid  him,  in  one  way  and 

1  Dr.    Howe   gave  me  the   following  letter  at   New  York,    Feb.   5, 
1859:  — 
JOHN  M.  FORBES,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  If  you  would  like  to  hear  an  honest,  keen,  and  veteran  backwoodsman 
disclose  some  plans  for  delivering  our  land  from  the  curse  of  slavery,  the  bearer  will  do 
so.  I  think  I  know  him  well.  He  is  of  the  Puritan  militant  order.  He  is  an  enthusi 
ast,  yet  cool,  keen,  and  cautions.  He  has  a  martyr's  spirit.  He  will  ask  nothing  of 
you  but  the  pledge  that  you  keep  to  yourself  what  he  may  say. 
Faithfully  yours, 

S.  G.  Howe. 

I  never  used  this  letter,  but  personally  introduced  Brown  to  Mr.  Forbes 
in  May,  1859,  at  his  house  in  Milton,  near  Boston. 


494  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

another,  until  almost  the  day  of  the  attack  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  Gerrit  Smith,  also,  was  better  than  his  word,  and 
gave  Brown  more  than  seven  hundred  dollars  between 
his  return  to  Canada  in  March  and  his  interview  with 
Frederick  Douglass  in  September,  1859. 

From  Canada  Brown  went  to  Ohio,  where  he  publicly 
sold  the  horses  he  had  captured  in  Kansas,  warning  the 
purchasers  of  a  possible  defect  in  the  title.1  He  then 
reported  for  counsel  and  encouragement  at  North  Elba, 
at  Peterboro',  and  finally,  in  May,  1859,  at  Concord  and 
Boston. 

1  A  Vermont  judge  refused  to  recognize  a  slave  as  property,  until  his 
owner  could  bring  before  the  court  "a  bill  of  sale  from  the  Almighty." 
Brown  fancied  he  held  these  horses  by  such  a  title. 


NOTE.  — John  Brown,  Jr.,  says  :  "In  the  winter  of  1857-58  I  brought 
the  arms  from  the  railroad  at  Conneaut  to  Cherry  Valley,  stored  them  in 
the  furniture  warerooms  of  the  King  Brothers,  and  covered  the  boxes  with 
a  lot  of  ready-made  coffins.  In  the  following  spring  I  was  made  slightly 
anxious  one  day  by  a  visit  from  the  township  assessor,  who  in  the  line 
of  his  duty  went  up  into  the  room  where  they  were  stored  and  took 
the  number  of  the  coffins  in  a  somewhat  hurried  way,  but  fortunately 
without  examining  what  was  beneath  them.  On  receipt  of  the  letter  from 
father,  of  May  11,  1858,  I  moved  the  arms  (two  wagon-loads)  by  night  to 
the  western  part  of  the  next  township  of  Wayne,  and  stored  them  in  the 
barn  of  a  farmer  named  William  Coleman,  who  helped  me  by  night  to 
build  a  little  store-room  under  his  hay-mow.  There  they  remained  per 
fectly  secreted  (his  wife,  even,  did  not  know  it)  until  I  took  them,  again  by 
night,  to  the  canal  at  Hartstown,  Penn.,  early  in  the  summer  of  1859,  and 
shipped  them  as  hardware  to  Chambersburg."  This  refers  to  the  rifles, 
etc.,  afterward  captured  at  the  Kennedy  farm. 


1859.1  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS   FRIENDS  495 


CHAPTER   XIV. 
JOHN  BROWN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS. 

TN  the  broad  and  permanent  sense  of  that  comforting 
-*•  word  "friendship/'7  John  Brown  had  innumerable 
friends.  When  Wordsworth,  in  the  flush  of  the  noble 
pantheism  which  breathes  through  his  earlier  verse,  ad 
dressed  the  fallen  Toussaint  L'Ouverture  in  his  French 
dungeon,  he  described  the  state  of  John  Brown,  and 
every  generous  champion  of  God's  cause  :  — 

"  Live,  and  take  comfort !     Thou  hast  left  behind 
Powers  that  will  work  for  thee,  —  air,  earth,  aud  skies. 
There 's  not  a  breathing  of  the  common  wind 
That  will  forget  thee  ;  thou  hast  great  allies  : 
Thy  friends  are  exultations,  agonies, 
And  Love,  and  man's  unconquerable  Mind." 

In  the  same  sense,  but  more  definitely,  Emerson  said  at 
Salem  five  weeks  after  Brown's  execution,1  — 

11 1  am  not  a  little  surprised  at  the  easy  effrontery  with  which  politi 
cal  gentlemen,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  take  it  upon  them  to  say  that 
there  are  not  a  thousand  men  in  the  North  who  sympathize  with 
John  Brown.  It  would  be  far  safer  and  nearer  the  truth  to  say  that 
all  people,  in  proportion  to  their  sensibility  and  self-respect,  sym 
pathize  with  him.  For  it  is  impossible  to  see  courage  and  disin 
terestedness  and  the  love  that  casts  out  fear,  without  sympathy. 
All  women  are  drawn  to  him  by  their  predominance  of  sentiment. 
All  gentlemen,  of  course,  are  on  his  side.  I  do  not  mean  by  '  gen 
tlemen  '  people  of  scented  hair  and  perfumed  handkerchiefs,  but  men 
of  gentle  blood  and  generosity,  •  fulfilled  with  all  nobleness,'  who, 
like  the  Cid,  give  the  outcast  leper  a  share  of  their  bed ;  like  the 
dying  Sidney,  pass  the  cup  of  cold  water  to  the  wounded  soldier  who 

1  Emerson's  "Miscellanies"  (Boston,  1884),  pp.  262,  263. 


496  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1859, 

needs  it  more.  For  what  is  the  oath  of  gentle  blood  and  knight 
hood  ?  What  but  to  protect  the  weak  and  lowly  against  the  strong 
oppressor  ?  Nothing  is  more  absurd  than  to  complain  of  this  sym 
pathy,  or  to  complain  of  a  party  of  men  united  in  opposition  to  slav 
ery.  As  well  complain  of  gravity  or  the  ebb  of  the  tide.  Who  makes 
the  Abolitionist  f  The  slaveholder.  The  sentiment  of  mercy  is  the 
natural  recoil  which  the  laws  of  the  universe  provide  to  protect  man 
kind  from  destruction  by  savage  passions.  And  our  blind  statesmen 
go  up  and  down,  with  committees  of  vigilance  and  safety,  hunting 
for  the  origin  of  this  new  heresy.  They  will  need  a  very  vigilant 
committee,  indeed,  to  find  its  birthplace,  and  a  very  strong  force  to 
root  it  up.  For  the  arch- Abolitionist,  older  than  Brown,  and  older 
than  the  Shenandoah  Mountains,  is  Love,  whose  other  name  is  Jus 
tice,  —  which  was  before  Alfred,  before  Lycurgus,  before  slavery,  and 
will  be  after  it." 

But  in  the  narrower  meaning  of  men  and  women  who 
knew  the  purposes  of  John  Brown,  and  gave  him  aid  and 
comfort  while  he  most  needed  them,  he  had  but  few  friends, 
and  some  of  those  fell  away  from  him  when  the  hour  of  trial 
came.  In  bis  own  family  he  was  always  understood,  and 
had  no  cause  to  feel  the  full  bitterness  of  that  Scripture, 
"A  man's  foes  shall  be  they  of  his  own  household."  But 
beyond  that  family  the  number  of  persons  who  at  any  time 
both  understood  and  sympathized  with  him  in  his  main 
purpose  was  very  small,  —  so  that  he  valued  and  cherished 
disproportionately,  perhaps,  those  who  accepted  his  mission 
and  helped  it  forward  even  by  words  and  friendly  listening.1 
There  may  have  been  a  thousand  men  who  knew  that  he 
meant  to  harass  the  slaveholders  in  some  part  of  the  South, 
with  an  armed  force ;  but  of  those  who  knew  with  any  ful 
ness  the  details  of  his  Virginia  enterprise,  I  suppose  the 
number  never  at  any  one  time  exceeded  a  hundred,  —  and 
these  were  scattered  over  the  whole  country  from  Boston  to 
Kansas,  from  Maryland  to  Canada. 

The  earliest,  most  devoted,  most  patient,  and  noblest  friend 
of  Brown  in  this  enterprise  was  his  second  wife,  of  whom 
too  little  has  hitherto  been  known.  Now  that  death  has 

1  "  It  is  some  relief  to  a  poor  body,"  says  Izaak  Walton,  speaking  of 
George  Herbert,  "  to  be  but  heard  with  patience  ;"  and  it  was  not  every 
one  who  did  Brown  that  justice. 


1816.1  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  497 

released  her  from  her  long  bereavement,  and  her  modest 
reserve  can  no  more  be  wounded  by  the  public  mention  of 
her  virtues,  it  is  due  to  her  silent  and  tender  constancy  that 
the  tale  of  her  life  should  be  told.  Mary  Anne  Brown  (the 
daughter  of  Charles  Day,  a  blacksmith  of  New  England  an 
cestry,  but  settled  in  New  York  until  about  1825)  was  born 
in  Granville,  N.  Y.,  April  15,  1816.  Her  only  school  educa 
tion  was  acquired  before  the  age  of  ten,  when  she  removed 
with  her  father  and  his  younger  children  to  a  farm  near 
Meadville,  Penn.,  not  far  from  the  Delamaters  (with  whom 
she  was  connected)  and  from  John  Brown's  tannery  in  Ran 
dolph.1  Early  in  life  she  became  a  member  of  the  Congre 
gational  Church,  and  continued  in  its  communion  until  her 
death.  When  but  sixteen  years  of  age  she  became  the  wife 
of  John  Brown,  and  assumed  the  care  of  his  five  children, 
the  eldest  of  whom  was  near  her  own  age.  She  brought  to 
the  task  good  health,  a  strong,  well-balanced  mind,  and  an 
earnest  desire  to  discharge  every  duty  conscientiously.  She 
became  the  mother  of  thirteen  children,  seven  of  whom 
died  in  childhood,  —  three  of  them  in  one  week.  She  once 
remarked,  "  That  was  the  time  in  my  life  when  all  my  reli 
gion,  all  my  philosophy,  and  all  my  faith  in  God's  goodness 
were  put  to  the  test.  My  husband  was  away  from  home, 
prostrated  by  sickness ;  I  was  helpless  from  illness  ;  in  one 
week  three  of  my  little  ones  died  of  dysentery,  —  this  but 
three  months  before  the  birth  of  another  child.  Three  years 
after  this  sad  time  another  little  one,  eighteen  months  old, 
was  burned  to  death.  Yet  even  in  these  trials  God  upheld 
me." 

She  was  of  a  large  and  firm  mould,  likfe  a  Roman  mother, 
but  with  all  the  susceptible  and  yearning  affection  which 
the  milder  types  of  constancy  display.  She  labored  with  her 
hands,  and  taught  all  her  children  to  do  the  same  ;  she  was 
trained  to  endure  long  absences  from  her  husband  and  her 
sons,  and  that  in  periods  of  great  anxiety,  and  when  they 
were  ill-spoken  of  among  her  neighbors.  She  soon  became 
separated  from  her  own  kindred,  and,  like  Ruth  in  the  Serip- 

1  The  Delamaters  are  of  Huguenot  descent,  and  had  intermarried  with 
the  Days,  as  well  as  with  wealthier  families  of  New  York. 


498  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1882. 

tures,  she  silently  said  to  her  much-wandering  husband  : 
'•  Whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go  ;  and  where  thou  lodgest,  I 
will  lodge  ;  thy  people  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my 
God  ;  the  Lord  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  aught  but 
death  part  thee  and  me."  But  in  his  perilous  campaigns, 
and  with  his  scanty  means,  she  could  not  accompany  him 
save  in  prayers  and  wishes;  she  was  even  denied  that  facility 
in  writing  letters  which  so  often  beguiles  the  weariness  of 
absence.1  This  modern  Penelope  had  her  loom  and  spindle, 
like  the  fabled  one,  but  her  labors  were  real,  and  supported 
her  household. 

During  all 'the  time  her  husband  was  in  Kansas  she  re 
mained  at  North  Elba  with  her  three  young  daughters,  and 
sometimes  with  no  son  to  till  her  rocky  farm.  When  the 
struggle  at  Harper's  Ferry  was  terminated,  and  she  knew 
that  her  husband's  life-work  was  ended,  she  visited  him  and 
received  his  last  messages  ;  her  warrior  was  brought  home 
to  her  and  buried  by  her  door.  After  all  was  over,  she  re 
mained  in  her  lonely  home  until  1863 ;  and  in  the  following 
year,  in  company  with  her  son  Salmon  and  her  daughters, 
made  the  long  journey  across  the  plains  to  California. 
For  six  years  their  home  was  at  Red  Bluff,  and  then  in  the 
town  of  Eohnerville  for  ten  years.  About  1880,  with  two 
daughters,  she  removed  to  Saratoga,  Santa  Clara  County, 
which  was  her  home  until  death.  She  had  long  felt  a  desire 
to  return  to  the  East,  to  visit  scenes  with  which  she  had 
been  familiar,  and  to  greet  friends  from  whom  she  had  long 
been  separated  ;  but  the  narrowness  of  her  fortunes  had  pre 
vented  this.  She  was  not  even  able  to  revisit  the  grave  of 
her  husband,  to  which  thousands  of  strangers  resorted.  In 
1882,  as  she  told  me  when  I  met  her  at  North  Elba,  the 
way  was  providentially  opened  for  the  accomplishment  of 
this  desire,  and  she  accepted  the  opportunity.  Her  journey 
was  pleasant  and  mournful.  In  course  of  it  she  was  per 
mitted  to  recover  the  remains  of  her  son  Watson,  and  to  see 
him  buried,  with  the  praise  of  friends  and  neighbors,  beside 
his  father  on  the  Adirondac  hillside.  Public  receptions  were 

1  Heaven  first  taught  letters  for  some  wretch's  aid, 
Some  banished  lover,  or  some  captive  maid.  —  POPE. 


1883.]  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  499 

tendered  to  her  at  Chicago,  Boston,  Springfield,  and  at  the 
capital  of  Kansas  ;  she  visited  the  battle-grounds  of  her 
family  there,  and  saw  for  the  first  time  the  dark  waters  of 
the  Marais  des  Cygnes  and  the  Ottawa.1 

Returning  to  Calif ornia,.  the  fatigues  of  her  journey  and 
the  strain  upon  her  deep  sensibilities,  little  perceived  at  the 
time  (such  was  her  silent  fortitude),  began  to  tell  upon  her 
robust  constitution.  During  a  visit  to  her  son  Salmon 
among  the  sheep-walks  of  northern  California  she  was 
attacked  with  a  lingering  disease,  from  which  she  never 
recovered.  The  last  two  months  of  her  life  were  spent 
in  San  Francisco  for  medical  treatment,  carefully  watched 
over  by  her  daughter  Sarah,  to  whom  she  had  been  sister 
as  well  as  mother,  so  strong  wras  the  bond  of  sympathy 
between  them. 

The  wife  of  John  Brown  was  of  a  type  more  common 
in  our  age  than  is  the  austere  Puritanic  order  to  which 
he  belonged,  but  by  no  means  frequent,  —  resembling  those 
mothers  in  Israel,  diligent  and  God-fearing,  of  whom  her 
Bible  told  her.  She  was  far  from  the  culture  of  modern 
life,  but  keenly  alive  to  great  ideas,  and  of  a  broad  catholi 
city  in  spirit,  which  embraced  slaveholders  and  murderers  in 
its  love,  and  never  sought  vengeance  as  justice.  She  read 
the  Bible  daily,  and  with  humble  attention.  A  true  Chris 
tian  of  the  antique  pattern,  she  gladly  recognized  as  brethren 
all  whom  she  believed  to  be  God's  children,  wherever  she 
found  them,  or  by  whatever  name  they  were  called.  Nar 
rowness  in  religion  she  could  not  understand,  nor  ever  sought 
to  confine  God  to  the  purlieus  of  her  own  church. 

Upon  so  firm  a  basis  rested  the  domestic  happiness  of 
John  Brown ;  and  his  children,  though  he  sometimes  chided 

1  Mr.  Dwight  Thacher,  of  Topeka,  writes  me  (March  30,  1885)  : 
"When  the  widow  of  John  Brown  made  her  first  and  only  visit  to  Kan 
sas,  in  November,  1882,  she  was  for  several  days  my  guest.  Reflected  in 
her  bearing,  her  words,  her  style  of  thought  and  expression,  I  fancied  I 
could  see  unmistakable  evidences  of  the  lofty  and  rugged  plane  of  life  upon 
which  the  whole  family  had  lived.  She  was  the  soul  of  truthfulness,  of 
candor,  —  and  had  an  unworldly  air,  as  of  one  who  had  dwelt  among  high 
and  eternal  verities.  John  Brown's  gravity  and  devotion  to  duty  were 
admirably  reflected  in  his  widow." 


500  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1856. 

their  religious  dissent,  were  worthy  of  such  parents.  His 
quiver  was  full  of  those  arrows  which  the  wise  king  praises, 
and  he  drew  from  it  the  means  of  attack  upon  wrong.  But 
for  his  sons,  how  different  might  have  been  his  own  fate  ! 
They  stood  about  him  as  guards  and  recruits,  and  died  for 
him  as  bravely  as  he  would  have  died  for  them.  Not  often 
in  the  divergent  and  estranging  paths  of  modern  life  have 
we  seen  a  family  so  patriarchal  in  habit  and  in  action. 

Outside  of  his  household  the  friends  of  John  Brown  were 
found  in  every  rank  and  condition  of  life,  and  those  whom 
he  once  attached  were  seldom  estranged  from  him,  though 
they  might  not  keep  pace  with  him  in  his  methods  or  pur 
poses.  Perhaps  the  best  exemplification  of  this  was  given 
by  that  generous  and  right-minded  man,  John  A.  Andrew, 
afterward  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  one  of  the  most 
helpful  patriots  in  the  Civil  War.  In  the  tumult  of  pub 
lic  opinion  which  followed  Brown's  foray  in  Virginia,  Mr. 
Andrew,  then  a  leading  lawyer  and  Republican  politician 
in  Boston,  said  manfully,  "  Whatever  may  be  thought  of 
John  Brown's  acts,  John  Brown  himself  was  right" 

Foremost  among  the  friends  of  John  Brown  in  New  Eng 
land  must  be  named  Emerson,  the  poet-sage  of  Concord.  In 
1856  he  had  taken  the  same  view  of  things  in  Kansas  which 
Mr.  Andrew  and  Josiah  Quincy  expressed,  —  but  he  knew 
how  to  utter  his  thought  in  more  trenchant  words.  At 
a  Kansas  aid  meeting  in  Cambridge  (Sept.  10,  1856),  he 
said  :  — 

"  In  this  country  for  the  last  few  years  the  Government  has  been 
the  chief  obstruction  to  the  common  weal.  Who  doubts  that  Kansas 
would  have  been  very  well  settled  if  the  United  States  had  let  it  alone  ? 
The  Government  armed  and  led  the  ruffians  against  the  poor  farmers. 
...  In  the  free  States  we  give  a  snivelling  support  to  slavery.  The 
judges  give  cowardly  interpretations  to  the  law,  in  direct  opposition 
to  the  known  foundation  of  all  law,  — that  every  immoral  statute  is 
void.  And  here,  of  Kansas,  the  President  says,  *  Let  the  complain- 
an^s  go  to  the  courts ;  *  though  he  knows  that  when  the  poor  plundered 
farmer  comes  to  the  court,  lie  finds  the  ringleader  who  has  robbed  him 
dismounting  from  his  own  horse,  and  unbuckling  his  knife  to  sit  as 
his  judge."1 

1  Emerson's  "Miscellanies,"  pp.  244-246. 


1857.]  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  501 

Mr.  Emerson's  Diary  for  March,  1857,  says  :  — 

"  Captain  John  Brown  gave  a  good  account  of  himself  in  the 
Town  Hall  last  night  to  a  meeting  of  citizens.  One  of  his  good 
points  was  the  folly  of  the  peace  party  in  Kansas,  who  believed  that 
their  strength  lay  in  the  greatness  of  their  wrongs,  and  so  discoun 
tenanced  resistance.  He  wished  to  know  if  their  wrong  was  greater 
than  the  negro's,  and  what  kind  of  strength  that  gave  to  the  negro  ? 
He  believes,  on  his  own  experience,  that  one  good,  believing,  strong- 
minded  man  is  worth  a  hundred  —  nay,  twenty  thousand —  men  with 
out  character,  for  a  settler  in  a  new  country,  and  that  the  right  men 
will  give  a  permanent  direction  to  the  fortunes  of  a  State.  For  one  of 
these  bullying,  drinking  rowdies,  he  seemed  to  think  cholera,  small 
pox,  and  consumption  were  as  valuable  recruits.  The  first  man  who 
went  into  Kansas  from  Missouri  to  interfere  in  the  elections,  he 
thought,  *  had  a  perfect  right  to  be  shot/  He  gave  a  circumstantial 
account  of  the  battle  of  Black  Jack,  where  twenty-three  Missouriaus 
surrendered  to  nine  Abolitionists.  He  had  three  thousand  sheep  in 
Ohio,  arid  would  instantly  detect  a  strange  sheep  in  his  flock.  A  cow 
can  tell  its  calf  by  secret  signals,  he  thinks,  by  the  eye,  to  run  away,  to 
lie  down,  and  hide  itself.  He  always  makes  friends  with  his  horse  or 
mule  (or  with  the  deer  that  visit  his  Ohio  farm) ;  and  when  he  sleeps 
on  his  horse,  as  he  does  as  readily  as  on  his  bed,  his  horse  does  not 
start  or  endanger  him.  Brown  described  the  expensiveness  of  war  in 
a  country  where  everything  that  is  to  be  eaten  or  worn  by  man  or 
beast  must  be  dragged  a  long  distance  on  wheels.  '  God  protects 
us  in  winter,'  he  said ;  '  no  Missourian  can  be  seen  in  the  country 
until  the  grass  comes  up  again.' " 

Thus  far  the  first  Diary,  as  it  now  stands.  But  from 
time  to  time,  as  he  saw  Brown  again,  or  heard  of  him  from 
friends  or  from  the  newspapers,  Emerson  made  other  notes, 
which  he  has  thus  edited  :  — 

11  For  himself,  Brown  is  so  transparent  that  all  men  see  him 
through.  He  is  a  man  to  make  friends  wherever  on  earth  courage 
and  integrity  are  esteemed.  —  the  rarest  of  heroes,  a  pure  idealist,  with 
no  by-ends  of  his  own.  Many  of  us  have  seen  him,  and  every  one 
who  has  heard  him  speak  has  been  impressed  alike  by  his  simple, 
artless  goodness  and  his  sublime  courage.  He  joins  that  perfect 
Puritan  faith  which  brought  his  ancestor  to  Plymouth  Rock',  with 
his  grandfather's  ardor  in  the  Revolution.  He  believes  in  two  articles 
—  two  instruments,  shall  I  say  ?  —  the  Golden  Rule  and  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence  ;  and  he  used  this  expression  in  a  conversation 


502  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

here  concerning  them :  l  Better  that  a  whole  generation  of  men,  wo 
men,  and  children  should  pass  away  by  a  violent  death,  than  that  one 
word  of  either  should  be  violated  in  this  country.'  There  is  a  Union 
ist,  there  is  a  strict  constructiouist  for  you  !  He  believes  in  the 
Union  of  the  States,  and  he  conceives  that  the  only  obstruction  to 
the  Union  is  slavery;  and  for  that  reason,  as  a  patriot,  he  works  for 
its  abolition. 

11  He  grew  up  a  religious  and  manly  person,  in  severe  poverty  j  a 
fair  specimen  of  the  best  stock  of  New  England,  having  that  force  of 
thought  and  that  sense  of  right  which  are  the  warp  and  woof  of  great 
ness.  Our  farmers  were  Orthodox  Calvinists,  mighty  in  the  Scrip 
tures  :  had  learned  that  life  was  a  preparation,  a  '  probation,'  to  use 
their  word,  for  a  higher  world,  and  was  to  be  spent  in  loving  and 
serving  mankind.  Thus  was  formed  a  romantic  character,  absolutely 
without  any  vulgar  trait  j  living  to  ideal  ends,  without  any  mixture 
of  self-indulgence  or  compromise,  such  as  lowers  the  value  of  benevo 
lent  and  thoughtful  men  we  know;  abstemious,  refusing  luxuries,  not 
sourly  and  reproachfully,  but  simply  as  unfit  for  his  habit ;  quiet  and 
gentle  as  a  child,  in  the  house.  And  as  happens  usually  to  men  of 
romantic  character,  his  fortunes  were  romantic.  Walter  Scott  would 
have  delighted  to  draw  his  picture  and  trace  his  adventurous  career. 
A  shepherd  and  herdsman,  he  learned  the  manners  of  animals,  and 
knew  the  secret  signals  by  which  animals  communicate.  He  made 
his  hard  bed  on  the  mountains  with  them;  he  learned  to  drive  his 
flock  through  thickets  all  but  impassable;  he  had  all  the  skill  of  a 
shepherd  by  choice  of  breed  and  by  wise  industry  to  obtain  the  best- 
wool,  and  that  for  a  course  of  years." 
% 

To  the  like  purpose  do  the  Diaries  of  Thoreau,  during  the 

years  1857-59,  speak  of  Brown  :  — 

lt  I  should  say  that  he  is  an  old-fashioned  man  in  his  respect  for 
the  Constitution,  and  his  faith  in  the  permanence  of  this  Union. 
Slavery  he  deems  to  be  wholly  opposed  to  these,  and  he  is  its  deter 
mined  foe.  He  is  by  descent  and  birth  a  New  England  farmer,  a 
man  of  great  common-sense,  deliberate  and  practical  as  that  class  is, 
and  tenfold  more  so,  — like  the  best  of  those  who  stood  at  Concord 
Bridge  once,  on  Lexington  Common,  and  on  Bunker  Hill ;  only  he 
was  firmer  and  higher-principled  than  any  that  I  have  chanced  to 
hear  of  as  there.  It  was  no  Abolition  lecturer  that  converted  him. 
Ethan  Allen  and  Stark,  with  whom  he  may  in  some  respects  be 
compared,  were  rangers  in  a  lower  and  less  important  field.  They 
could  bravely  face  their  country's  foes,  but  he  had  the  courage  to  face 


1859.1  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS. 


508 


his  country  herself  when  she  was  in  the  wrong.  A  Western  writer 
says,  to  account  for  his  escape  from  so  many  perils,  that  he  was  con 
cealed  under  a  '  rural  exterior/  —  as  if,  in  that  prairie-land,  a  hero 
should,  hy  good  rights,  wear  a  citizen's  dress  only. 

"  He  was  never  able  to  find  more  than  a  score  or  so  of  recruits 
whom  he  would  accept,  and  only  about  a  dozen  (among  them  his 
own  sons)  in  whom  he  had  perfect  faith.  When  he  was  here,  he 
showed  me  a  little  manuscript  book,  — his  '  orderly-book '  I  think  he 
called  it,  —  containing  the  names  of  his  company  in  Kansas,  and  the 
rules  by  which  they  bound  themselves ;  and  he  stated  that  several 
of  them  had  already  sealed  the  contract  with  their  blood.  When 
some  one  remarked  that  with  the  addition  of  a  chaplain  it  would 
have  been  a  perfect  Cromwelliau  troop,  he  observed  that  he  would 
have  been  glad  to  add  a  chaplain  to  the  list,  if  he  could  have  found 
one  who  could  fill  that  office  worthily.  I  believe,  that  he  had  prayers 
in  his  camp  morning  and  evening,  nevertheless.  He  is  a  man  of 
Spartan  habits,  and  at  sixty  was  scrupulous  about  his  diet  at  your 
table,  excusing  himself  by  saying  that  he  must  eat  sparingly  and  fare 
hard,  as  became  a  soldier,  or  one  who  was  fitting  himself  for  difficult 
enterprises,  a  life  of  exposure.  A  man  of  rare  common-sense  and 
directness  of  speech  as  of  action,  a  transcendentalist.  above  all  a  man 
of  ideas  and  principles,  —  that  is  what  distinguishes  him.  Vjfot  yield 
ing  to  a  whim  or  transient  impulse,  but  carrying  out  the  purpose  of  a 
life.  I  noticed  that  he  did  not  overstate  anything,  but  spoke  within 
bounds.  I  remember  particularly  how,  in  his  speech  here,  he  referred 
to  what  his  family  had  suffered  in  Kansas,  without  ever  giving  the 
least  vent  to  his  pent-up  fire.  It  was  a  volcano  with  an  ordinary 
chimney-flue.  Also  referring  to  the  deeds  of  certain  Border  Ruffians, 
he  said,  rapidly  paring  away  his  speech,  like  an  experienced  soldier 
keeping  a  reserve  of  force  and  meaning,  '  They  had  a  perfect  right  to 
be  hung.7  He  was  not  in  the  least  a  rhetorician,  was  not  talking  to 
Buncorne  or  his  constituents  anywhere,  had  no  need  to  invent  any 
thing,  but  to  tell  the  simple  truth,  and  eommimicate  his  own  resolu 
tion  ;  therefore  he  appeared  incomparably  strong,  and  eloquence  in 
Congress  and  elsewhere  seemed  to  me  at  a  discount.  It  was  like  the 
speeches  of  Cromwell  compared  with  those  of  an  ordinary  king. 

"  When  I  expressed  surprise  that  he  could  live  in  Kansas  at  all 
with  a  price  set  on  his  head,  and  so  large  a  number,  including  the 
authorities,  exasperated  against  him,  he  accounted  for  it  by  saying, 
'  It  is  perfectly  well  understood  that  I  will  not  be  taken.'  Much 
of  the  time  for  some  years  he  has  had  to  skulk  in  swamps,  suffer-' 
ing  from  poverty  and  from  sickness  which  was  the  consequence  of 


504  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

exposure,  befriended  only  by  Indians  and  a  few  whites.  But  though  it 
might  be  known  that  he  was  lurking  in  a  particular  swampr  his  foes 
commonly  did  not  care  to  go  in  after  him.  He  could  even  come  out 
into  a  town  where  there  were  more  Border  Ruffians  than  Free-State 
men,  and  transact  business  without  delaying  long,  and  yet  not  be 
molested.  '  For,'  said  he,  '  no  little  handful  of  men  were  willing  to 
undertake  it,  and  a  large  body  could  not  be  got  together  in  season/ 

lt  Yet  he  did  not  foolishly  attribute  his  success  to  his  '  star/  or  to 
any  magic.  He  said  truly,  that  the  reason  why  such  greatly  superior 
numbers  quailed  before  him  was,  as  one  of  his  prisoners  confessed, 
because  they  '  lacked  a  cause,'  —  a  kind  of  armor  which  he  and  his 
party  never  lacked.  When  the  time  came,  few  men  were  found 
willing  to  lay  down  their  lives  in  defence  of  what  they  knew  to  be 
wrong;  they  did  not  like  that  this  should  be  their  last  act  in  this 
world." 

Mr.  Alcott's  record  of  the  man  is  more  methodical  as  to 
days  and  events.  He  writes  :  — 

OSAWATOMIE    BROWN. 

11  Concord,  May  8,  1859.  This  evening  I  hear  Captain  Brown 
speak  at  the  town  hall  on  Kansas  affairs,  and  the  part  taken'  by  him 
in  the  late  troubles  there.  He  tells  his  story  with  surpassing  sim 
plicity  and  sense,  impressing  us  all  deeply  by  his  courage  and  reli 
gious  earnestness.  Our  best  people  listen  to  his  words,  —  Emerson, 
Thoreau,  Judge  Hoar,  my  wife ;  and  some  of  them  contribute  some 
thing  in  aid  of  his  plans  without  asking  particulars,  such  confidence 
does  he  inspire  in  his  integrity  and  abilities.  I  have  a  few  words 
with  him  after  his  speech,  and  find  him  superior  to  legal  traditions, 
and  a  disciple  of  the  Right  in  ideality  and  the  affairs  of  state.  He 
is  Sanborn's  guest,  and  stays  for  a  day  only.  A  young  man  named 
Anderson  accompanies  him.  They  go  armed,  I  am  told,  and  will 
defend  themselves,  if  necessary.  I  believe  they  are  now  on  their 
way  to  Connecticut  and  farther  south ;  but  the  Captain  leaves  us 
much  in  the  dark  concerning  his  destination  and  designs  for  the 
coming  months.  Yet  he  does  not  conceal  his  hatred  of  slavery,  nor 
his  readiness  to  strike  a  blow  for  freedom  at  the  proper  moment.  I 
infer  it  is  his  intention  to  run  off  as  many  slaves  as  he  can,  and  so 
render  that  property  insecure  to  the  master.  I  think  him  equal  to 
anything  he  dares,  — the  man  to  do  the  deed,  if  it  must  be  done,  and 
with  the  martyr's  temper  and  purpose.  Nature  obviously  was 
deeply  intent  in  the  making  of  him.  He  is  of  imposing  appearance, 


1359.]  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  505 

personally,  —  tall,  with  square  shoulders  and  standing  ;  eyes  of  deep 
gray,  and  couchant,  as  if  ready  to  spring  at  the  least  rustling,  daunt 
less  yet  kindly ;  his  hair  shooting  backward  from  low  down  on  his 
forehead  j  nose  trenchant  and  Romanesque ;  set  lips,  his  voice  sup 
pressed  yet  metallic,  suggesting  deep  reserves  ;  decided  mouth  j  the 
countenance  and  frame  charged  with  power  throughout.  Since  here 
last  he  has  added  a  flowing  beard,  which  gives  the  soldierly  air 
and  the  port  of  an  apostle.  Though  sixty  years  old,  he  is  agile  and 
alert,  and  ready  for  any  audacity,  ill  any  crisis.  I  think  him  about 
the  manliest  man  I  have  ever  seen,  — the  type  and  synonym  of  the 
Just.  I  wished  to  see  and  speak  with  him  under  circumstances  per 
mitting  of  large  discourse.  I  am  curious  concerning  his  matured 
opinions  on  the  great  questions,  —  as  of  personal  independence,  the 
citizen's  relation  to  the  State,  the  right  of  resistance,  slavery,  the 
higher  law,  temperance,  the  pleas  and  reasons  for  freedom,  and  ideas 
generally.  Houses  and  hospitalities  were  invented  for  the  entertain 
ment  of  such  questions,  —  for  the  great  guests  pf  manliness  and  no 
bility  thus  entering  and  speaking  face  to  face  :  — 

"  '  Man  is  his  own  star ;  and  the  soul  that  can 
Render  an  honest  and  a  perfect  man 
Commands  all  light,  all  influence,  all  fate. 
Nothing  to  him  falls  early  or  too  late  : 
Our  acts  our  angels  are,  —  or  good  or  ill, 
Our  fatal  shadows,  that  walk  by  us  still.'  " 

The  days  pass  on,  and  Brown  makes  his  foray  in  Vir 
ginia,  the  news  of  it  reaching  Concord  on  the  18th  of  Octo 
ber,  1859.  For  some  days  the  dismal  tidings  find  no  entry 
in  the  daily  journal  at  the  Orchard  House,  since  Mr.  Alcott 
is  busy  harvesting  his  apples.  But  a  week  after  the  attack 
at  Harper's  Ferry  this  record  appears,  followed  by  many 
more :  — 

"  October  23.  Road  with  sympathy  and  a  sense  of  the  impossibil 
ity  of  any  justice  being  done  him  by  South  or  North,  by  partisans  or 
people,  —  by  the  general  mankind,  —  the  newspaper  accounts  of 
Captain  Brown's  endeavor  at  Harper's  Ferry,  now  coming  to  us  and 
exciting  politicians  and  everybody  everywhere.  This  man  I  heard 
speak  early  in  the  season  at  our  town  hall,  and  had  the  pleasure  of 
grasping  his  firm  hand  and  of  speaking  with  him  after  his  lecture. 
This  deed  of  his,  so  surprising,  so  mixed,  so  confounding  to  most 
persons,  will  give  an  impulse  to  freedom  and  humanity,  whatever 
becomes  of  its  victim  and  of  the  States  that  howl  over  it.  There 


506  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

should  be  enough  of  courage  and  intrepidity  in  the  North,  —  in  Mas 
sachusetts  men,  —  to  steal  South,  since  they  cannot  march  openly 
there,  rescue  him  from  the  slaveholders,  the  State  and  United  States 
courts,  and  save  him  for  the  impending  crisis.  Captain  Higginson 
would  be  good  for  that  leadership,  and  No.  64  l  will  be  ready  to 
march  with  the  rest.  Captain  Brown  is  of  Puritan  stock,  and  comes 
from  Connecticut.  He  was  born  at  Torriugtori,  in  Litchfield  County, 
May  9,  1800,  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  place  of  my  nativity. 

u  Concord,  Sunday,  Oct.  30,  1859.  Thoreau  reads  a  paper  of  his 
on  John  Brown,  his  virtues,  spirit,  and  deeds,  at  the  vestry  this 
evening,  and  to  the  delight  of  his  company,  I  am  told,  —  the  best 
that  could- be  gathered  on  short  notice,  and  among  them  Emerson. 
I  am  not  informed  in  season,  and  have  my  meeting  at  the  same 
time.  I  doubt  not  of  its  excellence  and  eloquence,  and  wish  he  may 
have  opportunities  of  reading  it  elsewhere.2 

"  Friday,  Nov.  4.  Thoreau  calls  and  reports  about  the  reading  of 
his  lecture  on  Brown  at  Boston  and  Worcester.  Thoreau  has  good 
right  to  speak  fully  his  mind  concerning  Brown,  and  has  been  the 
firsl!  to  speak  and  celebrate  the  hero's  courage  and  magnanimity.  It 
is  these  which  he  discerns  and  praises.  The  men  have  much  in 
common,  —  the  sturdy  manliness,  straightforwardness,  and  indepen 
dence.  It  is  well  they  met,  and  that  Thoreau  saw  what  he  sets 
forth  as  none  else  can.  Both  are  sons  of  Anak  and  dwellers  in  Na 
ture,  —  Brown  taking  more  to  the  human  side,  and  driving  straight 
at  institutions,  while  Thoreau  contents  himself  with  railing  at  and 
letting  them  otherwise  alone.  He  is  the  proper  panegyrist  of  the 
virtues  he  owns  himself  so  largely,  and  so  comprehends  in  another. 

"  Saturday,  November  5.  Dine  with  Sanborn.  He  suggests  that  I 
should  go  to  Virginia  and  get  access  to  Brown  if  I  can,  and  Governor 
Wise  ;  thinks  I  have  some  advantages  to  fit  me  for  the  adventure. 
I  might  ascertain  whether  Brown  would  accept  a  rescue  from  any 
company  we  might  raise.  Ricketson,  from  Ne/w  Bedford,  arrives. 
He  and  Thoreau  take  supper  with  us.  Thoreau  talks  freely  and 

1  Mr.  Alcott  himself. 

2  Thoreau's  editor,  Mr.  Harrison  Blake,  has  sent  me  this  note  from  his 
friend  :  — 

CONCORD,  Oct.  31  [1859]. 

MR.  BLAKE,  —  I  spoke  to  my  townsmen  last  evening,  on  "The  Character  of  Captain 
Brown,  now  in  the  Clutches  of  the  Slaveholder."  I  should  like  to  speak  to  any  com 
pany  in  Worcester  who  may  wish  to  hear  me  ;  and  will  come  if  only  my  expenses  are  paid. 
I  think  that  we  should  express  ourselves  at  once,  while  Brown  is  alive.  The  sooner, 
the  better.  Perhaps  Higginson  may  like  to  have  a  meeting.  Wednesday  evening  would 
be  a  good  time.  The  people  here  are  deeply  interested  in  the  matter.  Let  me  have  an 
answer  as  soon  as  may  be.  5 

HENRY  D.  THOREAU. 

P.  S.    I  may  be  engaged  toward  the  end  of  the  \reek. 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  507 

enthusiastically  about  Brown,  denouncing  the  Union,  the  President, 
the  States,  and  Virginia  particularly  j  wishes  to  publish  his  late 
speech,  and  has  seen  Boston  publishers,  but  failed  to  find  any  to 
print  it  for  him." 

No  list  of  Brown's  friends  could  be  complete  without  the 
names  of  those  two  practical  idealists  of  Medf  ord,  —  George 
and  Mary  Stearns,  to  whom  he  was  more  indebted  for  hos 
pitalities  and  for  liberal  gifts  of  money  and  arms  than  to 
any,  perhaps  all,  other  persons.  Mr.  Stearns  was  a  merchant 
of  Boston,  of  large  income,  but  of  larger  heart,  who  was  in 
spired  and  seconded  in  all  his  patriotic  efforts  by  his  sensi 
tive  and  clear-sighted  wife,  from  whom  no  trait  of  character 
was  hidden.  Mrs.  Stearns  saw  at  a  glance  across  the  whole 
field,  and  was  critical  in  her  judgments;  but  she  accepted 
John  Brown  as  a  prophet  and  hero  from  the  first.  Her 
husband,  of  slower  speech  and  more  deliberate  temper,  had 
misgivings  now  and  then,  but  followed  confidently  the  in 
spiration  of  his  wife.  Of  him  Emerson  said,  in  a  funeral 
address  in  1867  :  — 

"We  recall  the  all  but  exclusive  devotion  of  this  excellent  man 
during  the  last  twelve  years  to  public  and  patriotic  interests.  Known 
until  that  time  in  no  very  wide  circle  as  a  man  of  skill  and  persever 
ance  in  his  business,  of  pure  life,  of  retiring  and  affectionate  habits, 
happy  in  his  domestic  relations,  his  extreme  interest  in  the  national 
politics,  then  growing  more  anxious  year  by  year,  engaged  him  to 
scan  the  fortunes  of  freedom  with  keener  attention.  He  was  an  early 
laborer  in  the  resistance  to  slavery.  This  brought  him  into  sympathy 
with  the  people  of  Kansas.  As  early  as  1855  the  Emigrant  Aid  So 
ciety  was  formed,  and  in  1856  he  organized  the  Massachusetts  State 
Kansas  Committee,  by  means  of  which  a  large  amount  of  money  was 
obtained  for  the  Free- State  men  at  times  of  the  greatest  need.  He 
was  the  more  engaged  to  this  cause  by  making,  in  1857,  the  ac 
quaintance  of  Captain  John  Brown,  who  was  not  only  an  extraordi 
nary  man,  but  one  who  had  a  rare  magnetism  for  men  of  character, 
and  attached  some  of  the  best  and  noblest  to  him,  on  very  short 
acquaintance,  by  lasting  ties.  Mr.  Stearns  made  himself  at  once 
necessary  to  Captain  Brown  as  one  who  respected  his  inspirations, 
and  had  the  magnanimity  to  trust  him  entirely,  and  to  arm  his  hands 
with  all  needed  help.  For  the  relief  of  Kansas  in  1856-57  his  own 
contributions  were  the  largest  and  the  first.  He  never  asked  any  one 
to  give  BO  much  as  he  himself  gave ;  and  his  interest  was  so  mani- 


508  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

festly  pure  and  sincere  that  he  easily  obtained  eager  offerings  in 
quarters  where  other  petitioners  failed.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  be 
come  the  banker  of  his  clients,  and  to  furnish  them  money  and  arms 
in  advance  of  the  subscriptions  which  he  obtained.  His  first  dona 
tions  were  only  entering  wedges  of  his  later;  and,  unlike  other  bene 
factors,  he  did  not  give  money  to  excuse  his  entire  preoccupation  in 
his  own  pursuits,  but  as  an  earnest  of  the  dedication  of  his  heart  and 
hand  to  the  interests  of  the  sufferers,  a  pledge  kept  until  the  success 
he  wrought  and  prayed  for  was  consummated." 

But  for  the  Stearnses  and  their  gifts  to  Brown  it  is  hard 
to  see  how  he  could  have  gone  forward  in  his  campaigns  of 
the  last  two  years,  1858-59 ;  and  how  much  he  valued  them 
we  all  knew  who  could  read  his  heart.  But  the  extent  of 
their  aid  to  him,  and  the  length  to  which  they  were  prepared 
to  go,  is  not  generally  known,  although  Brown  knew  it  well. 
At  my  request,  Mrs.  Stearns  has  furnished  me  an  account  of 
the  origin  of  a  most  characteristic  paper  which  Brown  read 
to  her  in  the  first  draft,  and  which  is  this :  — 


OLD    BROWN  S    FAREWELL 

To  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  Bunker  Hill  Monuments,    Charter   Oaks,   and 
Uncle  Toms  Cabins. 

He  has  left  for  Kansas ;  has  been  trying  since  he  came  out  of  the 
Territory  to  secure  an  outfit,  or,  in  other  words,  the  means  of  arming 
and  thoroughly  equipping  his  regular  minute-men,  who  are  mixed  up 
with  the  people  of  Kansas.  And  he  leaves  the  States  with  a  feeling 
of  deepest  sadness,  that  after  having  exhausted  his  own  small  means, 
and  with  his  family  and  his  brave  men  suffered  hunger,  cold,  naked 
ness,  arid  some  of  them  sickness,  wounds,  imprisonment  in  irons, 
with  extreme  cruel  treatment,  and  others  death  ;  that  after  lying  on 
the  ground  for  months  in  the  most  sickly,  unwholesome,  and  uncom 
fortable  places,  some  of  the  time  with  sick  and  wounded,  destitute  of 
any  shelter,  hunted  like  wolves,  and  sustained  in  part  by  Indians  ; 
that  after  all  this,  in  order  to  sustain  a  cause  which  every  citizen  of 
this  "glorious  republic"  is  under  equal  moral  obligation  to  do,  and 
for  the  neglect  of  which  he  will  be  held  accountable  by  God, — a 
cause  in  which  every  man,  woman,  and  child  of  the  entire  human 
family  has  a  deep  and  awful  interest,  —  that  when  no  wages  are 
asked  or  expected,  he  cannot  secure,  amid  all  the  wealth,  luxury, 


1857.]  JOHN  BROWN  AND  HIS  FRIENDS.  509 

and  extravagance  of  this  ll  heaven  -exalted"  people,  even  the  ne 
cessary  supplies  of  the  common  soldier.  u  How  are  the  mighty 
fallen ! " 

I  am  destitute  of  horses,  baggage-wagons,  tents,  harness,  saddles, 
bridles,  holsters,  spurs,  and  belts;  camp  equipage,  such  as  cooking 
and  eating  utensils,  blankets,  knapsacks,  intrenching-tools,  axes, 
shovels,  spades,  mattocks,  crowbars;  have  not  a  supply  of  ammuni 
tion  ;  have  not  money  sufficient  to  pay  freight  and  travelling  expen 
ses  ;  and  left  my  family  poorly  supplied  with  common  necessaries. 

BOSTON,  April,  1857. 

Mrs.  Stearns  writes  me  thus  (April,  1885)  :  — 

lt  The  newspaper  reports  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Russell's  address  at 
a  John  Brown  commemoration  in  1880,  mentioning  Mr.  Stearns  as 
the  generous  friend  of  John  Brown,  contain  a  statement  concerning 
myself  and  the  '  carriage  and  horses,'  which  must  be  my  excuse  for 
relating  the  exact  truth,  both  concerning  the  seven  thousand  dollars 
offered  by  Mr.  Stearns,  and  how  John  Brown  came  to  write  his 
1  Farewell  to  the  Plymouth  Rocks,'  etc.,  which  has  appeared  several 
times  in  print,  but  without  a  word  of  explanation.  As  the  address 
states,  Brown  was  keeping  very  quiet  at  Judge  Russell's  house  in 
Boston,  partly  on  account  of  a  warrant  issued  in  Kansas  for  his  arrest 
for  high  treason,  and  partly  because  he  was  ill  with  fever  and  ague, 
a  chronic  form  of  which  had  been  induced  by  his  exposures  in  Kan 
sas.  It  was  in  April,  1857,  and  a  chilling  easterly  storm  had  pre 
vailed  for  many  days.  Mr.  Stearns  went  frequently  to  visit  him ; 
and  on  Saturday  preceding  the  Sunday  morning  mentioned  by  Judge 
Russell,  Captain  Brown  expressed  a  wish  that  I  should  go  to  see 
him,  as  he  could  not  venture  in  such  weather  on  a  trip  to  Medford,  — 
emphasizing  the  request  by  saying  that  he  wished  to  consult  me  about 
a  plan  he  had,  and  that  I  might  come  soon.  Mr.  Stearns  gave  me 
his  message  at  dinner,  and  I  drove  at  once  to  Judge  Russell's  house. 
As  soon  as  my  name  was  announced  Brown  appeared,  and  thanking 
me  for  the  promptness  of  my  visit,  proceeded  to  say  that  he  had  been 
4  amusing  himself  by  preparing  a  little  address  for  Theodore  Parker 
to  read  to  his  congregation  the  next  (Sunday)  morning ;  and  that  he 
would  feel  obliged  to  me  for  expressing  my  honest  opinion  about  the 
propriety  of  this.  He  then  went  upstairs,  and  returned  with  a  paper, 
which  proved  in  the  reading  to  be  '  Old  Brown's  Farewell.'  The 
emphasis  of  his  tone  and  manner  I  shall  never  forget,  arid  wish  I 
could  picture  him  as  he  sat  and  read,  lifting  his  eyes  to  mine  now 
and  then  to  see  how  it  impressed  me.  When  he  finished  he  said : 
'  Well,  now,  what  do  you  think  ?  Shall  I  send  it  to  Mr.  Parker  ?  ' 


510  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1857, 

1  Certainly  j  by  all  means  send  it.  He  will  appreciate  every  word 
you  have  written,  for  it  rings  the  metal  he  likes.  But  I  have  my 
doubts  about  reading  it  to  his  congregation.  A  few  of  them  would 
understand  its  significance,  but  the  majority,  I  fear,  would  not.  Send 
it  to  Mr.  Parker,  and  he  will  do  what  is  best  about  it.'  In  reply  he 
thanked  me,  and  said  I  had  confirmed  his  own  judgment,  had  cleared 
his  mind,  and  conferred  the  favor  he  desired.  Then,  I  told  him,  he 
must  give  me  a  copy  to  preserve  among  my  relics.  He  replied :  '  I 
would  give  you  this,  but  it  is  not  fit.  I  had  such  an  ague  while 
writing  that  I  could  not  keep  my  pen  steady ;  but  you  shall  have  a 
fair  copy.'  In  a  few  days  he  sent  the  copy  I  now  have,  by  the  hand 
of  Mr.  Stearns.  It  will  be  forwarded  with  other  memorials  to  the 
Kansas  Historical  Society.  The  copy  he  gave  TVIr.  Parker  was 
found  among  his  papers  after  Parker's  death.  I  think  it  stimulated 
Mr.  Parker  to  further  exertions,  for  he  collected  quite  a  handsome 
sum  from  those  parishioners  who  never  failed  to  respond  to  his 
appeal. 

"  This  matter  being  settled,  Brown  began  talking  upon  the  subject 
always  uppermost  in  his  thought,  and,  I  may  add,  action  also.  Those 
who  remember  the  power  of  his  moral  magnetism  will  understand 
how  surely  and  readily  he  lifted  his  listener  to  the  level  of  his  own 
devotion;  so  that  it  suddenly  seemed  mean  and  unworthy  —  not  to 
say  wicked  —  to  be  living  in  luxury  while  such  a  man  was  strug 
gling  for  a  few  thousands  to  carry  out  his  cherished  plan.  *  Oh,' 
said  he,  '  if  I  could  have  the  money  that  is  smoked  away  during  a 
single  day  in  Boston,  I  could  strike  a  blow  which  would  make  sla 
very  totter  from  its  foundations.'  As  he  said  these  words,  his  look 
and  manner  left  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that  he  was  quite  capable  of 
accomplishing  his  purpose.  To-day  all  sane  men  everywhere  ac 
knowledge  its  truth.  Well,  I  bade  him  adieu  and  drove  home, 
thinking  inany  thoughts,  —  of  the  power  of  a  mighty  purpose  lodged 
in  a  deeply  religious  soul ;  of  only  one  man  with  God  on  his  side. 
The  splendor  of  spring  sunshine  filled  the  room  when  I  awoke  the 
next  morning ;  numberless  birds,  rejoicing  in  the  returnin'g  warmth, 
filled  all  the  air  with  melody;  dandelions  sparkled  in  the  vivid  grass; 
everything  was  so  beautiful,  that  the  wish  rose  warm  in  my  heart  to 
comfort  and  aid  John  Brown.  It  seemed  not  much  to  do  to  sell  our 
estate  and  give  the  proceeds  to  him  for  his  sublime  purpose.  What 
if  another  home  were  not  as  beautiful !  When  Mr.  Stearns  awoke  I 
told  him  my  morning  thoughts.  Reflecting  awhile,  he  said :  *  Per 
haps  it  would  not  be  just  right  to  the  children  to  do  what  you  sug 
gest  ;  but  I  will  do  all  I  can  in  justice  to  them  and  you.'  When 
breakfast  was  over,  he  drove  to  the  residence  of  Judge  Russell  and 
handed  Captain  Brown  his  check  for  seven  thousand  dollars.  But 


1858.]  JOHN   BROWN  AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  511 

this  fact  was  not  known  at  that  time,  and  only  made  public  after  the 
death  of  Mr.  Stearns." 

Brown's  plan  for  Kansas  was  cordially  approved  by  Theo 
dore  Parker,  who,  as  Mrs.  Stearns  says,  raised  some  money 
in  aid  of  it,  as  he  afterwards  did  for  the  Virginia  enterprise. 
It  was  in  connection  with  the  latter  that  Brown  made  and 
showed  to  a  few  friends  this  draft  of  a  letter  introduc 
ing  him  to  antislavery  men,  which  I  find  among  Brown's 
papers  :  — 

JOHN  BKOWN'S  DESCRIPTION  OF  HIMSELF  (1858). 

11  This  will  introduce  a  friend  who  visits  (Worcester)  in  order  to 
secure  means  to  sustain  and  further  the  cause  of  freedom  in  the 
United  States  and  in  all  the  world.  In  behalf  of  this  cause  he  has 
so  far  exhausted  his  own  limited  means  as  to  place  his  wife  and  three 
young  daughters  in  circumstances  of  privation  and  of  dependence 
upon  the  generosity  of  their  friends,  who  have  cared  for  them.  He  has 
contributed  the  entire  services  of  two  strong  minor  sons  for  two  years, 
and  of  himself  for  more  than  three  years,  during  which  time  they 
have  all  endured  great  hardships,  exposure  of  health,  and  other  pri 
vations.  During  much  of  the  past  three  years  he  had  with  him  in 
Kansas  six  sons  and  a  son-in-law,  who,  together  with  himself,  were 
all  sick  ;  two  were  made  prisoners,  and  subjected  to  most  barbarous 
treatment ;  two  were  severely  wounded,  and  one  .murdered.  During 
this  time  he  figured  with  some  success  under  the  title  of  '  Old  Brown,' 
often  perilling  his  life  in  company  with  his  sons  and  son-in-law,  who 
all  shared  these  trials  with  him.  His  object  is  commended  to  the 
best  feelings  of  yourself  and  all  who  love  liberty  and  equal  rights 
in  (Massachusetts),  and  himself  indorsed  as  an  earnest  and  steady- 
minded  man,  and  a  true  descendant  of  Peter  Brown,  one  of  the 
*  Mayflower '  Pilgrims." 

Theodore  Parker  first  met  Brown  at  his  Sunday  congrega 
tion  in  the  Boston  Music  Hall  in  January,  1857,  unless  he 
had  briefly  encountered  him  at  Chicago  two  months  earlier. 
They  soon  became  warm  friends,  for  Brown  had  heard  Par 
ker  preach  as  early  as  1853,  and  admired  his  deep  piety, 
popular  eloquence,  and  devotion  to  liberty,  although  they 
were  far  apart  in  theology.  In  April,  1857,  when  "  Uncle 
Sam's  hounds  "  were  said  to  be  on  Brown's  track,  and  he 


512  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1857. 

took  refuge  at  the  house  of  Judge  Eussell l  in  Boston,  Parker 
wrote  to  Russell  in  these  words  :  — 

Sunday  Morning. 

MY  DEAR  JUDGE,  —  If  John  Brown  falls  into  the  hands  of  the 
marshal  from  Kansas,  he  is  sure  either  of  the  gallows  or  of  something 
yet  worse.  If  I  were  in  his  position,  I  should  shoot  dead  any  man 
who  attempted  to  arrest  me  for  those  alleged  crimes  j  then  I  should 
be  tried  by  a  Massachusetts  jury  and  be  acquitted. 

Yours  truly, 

T.  P. 

P.  S.     I  don't  advise  J.  B.  to  do  this,  but  it  is  what  I  should  do. 

Parker  was  one  ot  the  first  in  Boston  to  hear  and  entertain 
Brown's  Virginia  plans.  Plots  in  some  degree  similar  were 
familiar  to  him,  for  other  enthusiasts  had  brought  their  pro 
jects  to  be  criticised  or  rejected  by  the  clear  judgment  of 
the  Boston  radical.  Like  others,  Parker  was  deeply  im 
pressed  with  the  sagacity  of  many  parts  of  Brown's  scheme 
and  the  wildness  of  the  rest ;  but  he  was  willing  to  help  it 
forward  for  Brown's  sake,  and  raised  money  in  aid  of  it. 
After  it  had  culminated,  he  wrote  from  Rome  the  week 
following  Brown's  execution  in  these  words  concerning 
American,  Italian,  and  universal  affairs  :  — 


1  Judge  Eussell  gives  these  anecdotes  of  Brown  during  this  retirement  at 
his  house  :  "He  used  to  take  out  his  two  revolvers  and  repeater  every 
night  before  going  to  bed,  to  make  sure  of  their  loads,  saying,  '  Here  are 
eighteen  lives.'  To  Mrs.  Russell  he  once  said,  '  If  you  hear  a  noise  at 
night,  put  the  baby  under  the  pillow.  I  should  hate  to  spoil  these  car 
pets,  too,  but  you  know  I  cannot  be  taken  alive.'  Giving  an  account  one 
(by  of  his  son  Frederick's  death,  who  was  shot  by  Martin  White,  a 
Methodist  preacher,  Mrs.  Russell  broke  out,  '  If  I  were  you,  Mr.  Brown, 
I  would  fight  those  ruffians  as  long  as  I  lived.'  'That,'  he  replied,  'is 
not  a  Christian  spirit.  If  I  thought  I  had  one  bit  of  the  spirit  of  revenge, 
'I  would  never  lift  my  hand  ;  I  do  not  make  war  on  slaveholders,  even 
when  I  fight  them,  but  on  slavery.'  He  would  hold  up  Mrs.  Russell's 
little  girl,  less  than  two  years  old,  and  tell  her,  'When  I  am  hung  for 
treason,  you  can  say  that  you  used  to  stand  on  Captain  Brown's  hand  ; ' 
and  when  he  came  to  Boston  two  years  after,  in  May,  1859,  on  his  way  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  he  brought  her  some  cakes  of  maple  sugar  from  the  Adiron- 
dac  home." 


1859.1  JOHN   BROWN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS.  513 


Theodore  Parker  to  R.  W.  Emerson. 

Dec.  9,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  EMERSON,  —  Mr.  Apthorp  leaves  me  a  corner  of  his 
paper,  which  I  am  only  too  glad  to  fill  with  a  word  or  two  of  greet 
ing  to  you  and  yours.  I  rejoiced  greatly  at  the  brave  things  spoken 
by  you  at  the  Fraternity  Lecture,  and  the  hearty  applause  I  knew  it 
must  meet  with  there.  Wendell  Phillips  and  you  have  said  about 
all  the  brave  words  that  have  been  spoken  about  our  friend  Captain 
Brown  —  No  !  J.  F.  Clarke  preached  his  best  sermon  on  that  brave 
man.  Had  I  been  at  home,  sound  and  well,  I  think  this  occasion 
would  have  either  sent  me  out  of  the  country —  as  it  has  Dr.  Howe  — 
or  else  have  put  me  in  a  tight  place.  Surely  I  could  riot  have  been 
quite  unconcerned  and  safe.  It  might  not  sound  well  that  the  minis 
ter  of  the  Twenty-Eighth  Congregational  Church  had  "  left  for  parts 
unknown,"  and  that  "  between  two  days,"  and  so  could  not  fulfil  his 
obligations  to  lecture  or  preach.  Here  to  me  u  life  is  as  tedious  as 
a  twice-told  tale ;  "  it  is  only  a  strenuous  idleness,  —  studying  the 
remains  of  a  dead  people,  and  that  too  for  no  great  purpose  of  help 
ing  such  as  are  alive,  or  shall  ever  become  so.  I  can  do  no  better  and 
no  more.  Here  are  pleasant  Americans,  —  Mrs.  Crawford,  my  friend 
Dr.  Appleton,  and  above  all  the  Storys,  —  most  hospitable  of  people, 
and  fall  of  fire  and  wit.  The  Apthorps  and  Hunts  are  kind  and  wise 
as  always,  and  full  of  noble  sentiments.  Of  course,  the  great  works 
of  architecture,  of  sculpture  and  painting,  are  always  here;  but  I  con 
fess  I  prefer  the  arts  of  use,  which  make  the  three  millions  of  New 
England  comfortable,  intelligent,  and  moral,  to  the  fine  arts  of 
beauty,  which  afford  means  of  pleasure  to  a  few  emasculated  dil 
ettanti.  None  loves  beauty  more  than  I,  of  Nature  or  Art ;  but 
I  thank  God  that  in  the  Revival  of  Letters  our  race  —  the 
world-conquering  Teutons  —  turned  off  to  Science,  which  seeks 
Truth  and  Industry,  that  conquers  the  forces  of  Nature  and  trans 
figures  Matter  into  Man  ;  while  the  Italians  took  the  Art  of  Beauty 
for  their  department.  The  Brownings  are  here,  poet  and  poetess 
both,  and  their  boy,  the  Only.  Pleasant  people  are  they  both,  with 
the  greatest  admiration  for  a  certain  person  of  Concord,  to  whom  I 
also  send  my  heartiest  thanks  and  good  wishes.  To  him  and  his 
long  life  and  prosperity  ! 

THEODORE  PARKER.1 

1  Parker's  letter  to  Francis  Jackson  on  the  deed  and  death  of  Brown  was 
one  of  his  last  public  utterances,  —  for  he  died  and  was  buried  in  Florence, 
where  Mrs.  Browning  was  afterwards  buried,  in  May,  1860. 


514  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  unstinted  gifts  of  George  and  Mary 
Stearns,  in  aid  of  Brown  and  his  work.  Gerrit  Smith,  the 
baronial  democrat  of  rural  New  York,  was  the  counterpart 
of  Stearns  in  generosity  of  giving.  He  did  not  finally  be 
stow  so  much  money  on  Brown's  enterprises  as  Mr.  Stearns, 
but  he  stood  ready  at  all  times  to  meet  responsibility,  and 
to  contribute  when  appeals  were  made.  He  was  early  in 
formed  of  the  Virginia  scheme,  which  he  did  not  disap 
prove,  and  to  aid  which  he  gave  hundreds  of  dollars,  and 
would  have  given  thousands  if  necessary.  He  saw  fit  after 
Brown's  death  to  disguise  in  some  ways  his  deep  interest  in 
the  old  hero;  but  this  was  from  no  disregard  of  Brown's 
great  qualities,  which  he  never  ceased  to  praise.  I  will  not 
enter  now  upon  the  reasons  for  this  course  of  Smith,  and  I 
have  set  forth  the  facts  in  their  proper  place.  To  me  he 
never  denied  his  share  in  the  enterprise  of  Brown;  and  he 
lived  to  see  its  grand  results  in  the  years  directly  following 
Brown's  death.  The  part  taken  by  Dr.  Howe  and  Colonel 
Higginson  in  the  enterprise  has  also  been  related,  and  need 
not  be  remarked  upon  further.  Dr.  Howe  shrank  at  first 
from  acknowledging  his  connection  with  Brown,  and  dis 
tressed  some  of  his  friends  thereby  ;  for  he  was  overcome 
by  the  contemplation  of  results  which  he  might  have  fore 
seen,  but  did  not.  Higginson  desired  even  greater  publicity 
for  the  truth  than  then  seemed  necessary,  and  the  records 
which  he  has  preserved  are  of  mater  ialv  value  in  confirming 
any  authentic  account  of  the  conspiracy.1 

1  Brown's  secret  committee  kept  no  records,  and  its  members  generally 
destroyed  their  letters  to  each  other  after  his  capture,  so  that  nobody  should 
be  injured  by  what  had  been  written.  Mrs.  Gerrit  Smith  wrote  to  me  in 
January,  1874,  what  I  had  heard  from  her  son-in-law  Charles  Miller  in  No- 
•  lember,  1859  :  "Immediately  after  the  Harper's  Ferry  affair  Mr.  Smith 
destroyed  all  the  letters  touching  Brown's  movements  which  he  had  re 
ceived  from  persons  in  any  degree  privy  to  those  movements  ;  and  he  took 
it  for  granted  that  his  own  similar  letters  to  others  had  been  destroyed." 
In  replying  (Jan.  16,  1874),  1  said  :  "  My  first  proceeding  upon  hearing  of 
the  attack  at  Harper's  Ferry,  was  to  go  over  carefully  all  the  papers  and 
letters  then  in  my  hands,  and  destroy  all  that  could  implicate  Mr.  Smitli 
or  other  persons.  Two  months  later,  when  John  A.  Andrew  placed  in  my 
hands  my  own  letters  to  Brown  (with  a  few  from  other  persons)  which  Mr. 
Phillips  had  brought  down  from  North  Elba,  after  the  funeral  there,  I 


1859.]  JOHN   BROWN   AND   HIS  FRIENDS.  515 

Although  not  specially  a  friend  of  John  Brown  before 
then,  the  Boston  sculptor  Brackett  was  one  of  those  pro 
foundly  impressed  by  his  heroism  at  Harper's  Ferry.  He 
had  seen  Brown  once  in  a  Boston  street  in  1857,  and  been 
attracted  by  the  dignity  of  his  mien.  The  impression  then 
and  afterwards  made,  kindled  a  glowing  desire  to  perpetuate 
in  marble  this  remarkable  man.  The  story  of  his  bust  of 
Brown,  as  he  told  it  at  the  time,  runs  thus :  — 

"  I  could  hardly  sleep  or  eat,  so  absorbing  was  the  desire  that  took 
possession  of  my  mind.  I  had  no  money  to  make  the  journey  to 
Virginia,  and  I  finally  went,  in  turn,  to  Dr.  Howe  and  Wendell 
Phillips,  requesting  a  loan  for  the  purpose.  Neither  of  them  con 
sidered  a  marble  bust  of  Brown  really  important,  with  so  many  other 
things  to  be  thought  of.  But  I  said  there  is  one  man  who  if  he  can 
not  help  me  will  listen,  and  perhaps  give  me  furtherance  j  so  I  went 
to  Mr.  Stearns.  When  I  entered  hjs  counting-room  he  was  just 
leaving  it  for  Medford.  In  a  -few  moments,  while  walking  along 
with  him,  I  explained  in  brief  why  I  had  come.  He  replied  :  *  You 
are  right :  it  ought  to  be  done  ;  but  just  now  I  am  fully  occupied  in 
efforts  to  obtain  funds  for  Brown's  defence.  I  will  mention  the  mat 
ter  to  Mrs.  Stearns ;  come  to  me  to-morrow  morning,  and  you  shall 
have  her  reply.'  I  did  so  ;  when,  putting  the  money  needful  into 
my  hand,  he  said:  'Mrs.  Stearns  says,  "Take  that,  and  start 

went  over  these  also  carefull}',  before  I  left  Boston  that  day,  and  destroyed 
what  would  implicate  others.  But  some  of  the  correspondence  of  1858-59 
had  lodged  with  Theodore  Parker,  and  came  hack  to  me  a  year  or  two  after 
his  death  ;  this  I  did  not  destroy.  Colonel  Higginson  also  had  retained 
some  of  the  letters  which  passed  through  my  hands,  with  copies  of  many 
that  he  wrote  to  me  or  to  Brown,  and  all  these  still  exist.  It  is  likely 
Mrs.  Stearns  has  documents  touching  the  matter.  I  should  doubt  if  Dr. 
Howe  hud  many  ;  but  Vice:President  Wilson  told  me,  some  weeks  ago, 
that  he  had  recovered  an  important  letter  of  his  own,  which  in  1859-60 
was  supposed  to  be  lost,  when  it  went  to  Canada  or  somewhere,  but  has 
now  got  home  again.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  assumed  that  all  written 
evidence  in  the  case  is  lost."  In  fact,  I  have  since  found  several  of  the 
notes  which  passed  between  members  of  the  secret  committee.  Here  is  one 
from  Mr.  Stearns,  concerning  a  meeting  at  Theodore  Parker's  house,  to 
consult  about  raising  money  for  Brown  :  — 

BOSTON,  Sept.  29,  1858. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Yours  of  yesterday  is  at  hand.      I  should  prefer  Saturday  at  • 
seven  p.  M.,  if  that  is  agreeable  to  Mr,  Parker  and  yourself.    If  you  decide  on  that  time, 
please  notify  Mr,  Parker  and  Dr.  Howe.      If  you  do  not  write  me  to  change  the  time,  I 
shall  be  there  without  further  notice. 


516  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1859. 

immediately;"  and  these  are  her  instructions:   "John  Brown  will 
refuse  to  have  his  bust  taken  j  he  will  say,  l  All  nonsense ;  better  give 
the  money  to  the  poor ! '     And  if  Mr.  Brackett  replies  that  posterity 
will  want  to  know  how  he  looked,  he  may  also  say,  '  No  consequence 
to  posterity  how  I  looked  j  better  give  the  money  to  the  poor ! '    Then, 
if  every  argument  fails  to  convince  him,  let  Mr.  Brackett  say  that 
he  has  come  at  the  express  wish  and  expense  of  Mrs.  Stearns,  and 
that  she  will  be  deeply  disappointed  if  he  returns  without  the  meas 
urements."  '     The  next  morning  I  was  on  my  way  to  Virginia,  and 
found  on  arriving  at  Charlestown  that  I  had  not  come  an  hour  too 
soon.     The  excitement  over  the  arrival  of  a  stranger  from  the  North 
was  intense  and  ridiculous.     I  was  seized,  arid  only  escaped  imprison 
ment  by  appealing  to  Mr.  Griswold,  whose  services  had  been  secured 
for  the  defence.     Through  his  efforts  and  influence  the  officials  were 
reassured,  and  I  was  allowed  to  accompany  him  to  the  prison,  but 
not  to  cross  the  threshold.     Through  the  open  door  I  saw  the  object 
of  my  pilgrimage  quietly  reading,  but  heavily  loaded  with  chains. 
He  was  sitting  in  a  chair,  with  both  hands  chained,  and  his  feet 
chained  to  the  floor.     Only  those  who  saw  him  in  that  miserable 
prison  can  have  any  adequate  conception  of  the  moral  grandeur  of 
his   presence !      Everybody  and   everything  was   dwarfed  in   com 
parison.    He  looked  up  from  his  book,  when  addressed  by  his  counsel, 
and  listened  attentively  to  the  request  conveyed  from  me.    Impressive 
as  the  scene  was,  I  could  not  restrain  a  smile  when  his  reply  repeated 
the  very  words  of  Mrs.  Stearns,  —  l  Nonsense  !    All  nonsense  !    Bet 
ter  give  the  money  to  the  poor ! J     When  Mr.  Griswold  said  he  must 
remember  that  he  was  becoming  famous,  and  that  posterity  would 
like  to  see  how  he  looked,  the  prophecy  was  again  fulfilled,  and  the 
response  came,  even  more  emphatic,  —  l  No  consequence  to  posterity 
hoiv  I  looked  !     Give  the  money  to  the  poor  ! '  '  For  some  time  Mr. 
Griswold  labored  to  change  his  purpose,  but  finally  returned  to  me 
(still  standing  outside  the  door)  and  said  :   '  It  is  no  use,  he  will  not 
yield  one  jot.     I  am  sorry  for  your  disappointment,  but  it  is  useless 
arguing  further.'     The  moment  then  had  come  for  i  the  last  resort.' 
4  Please  say  to  him  that  I  have  come  at  the  express  wish  and  pecuni 
ary  expense  of  Mrs.  Stearns,  and  that  she  will  be  deeply  disappointed 
if  I  return  without  the  measurements  for  a  bust.7     I  watched  his  face 
eagerly  while  Mr.  Griswold  repeated  to  him  these  words,  on  which 
hung  all  my  hopes.     As  he  listened,  I  could  see  signs  of  interest, 
mingled  with    surprise,  in  his  face  ;  then  a  grave  thoughtfulness. 
Presently  his  hands  dropped  at  his  sides,  and  he  seemed  lost  in 
thought.     Then,  lifting  his  head  and  straightening  himself  up,  he 
said,  with  emotion  :  '  Anything  Mr.  or  Mrs.  Stearns  desire.     Take 
the  measurements.' " 


1859.]  JOHN   BROWN   AND   HIS   FRIENDS.          /      517 

The  measurements  were  thus  secured,  and  the  bust  was 
made.  It  shows  to  what  extent  the  artist  was  inspired  by 
his  subject,  and  faithfully  represents  the  moral  sublimity 
of  the  martyr.  Charles  Sumner  exclaimed  on  seeing  it, 
"  There  is  nothing  the  sun  shines  upon  so  like  Michael 
Angelo's  Moses  ! "  and  the  art  critic  Jarves  said  :  "  If  in 
some  future  age  it  should  be  dug  up,  men  would  ask,  What 
old  divinity  is  this  ?  "  It  is  an  idealized  portrait  of  Brown, 
yet  recalling  the  features  of  the  man,  as  well  as  his 
grand  air. 

Mention  must  be  omitted  of  the  other  friends  of  Brown  ; 
nor  need  I  dwell  on  my  own  friendship  with  him,  which  this 
volume  sufficiently  attests.  My  opinions  were  those  of 
Brown,  of  Parker,  of  Emerson,  Thoreau,  Smith,  and  the 
older  men  who  foresaw  the  catastrophe  of  American  slavery. 
On  the  day  of  his  death  Brown  penned  this  sentence,  which 
he  handed  to  one  of  his  guards  in  the  prison  :  — 

CHARLESTOWN,  VA.,  Dec.  2,  1859. 

I,  John  Brown,  am  now  quite  certain  that  the  crimes  of  this  guilty 
land  will  never  be  purged  away  but  with  blood.  I  had,  as  I  now 
think  valaly,  flattered  myself  that  without  very  much  bloodshed  it 
might  be  done. 

A  week  before,  Parker  had  written  from  Rome  to  Francis 
Jackson  in  Boston  :  "  A  few  years  ago  it  did  not  seem  diffi 
cult  first  to  check  slavery,  and  then  to  end  it,  without  any 
bloodshed.  I  think  this  cannot  be  done  now,  nor  ever  in 
the  future.  All  the  great  charters  of  humanity  have  been 
writ  in  blood.  I  once  hoped  that  of  American  Democracy 
would  be  engrossed  in  less  costly  ink-;  but  it  is  plain  now 
that  our  pilgrimage  must  lead  through  a  Red  Sea,  wherein 
many  a  Pharaoh  will  go  under  and  perish."  So  it  hap 
pened  ;  and  not  only  the  Pharaohs,  but  the  leaders  of  the 
people  perished.  Standing  on  the  battle-field  at  Gettys 
burg,  four  years  after  Brown's  execution  (Nov.  19,  1863), 
Abraham  Lincoln  pronounced  his  eulogy  on  those  who 
"  gave  their  lives  that  the  nation  might  live,"  calling  on  his 
hearers  to  resolve  "  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died 
in  vain ;  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new 


518       .     LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

birth  of  freedom ;  and  that  government  of  the  people,  by 
the  people  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the 
earth," — thus  echoing  the  very  words  of  Parker,  so  often 
heard  in  prayer  and  sermon  from  his  Boston  pulpit.  Not 
long  afterward  Lincoln  himself  fell,  the  last  great  victim  in 
the  struggle,  as  John  Brown  had  been  its  first  great  martyr. 
Henceforth  their  names  are  joined  and  their  words  remem 
bered  together,  —  the  speech  of  the  condemned  convict  at 
Charlestown  and  that  of  the  successful  statesman  at  Gettys 
burg  going  down  to  posterity  as  the  highest  range  of  elo 
quence  in  our  time.  But  those  brave  men  whom  Lincoln 
commemorated  went  forth  to  battle  at  the  call  of  a  great 
people ;  they  were  sustained  by  the  resources  and  the  ardor 
of  millions.  I  must  daily  remember  my  old  friend,  lonely, 
poor,  persecuted,  making  a  stand  with  his  handful  of  fol 
lowers  on  the  outpost  of  Freedom,  our  own  batteries  trained 
upon  him  as  the  furious  enemy  swept  him  away  in  the  storm 
of  their  vengeance ;  and  then  I  see  that  history  will  exalt 
his  fame  with  that  of  the  liberators  of  mankind,  who  sealed 
their  testament  of  benefactions  with  the  blood  of  noble 
hearts. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  519 


CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA. 

IT  so  happens  that  Brown  left  behind  him  a  brief  Diary, 
serving  as  a  key  to  his  correspondence  from  the  time  he 
reached  Michigan  with  his  freedmen  in  March,  1859,  to  the 
final  arrangements  for  his  campaign  in  October.  Printed 
here  with  notes  and  comments,  this  Diary  will  make  plain 
what  might  not  be  so  clear  from  his  letters  alone,  consider 
ing  that  most  of  Brown's  own  letters  of  this  year  were  de 
stroyed,  either  by  those  who  received  them  or  by  members 
of  the  family  who  feared  that  they  would  compromise  his 
friends. 


From  Detroit,  March  10,  1859,  to  the  Kennedy  Farm,  October  8. 

March  10.  Wrote  Augustus  Wattles  to  enclose  to  E.  and  A. 
King;  also  wrote  Frederick  Douglass  at  Detroit;  also  wrote  W. 
Penn  Clarke,  Iowa  City ;  also  C.  P.  Tidd.  Gave  Kagi  $1.25. 

March  16.  Wrote  J.  B.  Grinuell.  Wrote  A.  Hazlett,  Indiana 
P.  0.,  Indiana  County,  Pa. 

March  25.  Wrote  wife  and  children  to  write  me,  care  of  Ameri 
can  House,  Troy,  N.  Y.  Enclosed  draft  for  $150.  J.  H.  Kagi, 
Dr. :  To  cash  for  Carpenter,  five  dollars.  Clinton  Gilroy,  Esq., 
New  London,  Conn. 

[Between  the  dates  March  25  and  June  18,  Brown  was  at  Peter- 
boro'  (April  11-14),  at  Concord  (May  7-9),  at  Boston  (May  9-June 
3),  and  at  North  Elba  (June  6-9). J 

West  Andover,  Ohio,  June  18.  Borrowed  John's  old  compass, 
and  left  my  own,  together  with  Gunley's  book,  with  him  at  West 
Andover;  also  borrowed  his  small  Jacob  staff;  also  gave  him  for  ex 
penses  fifteen  dollars  ;  write  him,  under  cover  to  Horace  Lindsley, 
West  Andover.  Henry  C.  Carpenter. 

June  21.  Gave  J.  H.  Kagi  fifty  dollars  for  expenses  at  Cleve 
land. 


520  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1859. 

June  23.  Wrote  wife  and  children,  and  enclosed  five  dollars. 
Also  wrote  J.  Henrie  Kagi  to  inquire  at  Bedford  for  letters.  If 
none  found,  he  will  wait. 

June  27.  Wrote  J.  Henrie  that  he  will  find  a  line  at  Chambers- 
burg,  or  three  Smiths  and  Anderson. 

June  29.  Wrote  Horace  Greeley  &  Co.,  enclosing  three  dollars 
for  "  New  York  Tribune."  Gave  Watson  fifty  dollars  for  P. 

June  30.  Wrote  J.  Henrie  to  write  I.  Smith  &  Sons  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  if  he  needs  to  do  so. 

July  5.  Wrote  John  and  Jason  about  freight,  etc. ;  also  wife ; 
also  Charles  Blair  to  forward  freight ;  also  to  write  I.  Smith  &  Sons 
at  Chambersburg.  Gave  Oliver  for  expenses  $160.  Gave  Stephens 
for  expenses,  June  17,  at  West  Andover,  $25. 

July  8.  Wrote  John,  enclosing  two  fifty-dollar  drafts.  Gave 
John  Henrie  forty  dollars  for  expenses. 

July  12.  Wrote  John  Henrie  and  J.  Smith.  Also  Jacob  Frery, 
Esq.,  about  hogs. 

July  22.  Wrote  John,  enclosing  draft  for  $100,  with  instructions. 
Also  wrote  Watson  some  instructions.  Also  John  Henrie. 

July  27.  Wrote  wife  and  children  for  Watson  not  to  set  out  till 
we  write  him. 

August  2.  Wrote  wife  for  Watson  and  Dauphin  Thompson  to 
come  on ;  also  wrote  James  N.  Gloucester  and  J.  Henrie. 

August  6.     Wrote  J.  Henrie. 

August  8.  Wrote  same  j  also  wife  and  children  that  friends  had 
arrived,  and  about  wintering  stock.  Date  altered  to  August  11. 

August  16.     Wrote  wife  and  John,  Jr.,  for  instructions,  etc. 

August  17.     Wrote  Jason  for  box,  etc. 

August  18.     Wrote  F.  B.  S[anborn]  and  other  friends.1 

August  24.     Wrote  Charles  Blair. 

September^.     Wrote  wife,  F.  B.  S[anborn],  Frederick  Douglass, 

1  This  was  about  the  time  that  Douglass  visited  Brown  at  Chambers- 
burg.  The  purpose  of  Brown's  letter  to  me  was  to  raise  three  hundred 
dollars  more,  since  he  was  delayed  for  want  of  money  ;  and  I  undertook  to 
raise  it.  On  the  4th  of  September  I  had  sent  him  two  hundred  dollars,  of 
which  Dr.  Howe  gave  fifty  ;  on  the  14th  I  had  all  but  thirty-five  dollars  of 
the  remaining  hundred,  Colonel  Higginson  having  sent  me  twenty  dollars. 
I  think  the  balance  was  paid  by  Mr.  Stearns,  who  on  the  8th  of  September 
had  written  thus  to  Higginson  :  "  By  reading  Mr.  Sanborn's  note  to  me  a 
second  time,  I  see  that  the  enclosed  ought  to  have  been  sent  to  you  with 
his  note.  Please  read  it  and  enclose  again  to  him.  I  hope  you  will  be 
able  to  get  the  fifty  dollars.  We  have  done  all  we  could,  and  fall  short 
another  fifty  as  yet."  The  "  enclosed"  here  was  an  urgent  appeal  from 
Chambersburg  for  money. 


1859.]  THE  FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  521 

James  N.  Gloucester,  J.  W.  L[oguen] ;  also  came  on  the  20th  of 
September. 

October  I.  Wrote  wife  and  children  on  various  matters,  —  win 
tering  stock,  money,  etc.  Also  wrote  (to  J.  B.,  Jr.)  home,  and  at 
Cleveland.  Also  J.  B.  L.  (September  30  and  October  1). 

October  8.  Wrote  wife  and  children  about  Bell  and  Martha,  and 
to  write  John. 

[To  this  paper  was  added  the  following.] 

• 
Names  of  Men  to  Call  upon  for  Assistance. 

Isaac  J.  White  and  William  Burgess,  Carlisle,  Cumberland 
County,  Pa. ;  Joseph  A.  Crowley,  Elias  Rouse,  and  John  Fidler, 
Bedford,  Pa.  ;  E.  D.  Bassett,  718  Lombard  Street,  Philadelphia ; 
John  D.  Scoville. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  Diary  is  incomplete,  naming  but 
a  portion  of  the  letters  that  Brown  wrote  in  this  period, 
and  specifying  less  than  half  his  expenses,  which  from 
March  10  to  October  16  must  have  exceeded  twenty -five 
hundred  dollars.  His  sources  of  revenue  have  already  been 
pointed  out ;  but  they  may  be  more  plainly  indicated,  now 
that  it  is  no  longer  invidious  to  be  known  as  the  friend  of 
John  Brown.  When  he  reached  Canada  from  Kansas  with 
his  rescued  fugitives,  his  exchequer  was  nearly  exhausted, 
although  he  had  supplied  it  to  some  extent  in  Kansas  by 
collecting  debts  and  property  belonging  to  the  defunct 
National  Committee,  as  has  been  mentioned.1 

1  An  evidence  of  this  is  found  in  the  following  notification  to  one  of 
Mr.  Whitman's  Kansas  agents,  twelve  months  before  the  attack  on  Har 
per's  Ferry  :  — 

OTTUMWA,  Oct.  7, 1858. 
MR.  JOHN  T.  Cox. 

SIR,  —  You  are  hereby  notified  that  I  hold  claims  against  the  National  Kansas 
Committee  which  are  good  against  them  and  all  persons  whatever ;  and  that  I  have 
authority  from  said  committee  to  take  possession,  as  their  agent,  of  any  supplies  be 
longing  to  said  committee,  wherever  found.  You  will  therefore  retain  in  your  hands  all 
moneys,  notes,  or  accounts  you  may  now  have  in  your  custody,  by  direction  of  said 
committee  or  any  of  its  agents,  and  hold  them  subject  to  my  call  or  order,  as  I  shall 
hold  you  responsible  for  them  to  me,  as  agent  of  said  committee. 

JOHN  BROWN. 
Agent  National  Kansas  Committee. 

Of  the  same  date  is  the  following  receipt  :  — 

Received  as  agent  National  Kansas  Committee,  of  J.  T.  Cox,  seven  men's  coarse  cot 
ton  shirts,  placed  in  his  custody  by  E.  B.  Whitman,  aa  agent  of  said  committee,  for  sale 
or  distribution.  JOHN  BROWN, 

Agt.  Nat.  Kan.  Com. 


522  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

The  following  letter  from  John  Brown  to  Kagi  gives  his 
own  report  of  the  success  he  had  in  raising  money  at  Gerrit 
Smith's,  and  of  the  arrangement  proposed  by  Mr.  Smith  for 
the  support  of  the  Virginia  campaign  of  1859  :  — 

John  Brown  to  Kagi. 

9_  WESTPORT,  N.  Y.,  April  16,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  here,  waiting  a  conveyance  to  take  me  home ; 
have  been  quite  prostrated  almost  the  whole  time  since  you  left  me 
at  John's,  with  the  difficulty  in  my  head  and  ear,  and  with  the  ague 
in  consequence.  I  am  now  some  better.  Had  a  good  visit  at 
Rochester,  but  did  not  effect  much.  Had  a  first-rate  time  at  Peter- 
boro' ;  got  of  Mr.  Smith  and  others  nearly  one  hundred  and  sixty 
dollars,  and  a  note  (which  I  think  a  good  one)  for  two  hundred  and 
eighty-five  dollars.  Mr.  S.  wrote  to  Eastern  friends  to  make  up  at 
least  two  thousand  dollars,  saying  he  was  in  for  one  fifth  the  amount. 
I  feel  encouraged  to  believe  it  will  soon  be  done,  and  wish  you  to  let 
our  folks  all  round  understand  how  the  prospects  are.  Still,  it  will 
be  some  days  (and  it  may  be  weeks)  before  I  can  get  ready  to  return. 
I  shall  not  be  idle.  If  you  have  found  my  writing-case  and  papers, 
please  forward  them  without  delay,  by  express,  to  Henry  Thompson, 
North  Elba,  Essex  County,  N.  Y. 

Your  friend  in  truth,  B. 

J.  H.  KAGI,  ESQ. 

Kagi  replied  to  this  on  the  21st  and  27th  of  April,  while 
Brown  was  at  North  Elba ;  but  no  answer  came  from  Brown 
until  he  had  been  a  week  in  Boston,  after  his  last  visit  to 
Concord,  May  7-9,  1859.  He  then  wrote  as  follows  from 
the  United  States  Hotel  in  Boston,  where  he  was  then 
lodging :  — 

John  Brown  to  Kagi. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  May  16,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  should  have  acknowledged  the  receipt  of  yours  of 
April  21,  to  Henry  Thompson,  together  with  writing-case  and 
papers  (all  safe,  so  far  as  I  now  see),  and  also  yours  of  April  27  to 
me,  but  for  being  badly  down  with  the  ague,  —  so  much  so  as  to 
disqualify  me  for  everything,  nearly.  I  have  been  here  going  on 
two  weeks,  and  am  getting  better  for  two  days  past;  but  am  very 
weak.  I  wish  you  to  say  to  our  folks,  all  as  soon  as  may  be,  that 
there  is  scarce  a  doubt  but  that  all  will  be  set  right  in  a  very  few 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  523 

days  more,  so  that  I  can  be  on  my  way  back.  They  must  none  of 
them  think  I  have  been  slack  to  try  and  urge  forward  a  delicate  and 
very  difficult  matter.  I  cannot  now  write  you  a  long  letter,  being 
obliged  to  neglect  replying  to  others,  and  also  to  put  off  some  very 
important  correspondence.  My  reception  has  been  everywhere  most 
cordial  and  cheering.  Your  friend  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 
J.  H.  KAGI,  ESQ. 

A  brief  note  from  Mr.  Stearns,  May  27,  1859,  has  this 
passage  :  "  We  are  getting  on  slowly,  —  about  fifty  dollars 
per  day ;  and  if  Gerrit  Smith  accepts,  will  send  the  old  man 
off  early  next  week."  This  was  done,  and  the  "accept 
ance  "  of  Mr.  Smith  was  shown  by  his  sending  Brown  two 
hundred  dollars  early  in  June.  I  have  accounts  of  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  given  by  Smith  to  Brown  during 
1859,  while  Mr.  Stearns  in  that  year  gave  him  more  than 
a  thousand  dollars.  Out  of  a  little  more  than  four  thou 
sand  dollars  in  money  which  passed  through  the  hands  of 
the  secret  committee  in  aid  of  his  Virginia  enterprise,  or 
was  known  to  them  as  contributed,  at  least  thirty-eight  hun 
dred  dollars  were  given  with  a  clear  knowledge  of  the  use 
to  which  it  would  be  put. 

When  the  Boston  visit  was  over,  and  Brown  had  again 
spent  a  few  days  at  North  Elba,  he  wrote  thus :  — 

KEEXE,  N.  Y.,  June  9,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  After  being  delayed  with  sickness  and  other  hin 
drances,  I  am  so  far  on  my  way  back,  and  hope  to  be  in  Ohio  within 
the  corning  week.  Will  you  please  advise  the  friends  all  of  the  fact, 
and  say  to  them  that  as  soon  as  I  do  reach,  I  will  let  them  know 
where  I  will  be  found.  I  have  been  middling  successful  in  my 
business.  Yours  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

J.  HENRIE,  ESQ. 

Before  leaving  Westport,  June  10,  Brown  probably  re 
ceived  a  letter  from  Gerrit  Smith,  mentioned  in  the  letter 
of  June  4,  which  is  given  below  with  corrections  from 
the  copy  published  soon  after.  Brown's  capture,  that  first 
directed  attention  toward  Mr.  Smith  as  one  of  Brown's 
friends  in  his  last  campaign  :  — 


524  LIFE  AND  LETTEKS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

PETERBORO',  June  4,  1859. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  wrote  you  a  week  ago,  directing  my  letter 
to  the  care  of  Mr.  Stearns.  He  replied,  informing  me  that  he  had 
forwarded  it  to  Westport ;  but  as  Mr.  Morton  received  last  evening  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Sanborn,  saying  your  address  would  be  your  sou's 
home,  — namely,  West  Andover,  — I  therefore  write  you  without  de 
lay,  and  direct  your  letter  to  your  son.  I  have  done  what  I  could  thus 
far  for  Kansas,  and  what  I  could  to  keep  you  at  your  Kansas  work. 
Losses  by  indorsement  and  otherwise  have  brought  me  under  heavy 
embarrassment  the  last  two  years,  but  I  must,  nevertheless,  continue 
to  do,  in  order  to  keep  you  at  your  Kansas  work.  I  send  you  here 
with  my  draft  for  two  hundred  dollars.  Let  me  hear  from  you 
on  the  receipt  of  this  letter.  You  live  in  our  hearts,  and  our  prayer 
to  God  is  that  you  may  have  strength  to  continue  in  your  Kansas 
work.  My  wife  joins  me  in  affectionate  regard  to  you,  dear  John, 
whom  we  both  hold  in  very  high  esteem.  I  suppose  you  put  the 
Whitman  note  into  Mr.  Stearns's  hands.  It  will  be  a  great  shame  if 
Mr.  Whitman  does  not  pay  it.  What  a  noble  man  is  Mr.  Stearns!1 
How  liberally  he  has  contributed  to  keep  you  in  your  Kansas  work  ! 

Your  friend, 

GERRIT  SMITH. 

On  the  same  day  that  Mr.  Smith  sent  the  letter  last 
cited,  I  wrote  to  Higginson  from  Concord  :  — 

June  4,  1859. 

Brown  has  set  out  on  his  expedition,  having  got  some  eight  hun 
dred  dollars  from  all  sources  except  from  Mr.  Stearns,  and  from  him 

1  To  those  who  could  read  between  the  lines,  this  letter  disclosed  the 
whole  method  of  the  secret  committee.  No  one  of  them  might  know  at  any 
given  time  where  Brown  was,  but  some  other  was  sure  to  know,  —  and  in 
this  one  note  four  persons  are  named  who  might  be  at  any  time  in  commu 
nication  with  Brown  wherever  he  was,  —  George  L.  Stearns,  Edwin  Mor 
ton,  F.  B.  San born,  and  Mr.  Smith  himself.  The  phrase  "  Kansas  work  " 
misled  none  of  these  persons,  who  all  knew  that  Brown  had  finally  left 
Kansas  and  was  to  operate  henceforth  in  the  slave  States.  The  hundred 
dollars  given  by  Mr.  Smith  April  14,  added  to  the  two  hundred  named  in 
this  letter,  and  the  note  of  E.  B.  Whitman,  of  Kansas,  which  Brown  re 
ceived  from  Mr.  Smith,  make  up  five  hundred  and  eighty-five  dollars,  or 
more  than  one-fifth  of  the  two  thousand  dollars  which  he  told  Brown  he 
would  help  his  "Eastern  friends"  raise.  Those  friends  were  Stearns, 
Howe,  Higginson,  and  Sanborn,  — for  Parker  was  then  in  Europe,  and 
unable  to  contribute. 


1859.]  THE  FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  525 

the  balance  of  two  thousand  dollars  j  Mr.  S being  a  man  who, 

u  having  put  his  hand  to  the  plow,  turneth  not  back."  Brown  left 
Boston  for  Springfield  and  New  York  on  Wednesday  morning  at  8.30, 
and  Mr.  Stearns  has  probably  gone  to  New  York  to-day,  to  make  final 
arrangements  for  him.  Brown  means  to  be  on  the  ground  as  soon 
as  he  can,  perhaps  so  as  to  begin  by  the  4th  of  July.  He  could 
not  say  where  he  should  be  for  a  few  weeks,  but  letters  are  addressed 
to  him,  under  cover  to  his  son  John,  Jr.,  at  West  Audover,  Ohio. 
This  point  is  not  far  from  where  Brown  will  begin,  and  his  son  will 
communicate  with  him.  Two  of  his  sons  will  go  with  him.  He  is 
desirous  of  getting  some  one  to  go  to  Canada,  and  collect  recruits  for 
him  among  the  fugitives,  —  with  Harriet  Tubman  or  alone,  as  the 
case  may  be. 

This  letter  shows  I  had  then  no  thought  that  the  attack 
would  be  made  at  Harper's  Ferry  ;  nor  had  Mr.  Stearns,  to 
whom  I  was  in  the  habit  of  talking  or  writing  about  this 
matter  every  few  days.  I  have  no  doubt  he  knew  as  much 
as  I  did  about  the  general  plan,  while  Mr.  Smith  knew 
more.  On  the  6th  of  October  —  ten  days  before  the  attack 
was  made  —  I  wrote  to  Higginson,  "  The  three  hundred 
dollars  desired  has  been  made  up  and  received.  Four  or 
five  men  will  be  on  the  ground  next  week,  from  these 
regions  and  elsewhere."  These  facts  were  all  known  to 
Mr.  Stearns,  who  within  a  fortnight  of  the  outbreak  was  in 
consultation  with  Mr.  Lewis  Hayden,  and  other  colored  men 
of  Boston,  about  forwarding  recruits  to  Brown.  I  think  he 
paid  some  of  the  expenses  of  these  recruits,  as  Merriam 
certainly  did. 

As  Brown  was  setting  forth  for  Virginia,  he  wrote 
thus : — 

John  Brown  to  his  Family. 

UNITED  STATES  HOTEL,  BOSTON,  May  13,  1859. 
DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  wrote  you  from  Troy  last 
week,  saying  I  had  sent  on  the  balance  of  articles  I  intended  to  buy, 
and  that  it  might  be  well  to  call  on  James  A.  Allen,  Westport,  for 
them  soon.  I  would  now  say,  if  you  are  not  in  a  strait  for  them 
it  may  be  as  well  to  defer  sending  for  a  little,  as  I  expect  soon  to  be 
at  home  again,  and  may  in  that  case  be  able  to  save  considerable 
expense.  They  are  all  directed  to  John  Brown  at  Westport.  I  feel 
now  very  confident  of  ultimate  success,  but  have  to  be  patient,  and  I 


526  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

have  the  ague  to  hinder  me  some  lately.      May  God  be  the  portion 
of  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  May  19,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  intend  to  be  with  you 
again  next  week  ;  but  as  I  may  fail  to  bring  it  about,  I  now  write  to 
say  to  Watson  and  Oliver  that  I  think  it  quite  certain  that  I  shall 
very  soon  be  off  for  the  southwest,  so  that  they  may  (I  think  safely) 
calculate  their  business  accordingly.  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  my 
summer  clothing  put  in  order,  so  far  as  it  can  be  done  comfortably  ; 
I  have  had  no  shake  now  for  five  days,  and  am  getting  quite  smart 
again,  and  my  hearing  improves.  You  all  may  as  well  be  still  about 
my  movements.  God  bless  you  all  ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

AKRON,  OHIO,  June  23,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  My  best  wish  for  you  all 
is  that  you  may  truly  love  God  and  his  commandments.  We 
found  all  well  at  West  Andover,  and  all  middling  well  here.  I  have 
the  ague  some  yet.  I  sent  a  calf-skin  from  Troy  by  express,  directed 
to  Watson  Brown,  North  Elba,  to  go  by  stage  from  Westport.  I 
now  enclose  five  dollars  to  help  you  further  about  getting  up  a  good 
loom.  We  start  for  the  Ohio  River  to-day.  Write  me  under  cover 
to  John  at  West  Andover,  for  the  present.  The  frost  has  been  far 
more  destructive  in  Western  New  York  and  in  Ohio  than  it  was 
in  Essex  County.  Farmers  here  are  mowing  the  finest-looking 
wheat  I  ever  saw,  for  fodder  only.  Jason  has  been  quite  a  sufferer. 
May  God  abundantly  bless  and  keep  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

John  Brown  to  J.  H.  Kagi. 

CHAMBERSBTJRG,  PENN.,  June  30,  1859. 
JOHN  HENTIIE,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  We  leave  here  to-day  for  Harper's  Ferry,  via 
Hagerstown.  When  you  get  there  you  had  best  look  on  the  hotel 
register  for  I.  Smith  &  Sons,  without  making  much  inquiry.  We 
shall  be  looking  for  cheap  lands  near  the  railroad  in  all  probability. 
You  can  write  I.  Smith  &  Sons,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  should  you  need 
to  do  so.  Yours,  in  truth, 

I.  SMITH  [JOHN  BROWN]. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  527 

The  "  three  Smiths  and  Anderson,"  mentioned  by  Brown 
in  his  diary  for  June  27,  were  himself  ("  Isaac  Smith  "),  his 
two  sons,  Owen  ("  Watson  Smith  "),  and  Oliver  ("  Oliver 
Smith  "),  and  his  henchman,  Jerry  Anderson,  who  all  ap 
peared  at  Hagerstown  June  30,  and  spent  that  night  at  a 
tavern  there.  July  3,  these  four  were  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
where  Brown's  lieutenant  Cook  had  been  living  for  some 
months  j  and  on  the  4th  they  strolled  up  the  river  road  on 
the  Maryland  side  toward  the  house  of  J.  C.  Unseld,  a 
Maryland  slaveholder,  living  on  a  mountain  path  a  mile 
northwest  of  the  Ferry.  Early  that  forenoon  Unseld  riding 
down  to  the  Ferry  met  them  strolling  along  the  edge  of  the 
mountain  which  here  overlooks  the  Potomac.  «'  Well,  gen 
tlemen,"  said  the  planter,  "  I  suppose  you  are  out  hunting 
minerals,  — gold  and  silver,  perhaps  ?  "  "  No,"  said  Brown, 
l<  we  want  to  buy  land ;  we  have  a  little  money,  and  want  to 
make  it  go  as  far  as  we  can.  How  much  is  land  worth  an  acre 
here  ?  "  Being  told  that  it  ranged  from  fifteen  to  thirty 
dollars  in  that  neighborhood,  he  said,  "  That  is  high ;  I 
thought  I  could  buy  for  a  dollar  or  two  an  acre.'7  "  No," 
said  the  Marylander,  "  not  here  ;  if  you  expect  to  get  land 
for  that  price,  you  '11  have  to  go  farther  west,  —  to  Kansas, 
or  some  of  those  Territories  where  there  is  Congress  land. 
Where  are  you  from  ?  "  "  The  northern  part  of  New  York 
State."  "  What  have  you  followed  there  ?  "  "  Farming," 
said  Brown  ;  but  the  frost  had  been  so  heavy  of  late  years 
it  had  cut  off  their  crops,  they  could  not  make  anything 
there,  so  he  had  sold  out,  and  thought  they  would  come 
farther  south  and  try  it  awhile. 

Having  thus  satisfied  a  natural  curiosity,  Unseld  rode  on  ; 
but  returning  some  hours  afterward,  he  again  met  Smith 
and  his  young  men  not  far  from  the  same  place.  "  I  have 
been  looking  round  your  country  up  here,"  said  he,  u  and  it 
is  a  very  fine  country,  —  a  pleasant  place,  a  fine  view.  The 
land  is  much  better  than  I  expected  to  find  it :  your  crops 
are  pretty  good."  As  he  said  this  he  pointed  to  where  the 
men  had  been  cutting  grain,  —  some  white  men  and  some 
negroes  at  work  in  the  fields,  as  the  custom  is  there ;  for  in 
Washington  County  there  were  few  slaves  even  then,  and 
most  of  the  field  work  was  done  by  whites  or  free-colored 


528  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

men.     Brown  then  asked  if  any  farm  in  the  neighborhood 
was  for  sale.     "  Yes,  there  is  a  farm  four  miles  up  the  road 
here,  toward  Boonsborough,  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Dr.  Booth 
Kennedy;   you  can  buy    that."      "Can   I    rent   it?"  said 
Brown  ;  then  turning  to  his  companions  he  said :  "  I  think 
we  had  better  rent  awhile,  until  we  get  better  acquainted, 
so  that  they  cannot  take  advantage  of  us  in  the  purchase  of 
land."     To  this  they  appeared  to  assent,  and  Mr.  Unseld 
then  said :  "  Perhaps  you  can  rent  the  Kennedy  farm ;  it  is 
for  sale  I  know."     Brown  then  turned  to  his  sons  and  said : 
"  Boys,  as  you  are  not  very  well,  you  had  better  go  back  and 
tell  the  landlord  at  Sandy  Hook  that  Oliver  and  I  shall  not 
be  there  to  dinner,  but  will  go  on  up  and  see  the  Kennedy 
place.    However,  you  can  do  as  you  please."    Watson  Brown 
looked  at  Anderson,  and  then  said,  "  We  will  go  with  you." 
"  Well,"  said  the  friendly  Marylander,  "  if  you  will  go  on 
with  me  up  to  my  house,  I  can  then  point  you  the  road  ex 
actly."     Arrived  there  he  invited  them  to  take  dinner,  for 
by  this  time  it  was  nearly  noon.     They  thanked  him,  but 
declined ;  nor  would  they  accept  an  invitation  to  "  drink 
something."    "  Well,"  said  Unseld,  "  if  you  must  go  on,  just 
follow  up  this  road  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain  ;  it  is 
shady  and  pleasant,  and  you  will  come  out  at  a  church  up 
here  about  three  miles.     Then  you  can  see  the  Kennedy 
house  by  looking  from  that  church  up  the  road  that  leads  to 
Boonsborough,  or  you  can  go  right  across  and  get  into  the 
county  road,  and  follow  that  up."     Brown  sat  and  talked 
with  Unseld  for  a  while,  who  asked  him  "  what  he  expected 
to  follow,  up  yonder  at  Kennedy's  ?  "  adding  that  Brown 
"  could  not  more  than  make  a  living  there."     "  Well,"  said 
Brown,  "  my  business  has  been  buying  up  fat  cattle  and 
driving  them  on  to  the  State  of  New  York,  and  we  expect 
to  engage  in  that  again."     Three  days  later,  Unseld,  again 
jogging  to  or  from  the  Ferry,  again  met  the  gray-bearded 
rustic,  who   said :  "  I  think  that  place   will  suit  me  ;  now 
just  give  me  a  description  where  I  can  find  the  widow  Ken 
nedy  and  the  administrator,"  which  Unseld  did.     A  few 
days  after,  he  once  more  met  the  new-comer,  and  found  Mr. 
Smith  had  rented  the  two  houses  on  the  Kennedy  farm,  - 
the  farm-house,  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  public 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  529 

road  on  the  west  side,  where,  as  Unseld  thought,  "  it  makes 
a  very  pretty  show  for  a  small  house,"  and  "  the  cabin," 
which  stood  about  as  far  from  the  road  on  the  east  side, 
"  hidden  by  shrubbery  in  the  summer  season,  pretty  much."1 
For  the  two  houses,  pasture  for  a  cow  and  horse,  and  fire 
wood,  from  July  till  March,  Brown  paid  thirty -five  dollars, 
as  he  took  pains  to  tell  Unseld,  showing  him  the  receipt  of 
the  widow  Kennedy. 

How  was  it  possible  to  mistrust  a  plain  Yankee  farmer 
and  cattle-drover  who  talked  in  that  way,  and  had  no  con 
cealments,  no  tricks,  and  no  airs  ?  Evidently  the  Mary- 
lander  did  not  once  mistrust  him,  though  he  rode  up  to  the 
Kennedy  farm  nearly  every  week  from  the  middle  of  July 
till  the  first  of  October.  "  I  just  went  up  to  talk  to  the  old 
man,"  said  he;  "but  sometimes,  at  the  request  of  others, 
on  business  about  selling  him  some  horses  or  cows.  He  was 
in  my  yard  frequently,  —  perhaps  four  or  five  times.  I 
would  always  ask  him  in,  but  he  would  never  go  in,  and  of 
course  I  would  not  go  in  his  house.  He  often  invited  me 
in  ;  indeed,  nearly  every  time  I  went  there  he  asked  me  to  go 
in,  and  remarked  to  me  frequently,  « We  have  no  chairs  for 
you  to  sit  on,  but  we  have  trunks  and  boxes.'  I  declined 
going  in,  but  sat  on  my  horse  and  chatted  with  him."  Be 
fore  the  20th  of  July  he  saw  there  "two  females,"  who  were 
Martha,  the  wife  of  Oliver  Brown,  and  Anne,  the  eldest  un 
married  sister  of  Oliver,  then  a  girl  of  not  quite  sixteen 
years.  "  Twice  I  went  there,"  says  Unseld,  "  and  found 
none  of  the  men,  but  the  two  ladies ;  and  I  sat  there  on  my 
horse,  —  there  was  a  high  porch  on  the  house,  and  I  could 
sit  there  and  chat  with  them  ;  and  then  I  rode  off  and  left 
them.  They  told  me  there  were  none  of  the  men  at  home, 
but  did  not  tell  me  where  they  were.  One  time  I  went 
there  and  inquired  for  them,  and  one  of  the  females  an 
swered  me,  '  They  are  across  there  at  the  cabin ;  you  had 
better  ride  over  and  see  them.'  I  replied  it  did  not  make 

1  It  was  at  this  cabin  (since  torn  down)  that  Brown  kept  his  boxes  of 
rifles  and  pistols,  after  they  reached  him  from  Ohio.  The  pikes  from 
Connecticut,  a  thousand  in  number,  were  stored  in  the  loft  or  attic  of  the 
farm-house,  where  Brown  and  his  family  lived. 

34 


530  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

any  difference ;  I  would  not  bother  them ;  and  I  rode  back 
home."  1 

John  Brown  to  Ms  Family. 

CHAMBERSBURG,  PENN.,  July  22,  1859. 

DEAR  FRIENDS,  ALL,  —  Oliver,  Martha,  and  Anne  all  got  on  safe 
on  Saturday  of  the  week  they  set  out.  If  W.  and  D.  set  out  in  ten 
days  or  a  week  after  getting  this,  they  will  be  quite  in  time.  All 
well.  When  you  write,  direct  to  I.  Smith  &  Sons,  Chambersburg, 
Penn.  Your  friend, 

ISAAC  SMITH. 

CHAMBERSBURG,  PENN.,  July  27,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  write  to  say  that  we  are 
all  well,  and  that  I  think  Watson  and  D.  had  not  best  set  out  until 
we  write  again,  and  not  until  sufficient  hay  has  been  secured  to  win 
ter  all  the  stock  well.  To  be  buying  hay  in  the  spring  or  last  of  the 
winter  is  ruinous,  and  there  is  no  prospect  of  our  getting  our  freight 
on  so  as  to  be  ready  to  go  to  work  under  some  time  yet.  We  will  give 
you  timely  notice.  When  you  write,  enclose  first  in  a  small  enve 
lope,  put  a  stamp  on  it,  seal  it,  and  direct  it  to  I.  Smith  &  Sons, 
Harper's  Ferry,  Va. ;  then  enclose  it  under  a  stamped  envelope, 
which  direct  to  John  Henrie,  Chambersburg,  Penn.  I  need  not  say, 
do  all  your  directing  and  sealing  at  home,  and  not  at  the  post-office. 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

I.  SMITH. 

CHAMBERSBURG,  PENN.,  Aug.  2,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  If  Watson  and  D.  should 
set  out  soon  after  getting  this,  it  may  be  well.  They  will  avoid  say 
ing  anything  on  the  road  about  North  Elba.  It  will  be  quite  as  well 
to  say  they  are  from  Essex  County  ;  and  need  not  sayanything  about 
it  unless  they  are  questioned,  when  they  had  better  say  as  above. 
Persons  who  do  not  talk  much  are  seldom  questioned  much.  They 
should  buy  through  tickets  at  Troy  or  at  New  York  for  Baltimore, 

1  This  gossip  pictures,  as  no  description  could,  the  quiet  and  drowsiness 
of  this  woodland,  primitive,  easy-going,  hard-living  population,  amid  the 
hills  and  mountains  of  Maryland,  where  John  Brown  spent  the  last  three 
months-of  his  free  life,  and  gathered  his  forces  for  the  battle  in  which  he 
fell.  It  is  a  region  of  home-keeping,  honest,  dull  country  people  ;  and  so 
completely  did  Brown  make  himself  one  of  its  denizens,  that  he  was  accepted 
as  part  and  parcel  of  it,  even  when  plotting  his  most  audacious  strokes. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  531 

where  they  will  get  tickets  for  Harper's  Ferry  j  and  there,  by  inquir 
ing  of  Mr.  Michael  Ault,  who  keeps  the  toll-bridge  over  which  they 
have  to  pass,  they  can  find  I.  Smith  on  the  Kennedy  farm.  Watson 
will  be  a  son  and  D.  his  brother-in-law  Thompson,  if  any  inquiry  is 
made  at  the  bridge  or  elsewhere.  They  had  better  not  bring  trunks- 
We  are  all  well.  May  God  abundantly  bless  and  keep  you  all ! 
Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 


Brown  had  not  been  living  at  the  Kennedy  farm  many 
weeks  when  a  touching  incident  occurred,  which  is  thus 
related  by  his  daughter  Anne,  who  was  then  his  housekeeper  : 

"  One  day,  a  short  time  after  I  went  down  there,  father  was  sitting 
at  the  table  writing,  I  was  near  by  sewing  (he  and  I  being  alone  in 
the  room),  when  two  little  wrens  that  had  a  nest  under  the  porch 
came  flying  in  at  the  door,  fluttering  and  twittering  ;  then  flew  back 
to  their  nest  and  again  to  us  several  times,  seemingly  trying  to  attract 
oijir  attention.  They  appeared  to  be  in  great  distress.  I  asked 
father  what  he  thought  was  the  matter  with  the  little  birds.  He 
asked  if  I  had  ever  seen  them  act  so  before  ;  I  told  him  no.  '  Then 
/let  us  go  and  see,'  he  said.  We  went  out  and  found  that  a  snake 
had  crawled  up  the  post  and  was  just  ready  to  devour  the  little  ones 
in  the  nest.  Father  killed  the  snake ;  and  then  the  old  birds  sat  on 
the  railing  and  sang  as  if  they  would  burst.  It  seemed  as  if  they 
were  trying  to  express  their  joy  and  gratitude  to  him  for  saving  their 
little  ones.  After  we  went  back  into  the  room,  he  said  he  thought 
it  very  strange  the  way  the  birds  asked  him  to  help  them,  and  asked 
if  I  thought  it  an  omen  of  his  success.  He  seemed  very  much  im 
pressed  with  that  idea.  I  do  not  think  he  was  superstitious ;  but  you 
know  he  always  thought  and  felt  that  God  called  him  to  that  work  ; 
and  seemed  to  place  himself,  or  rather  to  imagine  himself,  in  the  po 
sition  of  the  figure  in  the  old  seal  of  Virginia,  with  the  tyrant  under 
her  foot." 

.  CHAMBERSBURG,  PENN.,  Aug.  16,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  left  all  well  at  home  yes 
terday  but  Martha,  who  was  complaining  a  little.  Am  in  hopes 
nothing  serious  is  the  matter.  I  will  only  now  say  I  am  getting 
along  as  well,  perhaps,  all  things  considered,  as  I  ought  to  expect. 
We  all  want  to  hear  from  you ;  but  we  do  not  want  you  all  to  write, 
and  you  need  only  say  all  is  well,  or  otherwise,  as  the  case  may  be. 
When  you  write,  enclose  in  a  small  envelope  such  as  I  now  send, 
seal  it,  and  write  on  it  no  other  directions  than  I.  Smith  &  Sons. 


532  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

Enclose  that  in  a  stamped  envelope  and  direct  it  to  John  Henrie, 
Esq.,  of  Chambersburg,  Franklin  County,  Penn.,  who  will  send  it 
to  us.  Affectionately  yours,  I.  S. 

CHAMBERSBURG,  PA.,  Sept.  8,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  write  to  say  that  we  are 
all  well,  and  are  getting  along  as  well  as  we  could  reasonably  expect. 
It  now  appears  likely  that  Martha  and  Anne  will  be  on  their  way 
home  in  the  course  of  this  month,  but  they  may  be  detained  to  a  little 
later  period.  I  do  not  know  what  to  advise  about  fattening  the  old 
spotted  cow,  as  much  will  depend  on  what  you  have  to  feed  her  with  ; 
whether  your  heifers  will  come  in  or  not  next  spring ;  also  upon  her 
present  condition.  You  must  exercise  the  best  judgment  you  have 
in  the  matter,  as  I  know  but  little  about  your  crops.  I  should  like 
to  know  more  as  soon  as  I  can.  I  am  now  in  hopes  of  being  able  to 
send  you  something  in  the  way  of  help  before  long.  May  God  abun 
dantly  bless  you  all !  Ellen,  I  want  you  to  be  very  good. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father,  I.  S. 

Sept.  9.    Bell's  letter  of  30th  August  to  Watson  is  received. 

Sept.  20,  1859.   All  well.    Girls  will  probably  start  for  home  soon. 
Yours  ever,  I.  S. 

CHAMBERSBFRG,  PA.,  Oct.  8,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  Oliver  returned  safe  on 
Wednesday  of  this  week.  I  want  Bell  and  Martha  both  to  feel  that 
they  may  have  a  home  with  you  until  we  return.  We  shall  do  all 
in  our  power  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  the  whole  as  one  family  till 
that  time.  If  Martha  and  Anne  have  any  money  left  after  getting 
home,  I  wish  it  to  be  used  to  make  all  as  comfortable  as  may  be  for 
the  present.  All  are  in  usually  good  health.  I  expect  John  will 
send  you  some  assistance  soon.  Write  him  all  you  want  to  say  to  us. 
God  bless  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

From  his  rustic  retreat  Brown  thus  wrote  to  his  comrades 
and  his  son  :  — 

To  Kagij  at  Chambersburg. 

(About  July  12,  1859.) 

"  Look  for  letters  directed  to  John  Henrie  at  Chambersburg.  In 
quire  for  letters  at  Chambersburg  for  I.  Smith  &  Sons,  and  write 
them  at  Harper's  Ferry  as  soon  as  any  does  come.1  See  Mr.  Henry 

1  See  the  Diary  for  July  12. 


1859.]  THE  FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  533 

Watson  at  Chambersburg,  and  find  out  if  the  l  Tribune '  comes  on. 
Have  Mr.  Watson  and  his  reliable  friends  get  ready  to  receive  com 
pany.  Get  Mr.  Watson  to  make  you  acquainted  with  his  reliable 
friends,  but  do  not  appear  to  be  any  wise  thick  with  them,  and  do 
not  often  be  seen  with  any  such  man.  Get  Mr.  Watson,  if  he  can, 
to  find  out  a  trusty  man  or  men  to  stop  with  at  Hagerstown  (if  any 
such  there  be),  as  Mr.  Thomas  Henry  has  gone  from  there.  Write 
Tidd  to  come  to  Chambersburg,  by  Pittsburg  and  Harrisburg,  at 
once.  He  can  stop  off  the  Pittsburg  road  at  Hudson,  and  go  to 
Jason's  for  his  trunk.  Write  Carpenter  and  Hazlett  that  we  are  all 
well,  right,  and  ready  as  soon  as  we  can  get  our  boarding-house 
fixed,  when  we  will  write  them  to  come  on,  and  by  what  route.  I 
will  pay  Hazlett  the  money  he  advanced  to  Anderson  for  expenses 
travelling.  Find  yourself  a  comfortable,  cheap  boarding-house  at 
once.  Write  I.  Smith  &  Sons,  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Inquire  after 
your  four  Cleveland  friends,  and  have  them  come  on  to  Chambers 
burg  if  they  are  on  the  way  j  if  not  on  the  road,  have  them  wait  till 
we  are  better  prepared.  Be  careful  what  you  write  to  all  persons. 
Do  not  send  or  bring  any  more  persons  here  until  we  advise  you  of 
our  readiness  to  board  them." 

At  this  time  Kagi  was  stationed  at  Chambersburg  to  re 
ceive  and  forward  letters,  arms,  men,  etc.  He  replied  to 
the  above  letter,  and  to  other  messages  of  Brown,  on  Mon 
day,  July  18,  and  again  July  22,  enclosing  letters  from 
Charles  Blair  and  from  John  Brown,  Jr.,  who  forwarded  the 
rifles,  etc.,  from  West  Andover,  Ohio,  on  the  22d,  25th,  and 
27th  of  July,  to  "Isaac  Smith  &  Sons,"  at  Chambersburg. 
Kagi  writes  thus  :  — 

July  18. 

I  wrote  to  Tidd  one  week  ago  to-day,  several  days  before  receiving 
your  letter  directing  me  to  do  so,  and  enclosing  letter  to  H.  Lindsley, 
which  I  forwarded  by  first  mail.  None  of  your  things  have  yet  ar 
rived.  The  railroad  from  Harrisburg  here  does  no  freight  business 
itself,  that  all  being  done  by  a  number  of  forwarding  houses,  which 
run  private  freight  cars.  I  have  requested  each  of  these  (there  are 
six  or  eight  of  them)  to  give  me  notice  of  the  arrival  of  anything 
for  you. 

CHAMBERSBURG,  Friday,  July  22. 

I  received  the  within,  and  another  for  Oliver,  to-day.  I  thought 
best  not  to  send  the  other;  it  is  from  his  wife.  There  are  other 
reasons,  which  I  need  not  name  now.  Have  here  no  other  letters 
from  any  one.  J.  HENRIE. 


534  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

"  The  within  "  was  this  note  from  John  Brown,  Jr.,  writ 
ing  under  the  name  of  "John  Smith,"  whose  father  was 
"Isaac"  or  "Squire"  Smith:  — 

ASHTABULA,  ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO,  Monday,  July  18,  1859. 
DEAR  FATHER,  —  Yours,  dated  at  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania, 
July  5,  and  mailed  at  Troy,  New  York,  July  7,  and  also  yours  of  the 
8th,  with  enclosed  drafts  for  one  hundred  dollars,  I  received  in  due 
season  ;  am  here  to-day  to  get  drafts  cashed.  Have  now  got  all  my 
business  so  arranged  that  I  can  devote  my  time,  for  the  present,  en 
tirely  to  any  business  you  may  see  fit  to  intrust  me ;  shall  immedi 
ately  ship  your  freight,  as  you  directed,  most  probably  by  canal,  from 
Hartstown  (formerly  Hart's  Cross  Roads,  Crawford  County),  to  the 
river  at  Rochester,  Pennsylvania  (formerly  Beaver),  thence  by  rail 
road  via  Pittsburg,  etc.,  as  you  directed.  Shall  hold  myself  in  readi 
ness  to  go  north  ou  any  business  you  choose  to  direct  or  confide  in 
my  hands.  All  well;  have  two  or  three  letters  from  N.  E.,  which  I 
will  forward  to  J.  H.  [Kagi] . 

In  haste,  your  affectionate  son, 

JOHN  SMITH. 

"N.  E."  was  New  England,  and  the  letters  were  from 
our  secret  committee,  or  some  members  of  it. 

In  a  note  to  John  Brown,  written  August  27.  Kagi  says  : 
"  I  to-day  received  the  enclosed  letter  and  check  [fifty  dol 
lars]."  This  was  the  money  sent  on  by  Dr.  Howe  about 
August  25,  and  the  letter  was  this  :  — 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  begin  the  investment  with  fifty  dollars,  and 
will  try  to  do  more  through  friends..  Our  friend  from  Concord  called 
with  your  note.  DOCTOR. 

I  was  the  "  friend  from  Concord,"  and  on  the  27th-30th 
August  I  wrote  to  Brown  from  Springfield,  thus  :  — 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Yours  of  the  18th  has  been  received  and  com 
municated.  S.  Gr.  Howe  has  sent  you  fifty  dollars  in  a  draft  on  New 
York,  and  I  am  expecting  to  get  more  from  other  sources  (perhaps 
some  here),  and  will  make  up  to  you  the  three  hundred  dollars,  if 
I  can,  as  soon  as  I  can  ;  but  I  can  give  nothing  myself  just  now, 
being  already  in  debt.  I  hear  with  great  pleasure  what  you  say  of 
the  success  of  the  business,  and  hope  nothing  will  occur  to  thwart  it. 
Your  son  John  was  in  Boston  a  week  or  two  since.  I  tried  to  find 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  535 

him,  but  did  not  j  and  being  away  from  Concord,  he  did  not  come 
to  see  me.  He  saw  S.  G.  Howe,  George  L.  Stearns,  Wendell  Phil 
lips,  Francis  Jackson,  etc.;  and  everybody  liked  him.  I  am  very 
sorry  I  could  not  see  him.  All  your  Boston  friends  are  well.  The 
odore  Parker  is  in  Switzerland,  much  better,  it  is  thought,  than  when 
he  left  home.  Henry  Sterns,  of  Springfield,  is  dead. 

July  28. 

I  reached  here  yesterday  and  have  seen  few  people  as  yet.  Here 
I  expect  letters  from  those  to  whom  I  have  written.  I  conclude  that 
your  operations  will  not  be  delayed  if  the  money  reaches  you  in  course 
of  the  next  fortnight,  if  you  are  sure  of  having  it  then.  I  cannot 
certainly  promise  that  you  will,  but  I  think  so.  Harriet  Tubman 
is  probably  in  New  Bedford,  sick.  She  has  stayed  here  in  N.  E.  a 
long  time,  and  been  a  kind  of  missionary.  Your  friends  in  C.  are 
all  well ;  I  go  back  there  in  a  week.  God  prosper  you  in  all  your 
works !  I  shall  write  again  soon. 

Yours  ever,  F. 

SPRINGFIELD,  August  30,  1859. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  enclose  you  a  draft  for  fifty  dollars  on  New 
"York,  bought  with  money  sent  by  Mrs.  Russell.  Dr.  Howe  has 
already  sent  you  fifty  dollars,  and  G.  S.,  of  P.,1  writes  me  has  sent, 
or  will  send,  one  hundred  dollars.  The  remainder  will  perhaps 
come  more  slowly ;  but  I  think  it  will  come.  I  have  sent  your  letter 
to  Gerrit  Smith.  Please  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  these  sums. 

Yours  ever,  F. 

John  Brown  to  his  son  John. 

CHAMBERSBURG,  PA.,  August,  1859. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  forgot  to  say  yesterday  that  your  shipments  of 
freight  are  received  all  in  apparent  safety ;  but  the  bills  are  very 
high,  and  I  begin  to  be  apprehensive  of  getting  into  a  tight  spot  for 
want  of  a  little  more  funds,  notwithstanding  my  anxiety  to  make  my 
money  hold  out.  As  it  will  cost  no  more  expense  for  you  to  solicit 
for  me  a  little  more  assistance  while  attending  to  your  other  business, 
say  two  or  three  hundred  dollars  in  New  York,  —  drafts  payable  to 
the  order  of  I.  Smith  &  Sons,  —  will  you  not  sound  my  Eastern  or 
Western  friends  in  regard  to  it,  ?  It  was  impossible  for  me  to  foresee 
the  exact  amount  I  should  be  obliged  to  pay  out  for  everything.  Now 
that  arrangements  are  so  nearly  completed,  I  begin  to  feel  almost  cer 
tain  that  I  can  squeeze  through  with  that  amount.  All  my  accounts 

1  Gervit  Smith,  of  Peterboro'. 


536  LIFE  AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

are  squared  up  to  the  present  time ;  but  how  I  can  keep  my  little 
wheels  in  motion  for  a  few  days  more  I  am  beginning  to  feel  at  a 
loss.  It  is  terribly  humiliating  to  me  to  begin  soliciting  of  friends 
again;  but  as  the  harvest  opens  before  me  with  increasing  encourage 
ments,  I  may  not  allow  a  feeling  of  delicacy  to  deter  me  from  asking 
the  little  further  aid  I  expect  to  need.  What  I  must  have  to  carry 
me  through  I  shall  need  within  a  very  few  days,  if  I  am  obliged  to 
call  direct  for  further  help  ;  so  you  will  please  expect  something  quite 
definite  very  soon.  I  have  endeavored  to  economize  in  every  possible 
way ;  and  I  will  not  ask  for  a  dollar  until  I  am  driven  to  do  so.  I 
have  a  trifle  over  one  hundred  and  eighty  dollars  on  hand,  but  am 
afraid  I  cannot  possible  make  it  reach.  I  am  highly  gratified  with 
all  our  arrangements  up  to  the  present  time,  and  feel  certain  that  no 
time  has  yet  been  lost.  One  freight  is  principally  here,  but  will  have 
to  go  a  little  further.  Our  hands,  so  far,  are  coming  forward  promptly, 
and  better  than  I  expected,  as  we  have  called  on  them.  We  have  to 
move  with  all  caution. 

As  will  appear  by  the  next  series  of  letters,  John  Brown, 
Jr.,  undertook  to  organize  forces  in  Canada  after  forwarding 
to  his  father  the  arms  stored  in  Ohio  :  — 

SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  Thursday,  Aug.  11,  1859. 

FRIEND  J.  HENRIE,  —  Day  before  yesterday  I  reached  Rochester. 
Found  our  Rochester  friend1  absent  at  Niagara  Falls.  Yesterday 
he  returned,  and  I  spent  remainder  of  day  and  evening  with  him  and 
Mr.  E.  Morton,  with  whom  friend  Isaac  [John  Brown]  is  acquainted. 
The  friend  at  Rochester  will  set  out  to  make  you  a  visit  in  a  few  days. 
He  will  be  accompanied  by  that  "  other  young  man,"  and  also,  if  it 
can  be  brought  around,  by  the  woman  l  that  the  Syracuse  friend  could 
tell  me  of.  The  son  will  probably  remain,  back  for  awhile.  I  gave 
11  Fred'k  " l  twenty-two  dollars  to  defray  expenses.  If  alive  and  well, 
you  will  see  him  ere  long.  I  found  him  in  rather  low  spirits ;  left 
him  in  high.  Accidentally  met  at  Rochester  Mr.  E.  Morton.  He 
was  much  pleased  to  hear  from  you  ;  was  anxious  for  a  copy  of  that 
letter  of  instructions  to  show  our  friend  at  "  Pr." l  [Peterboro'],  who, 
Mr.  M.  says,  has  his  whole  soul  absorbed  in  this  matter.  I  have 
just  made  him  a  copy  and  mailed  him  at  R.,  where  he  expects  to  be 
for  two  or  three  weeks.  He  wished  me  to  say  to  you  that  he  had 

l  F.  Douglass.  The  "  woman  "  spoken  of  was  Harriet  Tubman,  a  Mary 
land  Deborah.  "Fred'k"  is  also  Douglass.  "Our  friend  at  Pr."  was 
Gerrit  Smith,  in  whose  family,  it  will  he  remembered,  Edwin  Morton  was 
living  ;  but  he  happened  then  to  be  visiting  in  Rochester. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  537 

reliable  information  that  a  certain  noted  colonel,  whose  name  you 
are  all  acquainted  with,  is  now  in  Italy.  By  the  way,  the  impression 
prevails  generally  that  a  certain  acquaintance  of  ours  headed  the 
party  that  visited  St.  J.  in  Missouri  lately.  Of  course  I  don't  try  to 
deny  that  which  bears  such  earmarks.  Came  on  here  this  morning. 
Found  Loguen  gone  to  Boston,  Mass.,  and  also  said  woman.  As 
T.  does  not  know  personally  those  persons  in  Canada  to  whom  it  is 
necessary  to  have  letters  of  introduction,  he  thinks  I  had  better  get 
him  to  go  with  me  there.  I  have  made  up  my  mind,  notwithstand 
ing  the  extra  expense,  to  go  on  to  Boston.  Loguen  is  expecting  to 
visit  Canada  soon,  anyway,  and  his  wife  thinks  would  contrive  to  go 
immediately.  I  think  for  other  reasons,  also,  I  had  better  go  on  to 
Boston.  Morton  says  our  particular  friend  Mr.  Sanboru,  in  that 
city,  is  especially  anxious  to  hear  from  you  j  has  his  heart  and  hand 
both  engaged  in  the  cause.  Shall  try  and  find  him.  Our  Rochester 
friend  thinks  the  woman  whom  I  shall  see  in  Boston,  "  whose  ser 
vices  might  prove  invaluable,"  had  better  be  helped  on.  I  leave 
this  evening  on  the  11.35  train  from  here;  shall  return  as  soon  as 
possible  to  make  my  visit  at  Chatham.  Will  write  you  often.  So 
far,  all  is  well.  Keep  me  advised  as  far  as  consistent. 

Fraternally  yours, 

JOHN  SMITH. 

SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  Thursday,  Aug.  18,  1859. 

FRIEND  HENRIE,  —  I  am  here  to-day,  so  far  on  my  way  back 
from  Boston,  whither  I  went  on  Friday  last.  Found  our  Syracuse 
friend  there,  but  his  engagements  were  such  that  he  could  not  pos 
sibly  leave  until  yesterday  morning.  We  reached  here  about  twelve 
o'clock  last  night.  While  in  Boston  I  improved  the  time  in  making 
the  acquaintance  of  those  stanch  friends  of  our  friend  Isaac.  First 
called  on  Dr.  Howe,  who,  though  I  had  no  letter  of  introduction, 
received  me  most  cordially.  He  gave  me  a  letter  to  the  friend  who 
does  business  on  Milk  Street  [Mr.  Stearns].  Went  with  him  to  his 
home  in  Medford,  and  took  dinner.  The  last  word  he  said  to  me 
was,  "  Tell  friend  Isaac  that  we  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  his 
endeavor,  whatever  may  be  the  result."  I  have  met  no  man  on 
whom  I  think  more  implicit  reliance  may  be  placed.  He  views  mat 
ters  from  the  standpoints  of  reason  and  principle,  and  I  think  his 
firmness  is  unshakable.  The  friend  at  Concord  [F.  B.  Sanborn]  I 
did  not  see  ;  he  was  absent  from  hornet  The  others  here  will,  how 
ever,  communicate  with  him.  They  were  all,  in  short,  very  much 
gratified,  and  have  had  their  faith  and  hopes  much  strengthened. 
Found  a  number  of  earnest  and  warm  friends,  whose  sympathies  and 
theories  do  not  exactly  harmonize ;  but  in  spite  of  themselves  their 


538  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

hearts  will  lead  their  heads.  Our  Boston  friends  thought  it  better 
that  our  old  friend  from  Syracuse  [J.  W.  Loguen]  should  accompany 
me  in  my  journey  northward.  I  shall  leave  in  an  hour  or  two  for 
Rochester,  where  I  will  finish  this  letter.  I  am  very  glad  I  went  to 
Boston,  as  all  the  friends  were  of  the  opinion  that  our  friend  Isaac 
was  in  another  part  of  the  world,  if  not  in  another  sphere.  Our 
cause  is  their  cause,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word. 

Going  on  to  Rochester,  the  home  of  Douglass,  John 
Brown,  Jr.,  writes  from  there,  Aug.  17,  1859,  to  Kagi, 
saying : — 

11  On  my  way  up  to  our  friend's  [F.  Douglass's]  house,  I  met  his 
son  Lewis,  who  informs  me  that  his  father  left  here  on  Tuesday, 
August  16,  via  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  to  make  you  a  visit." 

The  exact  date  of  Douglass's  visit  to  Brown  at  Chambers- 
burg  seems  to  have  been  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sunday, 
August  19-21.  He  was  at  Mrs.  Gloucester's  in  Brooklyn 
August  18,  and  carried  to  Brown  from  her  the  following 
letter  :  — 

BROOKLYN,  Aug.  18,  1859. 

ESTEEMED  FRIEND, — I  gladly  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity 
afforded  by  our  friend  Mr.  F.  Douglass,  who  has  just  called  upon  us 
previous  to  his  visit  to  you,  to  enclose  to  you  for  the  cause  in  which 
you  are  such  a  zealous  laborer  a  small  amount,  which  please  accept 
with  my  most  ardent  wishes  for  its  and  your  benefit.  The  visit  of  our 
mutual  friend  Douglass  has  somewhat  revived  my  rather  drooping 
spirits  in  the  cause;  but  seeing  such  ambition  and  enterprise  in  him, 
I  am  again  encouraged.  With  best  wishes  for  your  welfare  and 
prosperity,  and  the  good  of  your  cause,  I  subscribe  myself 
Your  sincere  friend, 

MRS.  E.  A.  GLOUCESTER. 

What  took  place  during  the  stay  of  Douglass  and  Brown 
in  Chambersburg  has  thus  been  narrated  by  Douglass, 
omitting  some  particulars  not  essential  to  the  story  :  — 

JOHN    BROWN    IN    CONFERENCE   WITH    DOUGLASS. 

11  At  my  house  John  Brown  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  col 
ored  man,  who  called  himself  by  different  names,  —  sometimes 
'  Emperor,'  at  other  times  '  Shields  Green,'  —  a  fugitive  sla,ve 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  539 

who  had  made  his  escape  from  Charleston,  S.  C.  He  was  a  man 
of  few  words  (and  his  language  was  singularly  broken),  but  of 
courage  and  self-respect.  Brown  saw  at  once  what  stuff  Green  was 
made  of,  and  confided  to  him  his  plans  and  purposes.  Green  easily 
believed  in  Brown,  and  promised  to  go  with  him  whenever  he  should 
be  ready  to  move.  About  nine  weeks  before  the  raid  on  Harper's 
Ferry,  Brown  wrote  to  me  that  a  beginning  would  soon  be  made, 
and  that  before  going  forward  he  wanted  to  see  me ;  he  appointed  an 
old  stone-quarry  near  Chambersburg  as  our  place  of  meeting.  Mr. 
Kagi,  his  secretary,  would  be  there,  and  they  wished  me  to  bring 
any  money  I  could  command  and  Shields  Green  along  with  me.  He 
said  that  his  ;  mining-tools '  and  stores  were  then  at  Chambersburg, 
and  that  he  would  be  there  to  remove  them.  I  obeyed  the  summons, 
taking  Shields  ;  we  passed  through  New  York,  where  we  called  upon 
the  Rev.  James  Gloucester  and  his  wife,  and  told  them  where  we  were 
going,  and  that  our  old  friend  needed  money.  Mrs.  Gloucester  gave 
me  ten  dollars  for  John  Brown,  with  her  best  wishes.  When  I 
reached  Chambersburg  surprise  was  expressed  that  I  should  com 
there  unannounced  ;  and  I  was  pressed  to  make  a  speech,  wj:L- 
readily  did.  Meanwhile  I  called  upon  Mr.  Henry  Watson,  a  si' 
minded  and  warm-hearted  man,  to  whom  Brown  had  im^?-r  the 
secret  of  my  visit,  to  show  me  the  appointed  rendezvous^;  '  » atsoii 
was  busy  in  his  barber's-shop,  but  he  dropped  all  anr  jut  me  on 
the  right  track.  I  approached  the  old  quarry  cautioi]*  j,  for  Brown 
was  generally  well  armed  and  regarded  strange*  vvith  suspicion. 
He  was  under  the  ban  of  the  Government,  an^  i^avy  rewards  were 
offered  for  his  arrest.  He  was  passing  un1  .•  the  name  of  Isaac 
Smith.  As  I  came  near,  he  regarded  nie^  .spiciously  ;  but  he  soon 
recognized  me,  and  received  me  cordial! ;, .  He  had  in  his  hand  a 
fishing-tackle,  with  which  he  had..?'  parently  been  fishing  in  a 
stream  hard  by ;  but  I  saw  no  fisl],  nshing  was  simply  a  disguise, 
and  certainly  a  good  one.  He  If  <ted  every  way  like  a  man  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  as  much  at  \oine  as  any  of  the  farmers  around 
there.  His  hat  was  old  and  storm-beaten,  and  his  clothing  about 
the  color  of  the  stone-quarry  itself.  His  face  wore  an  anxious  ex 
pression,  and  he  was  much  worn  by  thought  and  exposure.  I  felt 
that  I  was  on  a  dangerous  mission,  and  was  as  little  desirous  of  dis 
covery  as  himself. 

u  Captain  Brown,  Kagi,  Shields  Green,  and  myself  sat  down 
among  the  rocks,  and  talked  over  the  enterprise  about  to  be  under 
taken.  The  taking  of  Harper's  Ferry,  of  which  Brown  had  merely 
hinted  before,  was  now  declared  his  settled  purpose,  and  he  wanted 
to  know  what  I  thought  of  it.  I  at  once  opposed  it  with  all  the 
arguments  at  my  command.  To  me,  such  a  measure  would  be  fatal 


540  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

to  running  off  slaves  (the  original  plan),  and  fatal  to  all  engaged.  It 
would  be  an  attack  on  the  Federal  Government,  and  would  array  the 
whole  country  against  us.  Captain  Brown  did  most  of  the  talking 
on  the  other  side.  He  did  not  at  all  object  to  rousing  the  nation  j  it 
seemed  to  him  that  something  startling  was  needed.  He  had  com 
pletely  renounced  his  old  plan,  and  thought  that  the  capture  of  Har 
per's  Ferry  would  serve  as  notice  to  the  slaves  that  their  friends  had 
come,  and  as  a  trumpet  to  rally  them  to  his  standard.  I  was  no  match 
for  him  in  such  matters,  but  I  told  him  that  all  his  arguments,  and  all 
his  descriptions  of  the  place  convinced  me  that  he  was  going  into  a 
perfect  steel-trap,  and  that  once  in,  he  would  never  get  out  alive  j  he 
would  be  surrounded  at  once,  and  escape  would  be  impossible.  He 
was  not  to  be  shaken,  but  treated  my  views  respectfully,  replying 
that  even  if  surrounded,  he  would  find  means  to  cut  his  way  out. 
But  that  would  not  be  forced  upon  him  ;  he  should  have  the  best 
citizens  of  the  neighborhood  as  prisoners  at  the  start,  and  holding 
them  as  hostages  should  be  able  to  dictate  terms  of  egress  from 
the  town.  I  told  him  that  Virginia  would  blow  him  and  his  host 
ages  sky-high  rather  than  that  he  should  hold  Harper's  Ferry  an 
hour.  Our  talk  was  long  and  earnest ;  we  spent  the  most  of  Satur 
day  and  a  part  of  Sunday  in  this  debate,  —  Brown  for  Harper's  Ferry, 
and  I  against  it ;  he  for  striking  a  blow  which  should  instantly  rouse 
the  country,  and  I  for  the  policy  of  gradually  and  unaccountably 
drawing  off  the  slaves  to  the  mountains,  as  at  first  suggested  and 
proposed  by  him.'  When  I  found  that  he  had  fully  made  up  his 
mind  and  could  not  be  dissuaded,  I  turned  to  Green  and  told  him  he 
heard  what  Captain  Brown  had  said  ;  his  old  plan  was  changed,  and 
I  should  return  home,  —  if  he  wished  to  go*with  me  he  could  do  so. 
Captain  Brown  urged  us  1>  .th  to  go  with  him.  In  parting,  he  put 
his  arms  around  me  in  a  ma.-  ar  more  than  friendly,  and  said,  i  Come 
with  me,  Douglass ;  I  will  dele.  •!  you  with  my  life.  I  want  you  for 
a  special  purpose.  When  I  strik'd  the  bees  will  begin  to  swarm,  and 
I  shall  want  you  to  help  hive  them.'  When  about  to  leave,  I  asked 
Green  what  he  had  decided  to  do,  and  was  surprised  by  his  saying, 
in  his  broken  way,  '  I  b'lieve  I  '11  go  wid  de  ole  man.'  "  l 

1  Among  the  papers  captured  at  the  Kennedy  farm  was  this  copy  of  a 
letter  to  Douglass  which  was  signed  by  colored  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  and 
received  at  Rochester  in  September  :  — 

F.  D.,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  The  undersigned  feel  it  to  be  of  the  utmost  importance  that  our  class 
be  properly  represented  in  a  convention  to  come  off  right  away  (near)  Chambersburg,  in 
this  State.  We  think  you  are  the  man  of  all  others  to  represent  us  ;  and  we  severally 
pledge  ourselves  that  in  case  you  will  come  right  on  we  will  see  your  family  well  pro 
vided  for  during  your  absence,  or  until  your  safe  return  to  them.  Answer  to  us  and  to 


[1882.] 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN   VIRGINIA.  541 

In  regard  to  the  opposition  of  his  followers  to  Brown's 
plan  of  beginning  the  campaign  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Owen 
Brown  makes  this  statement  (May  5,  1885)  :  — 

"  In  the  early  part  of  September,  1859,  father  and  I  went  with  the 
horse  and  covered  wagon  from  the  Kennedy  farm  to  Chambersburg,  — 
and  at  different  times  after  in  September  and  October,  —  to  see  if  any 
express  packages  (colored  volunteers)  had  arrived.  We  had  many 
earnest  discussions  as  to  the  feasibility  of  making  the  attack  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  —  which  plan  was  not  known  to  any  of  us  until  after  our 
arrival  at  the  Kennedy  i'arm.  All  of  our  men,  excepting  Merriarn, 
Kagi,  Shields  Green,  and  the  colored  men  (the  latter  knowing  nothing 
of  Harper's  Ferry),  were  opposed  to  striking  the  first  blow  there. 
During  our  talk  on  the  road,  I  said  to  father  :  '  You  know  how  it 
resulted  with  Napoleon  when  he  rejected  advice  in  regard  to  march 
ing  with  his  army  to  Moscow.  I  believe  that  in  your  anxiety  to  see 
that  all  is  going  on  well  at  the  three  different  points  proposed  to  be 
taken  (the  Arsenal,  the  Rifle- works,  and  the  Magazine),  you  will  so 
expose  yourself  as  to  lose  your  life.'  He  said,  finally,  1 1  feel  so  de 
pressed  on  account  of  the  opposition  of  the  men,  that  at  times  I  am 

John  Henrie,  Esq.,  Chambersburg,  Penn.,  at  once.  We  are  ready  to  make  you  a  re 
mittance,  if  you  go.  We  have  now  quite  a  number  of  good  but  not  very  intelligent 
representatives  collected.  Some  of  our  members  are  ready  to  go  on  with  you. 

Mr.  Douglass  writes  me  (April  15,  1885)  :  "  You  must  be  right  about  the 
time  of  my  going  to  Chambersburg  (Aug.  19,  1859).  I  took  no  note  as  to 
the  exact  time  ;  it  was  a  night  or  two  before  Brown  proposed  to  remove 
his  arms  to  Harper's  Ferry.  This  letter  was  sent  to  me  from  Philadelphia 
soon  after  I  returned  from  meeting  Captain  Brown.  It  was  signed  by  a 
number  of  colored  men  ;  I  never  knew  how  they  came  to  send  it,  but  it 
now  seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  Kagi,  who  was  with  Brown  when 
I  told  him  I  would  not  go  to  Harper's  Ferry.  He  probably  thought  I 
would  reconsider  my  determination,  if  urged  to  do  so  by  the  parties 
who  signed  the  letter."  One  of  Brown's  agents  wrote  thus  to  Kagi  at  the 

time  of  Douglass's  visit  :  — 

CLEVELAND,  Aug.  22,  1859. 

I  wrote  you  immediately  on  receipt  of  your  last  letter ;  then  went  up  to  Oberlin  to 
see  Leary.  I  saw  Smith,  Davis,  and  Mitchell ;  they  all  promised,  and  that  was  all. 
Leary  wants  to  provide  for  his  family  ;  Mitchell  to  lay  his  crops  by  ;  and  all  make  such 
excuses,  until  I  am  disgusted  with  myself  and  the  whole  negro  set.  If  you  were  here 
your  influence  would  do  something  ;  but  the  moment  you  are  gone  all  my  speaking 
don't  amount  to  anything.  I  will  speak  to  Smith  to-day.  I  knew  that  Mitchell  had  n't 
got  the  money,  and  1  tried  to  sell  my  farm  and  everything  else  to  raise  money,  but  have 
not  raised  a  cent  yet.  Charlie  Langston  fays  "  it  is  too  bad,"  but  what  he  will  do,  if  any 
thing,  I  don't  know.  I  wish  you  would  write  to  him,  for  I  believe  he  can  do  more  good 
than  I.  Please  write  to  him  immediately,  and  I  will  give  up  this  thing  to  him.  I 
think,  however,  nothing  will  inspire  their  confidence  unless  you  come.  I  will  do  all 
I  can. 


542  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

almost  willing  to  temporarily  abandon  the  undertaking.'  I  replied, 
'  We  have  gone  too  far  for  that,  —  we  must  go  ahead.'  In  the  course 
of  our  talk  he  said  to  me,  as  he  had  many  times  to  his  men  before, 
*  We  have  here  only  one  life  to  live,  and  once  to  die ;  and  if  we 
lose  our  lives  it  will  perhaps  do  more  for  the  cause  than  our  lives 
could  be  worth  in  any  other  way.'  I  agreed  with  him  in  this.  As 
we  found  no  express  packages  at  Chambersburg,  he  remained  there 
with  Kagi,  and  I  went  back  alone.  In  a  day  or  two  both  returned 
to  the  Kennedy  farm,  and  the  next  morning  he  called  all  his  men 
together  in  the  chamber  of  the  Kennedy  house,  and  said  to  them,  '  I 
am  not  so  strenuous  about  carrying  out  any  of  my  particular  plans  as 
to  do  knowingly  that  which  might  probably  result  in  an  injury  to  the 
cause  for  which  we  are  struggling;'  and  in  the  course  of  his  remarks 
he  repeated  what  he  had  said  to  me  about  our  losing  our  lives.  He 
then  added,  '  As  you  are  all  opposed  to  the  plan  of  attacking  here,  I 
will  resign  ;  we  will  choose  another  leader,  and  I  will  faithfully  obey, 
reserving  to  myself  the  privilege  of  giving  counsel  and  advice  where 
I  think  a  better  course  could  be  adopted.'  He  did  then  resign.  I 
first  replied  that  I  did  not  know  of  any  one  to  choose  as  a  leader  in 
preference  to  him.  In  a  short  time,  probably  within  five  minutes,  he 
was  again  chosen  as  the  leader,  and  though  we  were  not  satisfied  with 
the  reasons  he  gave  for  making  our  first  attack  there,  all  controversy 
and  opposition  to  the  plan  from  that  time  was  ended." 

It  must  have  been  about  the  time  of  this  journey  of 
the  father  and  son  that  Watson  Brown  wrote  thus  to  his 
wife  :  — 

Sept.  8,  1859. 

DEAR  BELLE,  —  You  can  guess  how  I  long  to  see  you  only  by 
knowing  how  you  wish  to  see  me.  I  think  of  you  all  day,  and  dream 
of  you  at  night.  I  would  gladly  come  home  and  stay  with  you 
always  but  for  the  cause  which  brought  me  here,  —  a  desire  to  do 
something  for  others,  and  not  live  wholly  for  my  own  happiness.  I 
am  at  home,  five  miles  north  of  H.  F.,  in  an  old  house  on  the  Ken 
nedy  farm,  where  we  keep  some  things,  and  four  of  us  sleep  here. 
I  came  here  to  be  alone  ;  Oliver  has  just  come  in  and  disturbed  me. 
I  was  at  Chambersburg  a  few  days  ago,  and  wrote  you  a  line  from 
there.  The  reason  I  did  not  write  sooner  was  that  there  are  ten  of 
us  here,  and  all  who  know  them  think  they  are  with  father,  and  have 
an  idea  what  he  is  at  j  so  you  see  if  each  and  every  one  writes,  all 
his  friends  will  know  where  we  all  are  ;  if  one  writes  (except  on 
business)  then  all  will  have  a  right  to.  It  is  now  dark,  and  I  am  in 
this  old  house  all  alone;  but  I  have  some  good  company,  for  I  have 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN   VIRGINIA.  543 

just  received  your  letter  of  August  30,  and  you  may  as  well  think  I 
am  glad  to  hear  from  you.  You  may  kiss  the  baby  a  great  many 
times  a  day  for  me ;  I  am  thinking  of  you  and  him  all  the  time. 

Two  events  in  no  way  connected  with  this  visit  of  Doug 
lass,  but  happening  about  that  time,  may  be  mentioned. 
The  anonymous  warning  to  the  Government,  from  Cincin 
nati,  that  Brown  was  to  strike  at  Harper's  Ferry,  was  dated 
the  Saturday  that  Douglass  met  Brown  in  Chambersburg, 
arid  mailed  three  days  later.  This  was  followed  within  a 
week  by  Gerrit  Smith's  letter  to  the  colored  men  of  Syra 
cuse,  in  which  he  predicted  almost  exactly  what  happened 
at  Harper's  Ferry.  The  Cincinnati  letter  was  as  follows: 

CINCINNATI,  August  20. 

SIR,  —  I  have  lately  received  information  of  a  movement  of  so 
great  importance,  that  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  impart  it  to  you  without 
delay.  I  have  discovered  the  existence  of  a  secret  association,  having 
for  its  object  the  liberation  of  the  slaves  at  the  South  by  a  general 
insurrection.  The  leader  of  the  movement  is  "old  John  Brown," 
late  of  Kansas.  He  has  been  in  Canada  during  the  winter,  drilling 
the  negroes  there,  and  they  are  only  waiting  his  word  to  start  for  the 
South  to  assist  the  slaves.  They  have  one  of  their  leading  men  (a 
white  man)  in  an  armory  in  Maryland,  —  where  it  is  situated  I  have 
not  been  able  to  learn.  As  soon  as  everything  is  ready,  those  of 
their  number  who  are  in  the  Northern  States  and  Canada  are  to  come 
in  small  companies  to  their  rendezvous,  which  is  in  the  mountains  in 
Virginia.  They  will  pass  down  through  Pennsylvania  and  Mary 
land,  and  enter  Virginia  at  Harper's  Ferry.  Brown  left  the  North 
about  three  or  four  weeks  ago,  and  will  arm  the  negroes  and  strike 
the  blow  in  a  few  weeks ;  so  that  whatever  is  done  must  be  done  at 
once.  They  have  a  large  quantity  of  arms  at  their  rendezvous,  and 
are  probably  distributing  them  already.  As  I  am  not  fully  in  their 
confidence,  this  is  all  the  information  I  can  give  you.  I  dare  not 
sign  my  name  to  this,  but  trust  that  you  will  not  disregard  the  warn 
ing  on  that  account.1 

1  The  envelope  is  directed,  "Hon.  Mr.  Floyd,  Secretary  of  War,  Wash 
ington,"  marked  "  private,"  and  postmarked  Cincinnati,  August  23,  1859. 
Although  the  information  sent  to  Floyd  was  very  exact,  and  one  would 
have  supposed  a  Virginian  specially  sensitive  to  such  intelligence,  it  does 
not  appear  that  he  gave  the  matter  more  than  a  passing  thought.  He 
received  the  letter  at  a  Virginian  watering-place,  but  did  not  read  it  twice, 


544  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

This  letter  was  not  heeded;  nor  was  the  more  public 
warning  given  by  Gerrit  Smith,  who,  writing  August  27, 
said,  among  other  things  :  — 

"  It  is,  perhaps,  too  late  to  bring  slavery  to  an  end  by  peaceable 
means,  —  too  late  to  vote  it  down.  For  many  years  I  have  feared, 
and  published  my  fears,  that  it  must  go  out  in  blood.  These  fears 
have  grown  into  belief.  So  debauched  are  the  white  people  by  slav 
ery  that  there  is  not  virtue  enough  left  in  them  to  put  it  down.  If 
I  do  not  misinterpret  the  words  and  looks  of  the  most  intelligent  and 
noble  of  the  black  men  who  fall  in  my  way,  they  have  come  to 
despair  of  the  accomplishment  of  this  work  by  the  white  people. 
The  feeling  among  the  blacks  that  they  must  deliver  themselves 
gains  strength  with  fearful  rapidity.  No  wonder,  then,  is  it  that 
intelligent  black  men  in  the  States  and  in  Canada  should  see  no 
hope  for  their  race  in  the  practice  and  policy  of  white  men.  .  .  . 
Whoever  he  may  be  that  foretells  the  horrible  end  of  American  slav 
ery  is  held  both  at  the  North  and  the  South  to  be  a  lying  prophet,  — 
another  Cassandra.  The  South  would  not  respect  her  own  Jeffer 
son's  prediction  of  servile  insurrection  ;  how  then  can  it  be  hoped  that 
she  will  respect  another's  ?  .  .  .  And  is  it  entirely  certain  that  these 
insurrections  will  be  put  down  promptly,  and  before  they  can  have 
spread  far?  Will  telegraphs  and  railroads  be  too  swift  for  even  the 
swiftest  insurrections  ?  Remember  that  telegraphs  and  railroads  can 
be  rendered  useless  in  an  hour.  Remember  too  that  many  who 
would  be  glad  to  face  the  insurgents  would  be  busy  in  transporting 
their  wives  and  daughters  to  places  where  they  would  be  safe  from 
that  worst  fate  which  husbands  and  fathers  can  imagine  for  their 
wives  and  daughters.  I  admit  that  but  for  this  embarrassment 
Southern  men  would  laugh  at  the  idea  of  an  insurrection,  and  would 
quickly  dispose  of  one.  But  trembling  as  they  would  for  beloved 
ones,  I  know  of  no  part  of  the  world  where,  so  much  as  in  the  South, 
men  would  be  like,  in  a  formidable  insurrection,  to  lose  the  most 
important  time,  and  be  distracted  and  panic-stricken." 

although  he  laid  it  away  at  first  as  a  paper  of  some  moment.  It  has  never 
been  ascertained  who  wrote  it,  but  perhaps  a  young  man  then  connected 
with  a  Cincinnati  newspaper.  This  person  had  become  acquainted  with  a 
Hungarian  refugee,  formerly  in  the  suite  of  Kossuth,  then  living  in  Kan 
sas,  and  who  had  fought  on  the  side  of  the  North,  possibly  under  Brown, 
and  had  learned  in  some  detail  the  plan  of  the  Virginia  campaign.  This 
it  is  believed  he  communicated  in  an  unguarded  moment  to  the  Cincinnati 
reporter,  who  could  not  contain  the  secret,  but  sat  down  at  once  and  wrote 
to  the  Secretary  of  War.  It  is  possible  that  the  information  came  indi 
rectly  from  Cook,  who  talked  too  freely.  See  p.  471. 


1859,1  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  545 

Gerrit  Smith's  prediction  passed  unnoticed,  although,  as 
his  biographer  says,  "  this  Cassandra  spoke  from  certainty.'7 
He  knew  what  Brown's  purpose  was  j1  and  his  last  contribu 
tion  of  money  to  Brown's  camp-chest  was  sent  about  the 
time  this  Syracuse  letter  was  written.  Whether  he  also 
knew  that  Harper's  Ferry  was  to  be  attacked  is  uncertain ; 
for  this  was  communicated  only  to  a  few  persons  except 
those  actually  under  arms.  Yet  it  was  known  by  the  Cin 
cinnati  correspondent  of  Secretary  Floyd.  Late  in  Septem 
ber  Jeremiah  Anderson,  one  of  Brown's  men  who  was 
killed  at  the  side  of  his  captain  in  the  engine-house  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  wrote  to  his  brother  in  Iowa, — 

"  Our  mining  company  will  consist  of  between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
well  equipped  with  tools.  You  can  tell  Uncle  Dan  it  will  be  impos 
sible  for  me  to  visit  him  before  next  spring.  If  my  life  is  spared,  I 
will  be  tired  of  work  by  that  time,  and  I  shall  visit  my  relatives  and 
friends  in  Iowa,  if  I  can  get  leave  of  absence.  At  present,  I  am 
bound  by  all  that  is  honorable  to  continue  in  the  course.  We  go  in 
to  win,  at  all  hazards.  So  if  you  should  hear  of  a  failure,  it  will  be 
after  a  desperate  struggle,  and  loss  of  capital  on  both  sides.  But 
that  is  the  last  of  our  thoughts.  Everything  seems  to  work  to  our 
hands,  and  victory  will  surely  perch  upon  our  banner.  The  old  man 
has  had  this  operation  in  view  for  twenty  years,  and  last  winter  was 
just  a  hint  and  trial  of  wlfat  could  be  done.  This  is  not  a  large 
place,2  but  a  precious  one  to  Uncle  Sam,  as  he  has  a  great  many 
tools  here.  I  expect  (when  I  start  again  travelling)  to  start  at  this 
place  and  go  through  the  State  of  Virginia  and  on  south,  just  as 
circumstances  require ;  mining  and  prospecting,  and  carrying  the  ore 
with  us.  I  suppose  this  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  write  before  there  is 
something  in  the  wind.  Whether  I  shall  have  a  chance  of  sending 
letters  then  I  do  not  know,  but  when  I  have  an  opportunity,  I  shall 
improve  it.  But  if  you  don't  get  any  from  me,  don't  take  it  for 
granted  that  I  am  gone  up  till  you  know  it  to  be  so.  I  consider  my 
life  about  as  safe  in  one  place  as  another." 

1  This  must  also  have  been  known  to  a  writer  in  the  "  Anglo- African," 
a  magazine  for  colored  men,  who  said,  in  August,  1859  :  — 

"  So  profoundly  are  we  opposed  to  the  favorite  doctrine  of  the  Puritans  and  their 
co-workers  the  eolonizationists, —  Ubi  Libertas,  ibi  Patria,  —  that  we  could  almost 
beseech  Divine  Providence  to  reverse  some  past  events,  and  to  fling  back  into  the  heart 
of  Virginia  and  Maryland  their  Sam  Wards,  Highland  Garnets,  J.  W.  Penningtons, 
Frederick  Douglasses,  and  the  twenty  thousand  who  now  shout  hosannas  in  Canada, — 
and  we  would  soon  see  some  stirring  in  the  direction  of  Ubi  Patria,  ibi  Libertas." 

2  Harper's  Ferry. 

35 


546  LITE  AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN   BROWN.  [1859. 

This  letter  shows  the  smallness  of  the  force  with  which 
Brown  undertook  his  campaign.  A  few  of  those  who  were 
expected  to  join  him  did  not  arrive,  and  his  actual  force 
when  he  began  was  but  twenty-two  besides  himself,  per 
haps  only  twenty-one,  for  there  is  some  doubt  concerning 
the  presence  of  John  Anderson,  the  person  last-numbered 
in  this  list  of  Brown's  band :  — 

1.  John  Brown,  commander-in-chief ;  2.  John  Henry  Kagi,  adju 
tant  ;  3.  Aaron  C.  Stephens,  captain ;  4.  Watson  Brown,  captain  ; 
5.  Oliver  Brown,  captain ;  6.  John  E.  Cook,  captain  ;  7.  Charles 
Plummer  Tidd,*  captain;  8.  William  H.  Leeman,  lieutenant;  9. 
Albert  Hazlett,  lieutenant;  10.  Owen  Brown,*  captain;  11.  Jere 
miah  G-.  Anderson,  lieutenant;  .12.  Edwin  Coppoc,  lieutenant:  13. 
William  Thompson,  lieutenant ;  14.  Dauphin  Thompson,  lieuten 
ant ;  15.  Shields  Green;1  16.  Dangerfield  Newby ;  17.  John  A. 
Copeland  ;  18.  Osborn  P.  Anderson  ;  *  19.  Lewis  Leary  ;  20.  Stew 
art  Taylor;  21.  Barclay  Coppoc;*  22.  Francis  Jackson  Merriam ;* 
23.  John  Anderson.* 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  company  was  but  the  skeleton 
of  an  organization  which  it  was  intended  to  fill  up  with 
recruits  gathered  from  among  the  slaves  and  at  the  North; 
hence  the  great  disproportion  of  officers  to  privates.  Accord 
ing  to  the  general  orders  by  Brown,  dated  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
Oct.  10,  1859,  his  forces  were  to  be  divided  into  battalions 
of  four  companies,  which  would  contain,  when  full,  seventy- 
two  officers  and  men  in  each  company,  or  two  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  in  the  battalion.  Provision  was  made  for  offi 
cering  and  arming  the  four  companies  of  the  first  battalion, 
which  in  the  event  of  Brown's  success  would  have  been 
filled  up  as  quickly  as  possible.  Each  company  was  to  be 
divided  into  bands  of  seven  men  under  a  corporal,  and  every 
two  bands  made  a  section  of  sixteen  men,  under  a  sergeant. 
Until  the  companies  were  filled  up,  the  commissioned  offi 
cers  were  intended  to  act  as  corporals  and  sergeants  in  these 
bands  and  sections,  and  they  did  so  during  the  operations  in 
Maryland  and  Virginia. 

Brown's  youngest  son  wrote  thus  :  — 

1  Those  in  italics  were  colored  men  ;  those  marked  (*)  escaped,  but  all 
save  Owen  Brown  are  now  dead.     He  was  treasurer  as  well  as  captain. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  547 

Oliver  Broivn  to  his  Family. 

PARTS  UNKNOWN,  Sept.  9,  1859. 

DEAR  MOTHER,  BROTHER,  AND  SISTERS,  —  Knowing  that  you  all 
feel  deeply  interested  in  persons  and  matters  here,  I  feel  a  wish  to  write 
all  I  can  that  is  encouraging,  feeling  that  we  all  need  all  the  encour 
agement  we  can  get  while  we  are  travelling  on  through  eternity,  of 
which  every  day  is  a  part.  I  can  only  say  that  we  are  all  well,  and 
that  our  work  is  going  on  very  slowly,  but  we  think  satisfactorily.  I 
would  here  say  that  I  think  there  is  no  good  reason  why  any  of  us 
should  be  discouraged  ;  for  if  we  have  done  but  one  good  act,  life  is 
not  a  failure.  I  shall  probably  start  home  with  Martha  and  Anna 
about  the  last  of  this  month.  Salmon,  you  may  make  any  use  of 
the  sugar  things  you  can  next  year.  I  hope  you  will  all  keep  a  stiff 
lip,  a  sound  pluck,  and  believe  that  all  will  come  out  right  in  the 
end.  Nell,  I  have  not  forgotten  you,  and  I  want  you  should  remem 
ber  me.  Please,  all  write.  Direct  to  John  Henrie,  Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania. 

Believe  me  your  affectionate  son  and  brother, 

OLIVER  SMITH. 

How  fully  the  Brown  family  were  apprised  of  the  details 
of  the  Virginia  campaign  it  is  hardly  possible  to  infer  from 
the  letters  extant ;  but  so  cautious  was  John  Brown,  and 
so  irregular  in  his  correspondence,  that  many  points  came 
late  or  not  at  all  to  the  knowledge  of  individual  members 
of  the  family.  Thus  John  Brown,  Jr.,  wrote  to  Kagi  five 
weeks  before  the  attack :  — 

WEST  ANDOVER,  Sept.  8,  1859. 

FRIEND  HENRIE,  —  I  yesterday  evening  received  yours  of  Sep 
tember  2,  and  I  not  only  hasten  to  reply,  but  to  lay  its  contents 
before  those  who  are  interested.  .  .  .  Through  those  associations 
which  I  formed  in  Canada,  I  am  able  to  reach  each  individual  mem 
ber  at  the  shortest  notice  by  letter.  T  am  devoting  my  whole  time  to 
our  company  business.  Shall  immediately  go  out  organizing  and 
raising  funds.  From  what  I  even  had  understood,'  1  had  supposed 
you  would  not  think  it  best  to  commence  opening  the  coal  banks  before 
spring,  unless  circumstances  should  make  it  imperative.  However, 
I  suppose  the  reasons  are  satisfactory  to  you,  and  if  so,  those  who 
own  smaller  shares  ought  not  to  object.  I  hope  we  shall  be  able  to 
get  on  in  season  some  of  those  old  miners  of  whom  1  wrote  you. 
Shall  strain  every  nerve  to  accomplish  this.  You  may  be  assured 


548  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

that  what  you  say  to  me  will  reach  those  who  may  be  benefited 
thereby,  and  those  who  would  take  stock,  in  the  shortest  possible 
time ;  so  don't  fail  to  keep  me  posted. 

There  is  a  general  dearth  of  news  in  this  region.  By  the  way,  I 
notice,  through  the  "  Cleveland  Leader,"  that  "Old  Brown"  is 
again  figuring  in  Kansas.  Well,  every  dog  must  have  his  day,  and 
he  will  no  doubt  find  the  end  of  his  tether.  Did  you  ever  know  of 
such  a  high-handed  piece  of  business  ?  However,  it  is  just  like  him. 
The  Black  Republicans,  some  of  them,  may  wink  at  such  things ; 
but  I  tell  you,  friend  Henrie,  he  is  too  salt  a  dose  for  many  of  them 
to  swallow,  and  I  can  already  see  symptoms  of  division  in  their 
ranks.  We  are  bound  to  roll  up  a  good  stiff  majority  for  our  side 
this  fall.  I  will  send  you  herewith  the  item  referred  to,  which  I 
clipped  from  the  "  Leader."  Give  regards  to  all,  and  believe  me 
faithfully  yours,  JOHN. 

Other  correspondence  followed  this,  but  little  that  need 
be  cited.  The  five  weeks  intervening  between  this  letter 
and  the  attack  were  busy  ones ;  and,  as  usual,  Brown  was 
embarrassed  for  lack  of  money.  I  sent  him  through  Kagi  a 
draft  for  fifty  dollars,  August  30,  and  made  a  further  remit 
tance  in  September,  amounting  to  one  hundred  and  five 
dollars  ;  this  completed  the  sum  I  had  agreed  to  raise,  — 
nearly  one  third  of  which  was  given  by  Gerrit  Smith.  The 
last  contribution  which  Brown  received  was  about  six  hun 
dred  dollars  in  gold,  carried  to  him  by  Francis  Merriam l 

1  Young  Merriam  was  a  grandson  and  namesake  of  Francis  Jackson,  the 
Boston  Abolitionist  (well  known  as  the  friend  of  Garrison,  Phillips,  Parker, 
Quincy,  and  the  other  extreme  Antislavery  men),  who  had  heard  from  Red- 
path  and  Hinton  of  Brown's  general  purpose,  and  in  December,  1858,  wrote 
to  Brown,  offering  to  join  him  "in  any  capacity  you  wish  to  place  me,  as 
far  as  my  small  capacities  go."  He  had  been  in  Kansas  in  1857-58,  with 
a  letter  from  Wendell  Phillips,  but  did  not  find  Brown.  In  the  spring  of 
1859,  while  Keilpath  and  Merriam  were  in  Hayti,  Kagi  had  written  to  Hin 
ton,  asking  the  three  to  meet  him  in  Boston  ;  but  this  meeting  never  took 
place.  In  September,  1859,  Merriam  learaed  the  details  of  the  Virginia 
plan  from  Lewis  Hayden,  a  Kentucky  freed  man,  long  resident  in  Boston, 
and  came  to  me  to  renew  the  offer  of  his  services.  His  father  was  dead, 
and  he  had  inherited  a  small  property  which  he  was  eager  to  devote  to 
some  practical  enterprise  for  freeing  the  slaves.  He  was  at  this  time 
twenty-two  years  old,  enthusiastic  and  resolute,  but  with  little  judgment, 
and  in  feeble  health. 


1859.J  THE  FORAY  IN   VIRGINIA.  549 

from  Boston  the  week  before  the  attack  was  made  at  Har 
per's  Ferry.  Kagi's  diary  (October  10-15)  records  Merriam's 
arrival  and  movements  :  — 

u  Monday,  October  10.  —  Mr.  Merriam  came  ;  went  down  with 
me  to  M . 

"  Tuesday.  — Dimas  returned  to  Mrs.  Ritner's.  Wrote  J.  B.,  Jr. 
Saw  Watson,  and  appointed  meeting  for  Thursday  eve.  Saw  Car 
lisle  about  purchases. 

"  Wednesday.  — Wrote  William  Still.  Wrote  to  S.  Jones,  send 
ing  men  off.  Leary  and  Copeland  arrived. 

"  Thursday.  — Received  letter  from  Merriam,  dated  Baltimore. 

"Friday,  October  15.  —  Sent  telegram  to  Merriam  at  Baltimore." 

"  Watson  "  was  one  of  Brown's  sons,  from  whose  letters 
to  his  young  wife  during  September  and  October  a  few  sen 
tences  may  be  quoted :  — 

We  have  only  two  black  men  with  us  now ;  one  of  these  has  a 
wife  and  seven  children  in  slavery.  I  sometimes  feel  as  though  I 
could  not  make  the  sacrifice  j  but  what  would  I  want  others  to  do, 
were  I  in  their  place?  .  .  .  Oh,  Bell,  I  do  want  to  see  you  and  the 
little  fellow  [the  young  babe  born  in  the  father's  absence]  very  much, 
but  I  must  wait.  There  was  a  slave  near  here  whose  wife  was  sold 
off  South  the  other  day,  and  he  was  found  in  Thomas  Kennedy's  or 
chard,  dead,  the  next  morning.  Cannot  come  home  so  long  as  such 
things  are  done  here.  ...  I  sometimes  think  perhaps  we  shall  not 
meet  again.  If  we  should  not,  you  have  an  object  to  live  for,  — to 
be  a  mother  to  our  little  Fred.  He  is  not  quite  a  reality  to  me  yet. 
We  leave  here  this  afternoon  or  to-morrow  for  the  last  time.  You 
will  probably  hear  from  us  very  soon  after  getting  this,  if  not  before. 
We  are  all  eager  for  the  work,  and  confident  of  success.  There  was 
another  murder  committed  near  our  place  the  other  day,  making  in 
all  five  murders  and  one  suicide  within  five  miles  of  our  place  since 
we  have  lived  there ;  they  were  all  slaves,  too.  .  .  .  Give  my  re 
gards  to  all  the  friends,  and  keep  up  good  courage :  there  is  a  better 
day  a-coming.  I  can  but  commend  you  to  yourself  and  your  friends 
if  I  should  never  see  you  again.  Believe  me  yours  wholly  and  forever 
in  love.  Your  husband, 

WATSON  BROWN. l 

1  Watson  was  just  twenty-four,  and  had  been  married  for  three  years 
,to  Isabel  Thompson,  whose  brothers  William  and  Dauphin  Thompson,  like 
her  husband  and  brother-in-law,  were  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry. 


550  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.          [1859. 

Brown  himself  wrote  thus  to  his  family  :  — 

CHAMBERSBURG,  PENN.,  Oct.  1,  1859.    • 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  parted  with  Martha  and 
Anne  at  Harrishurg,  yesterday,  in  company  with  Oliver,  on  their 
way  home.  I  trust  before  this  reaches  you  the  women  will  have  ar 
rived  safe.  I  have  encouragement  of  having  fifty  dollars  or  more 
sent  you  soon,  to  help  you  to  get  through  the  winter;  and  I  shall  cer 
tainly  do  all  in  my  power  for  you,  and  try  to  commend  you  always 
to  the  God  of  my  fathers. 

Perhaps  you  can  keep  your  animals  in  good  condition  through  the 
winter  on  potatoes  mostly,  much  cheaper  than  on  any  other  feed.  I 
think  that  would  certainly  be  the  case  if  the  crop  is  good,  and  is 
secured  well  and  in  time. 

I  sent  along  four  pairs  blankets,  with  directions  for  Martha  to 
have  the  first  choice,  and  for  Bell,  Abbie,  and  Anne  to  cast  lots  for  a 
choice  in  the  three  other  pairs.  My  reason  is  that  I  think  Martha 
fairly  entitled  to  particular  notice.1 

To  my  other  daughters  I  can  only  send  my  blessing  just  now. 
Anne,  I  want  you,  first  of  all,  to  become  a  sincere,  humble,  earnest, 
and  consistent  Christian  ;  and  then  acquire  good  and  efficient  business 
habits.  Save  this  letter  to  remember  your  father  by,  Anne. 

You  must  all  send  to  John  hereafter  anything  you  want  should  get 
to  us  ;  and  you  may  be  sure  we  shall  all  be  very  anxious  to  learn 
everything  about  your  welfare.  Read  the  "  Tribune  "  carefully.  It 
may  not  always  be  certainly  true,  however.  Begin  early  to  take 
good  care  of  all  your  animals,  and  pinch  them  at  the  close  of  the 
winter,  if  you  must  at  all. 

God  Almighty  bless  and  save  you  all  ! 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father. 

Harper's  Ferry  was  named  for  Robert  Harper,  an  English 
millwright,  who  obtained  a  grant  of  it  in  1748  from  Lord 
Fairfax,  the  friend  of  Washington.  The  first  survey  of  this 
tract  was  made  by  Washington,  who  is  said  to  have  selected 
the  Ferry,  in  1794,  as  the  site  of  a  national  armory.  The 
scenery  has  been  described  by  Jefferson  in  his  "  Notes  on 
Virginia,"  written  shortly  before  the  death  of  Robert  Har 
per  in  1782,  and  presenting  the  view  from  Jefferson's 


1  Martha  was  the  wife  of  Oliver,  and  was  to  be  confined  in  March. 
Bell  was  the  wife  of  Watson,  and  the  sister  of  William  and  Dauphin 
Thompson  ;  Abbie  was  the  wife  of  Salmon  Brown,  who  stayed  at  home 
with  his  mother. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN   VIRGINIA.  551 

above  the  village.  "  You  stand  on  a  very  high  point  of 
land ;  on  your  right  comes  up  the  Shenandoah,  having 
ranged  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain  a  hundred  miles  to 
lind  a  vent ;  on  your  left  approaches  the  Potomac,  in  quest 
of  a  passage  also.  In  the  moment  of  their  junction  they 
rush  together  against  the  mountain,  rend  it  asunder,  and 
pass  off  to  the  sea.  The  scene  is  worth  a  voyage  across  the 
Atlantic  ;  .  .  .  these  monuments  of  a  war  between  rivers 
and  mountains  which  must  have  shaken  the  earth  itself  to 
its  centre."  Around  this  junction  of  the  two  rivers  had 
grown  up  a  village  of  three  or  four  thousand  inhabitants. 
North  ,of  the  Potomac  rise  the  Maryland  Heights  almost 
perpendicular  to  the  river's  bank,  thirteen  hundred  feet 
above  it.  The  Loudon  Heights,  across  the  Shenandoah,  are 
lower,  but  both  ridges  overtop  the  hill  between  them,  and 
make  it  untenable  for  an  army,  while  this  hill  itself  com 
mands  all  below  it,  and  makes  the  town  indefensible  against 
a  force  there.  Therefore,  when  Brown  captured  Harper's 
Perry,  he  placed  himself  in  a  trap  where  he  was  sure  to  be 
taken,  unless  he  should  quickly  leave  it.  His  first  mistake 
(and  he  made  many  in  this  choice  of  his  point  of  attack  and 
his  method  of  warfare)  was  to  cross  the  Potomac  at  a  place 
so  near  Washington  and  Baltimore,  which  are  distant  but 
sixty  and  eighty  miles  respectively  from  the  bridge  over 
which  he  marched  his  men.  This  bridge  is  used  both  by 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  and  by  the  travellers  along 
the  public  highway ;  and  the  only  approach  to  it  from  the 
Maryland  side  is  by  a  narrow  road  under  the  steep  cliff,  or 
by  the  railroad  itself.  On  the  Virginia  side  there  are  roads 
leading  up  from  the  Shenandoah  valley,  and  both  up  and 
down  the  Potomac.  Harper's  Ferry  is  indeed  the  Ther 
mopylae  of  Virginia.  General  Lee,  the  Hector  of  the  South 
ern  Troy,  came  here  with  soldiers  of  the  national  army  to 
capture  Brown  in  1859 ;  he  came  again  and  repeatedly  as 
commander  of  the  Southern  armies  during  the  next  five 
years.  His  soldiers  and  their  opponents  of  the  Union  army 
cannonaded,  burned,  pillaged,  and  abandoned  the  town, 
which  has  not  yet  recovered  from  the  ruin  of  the  war. 

Before   Brown's  foray,  one  of  his  captains   (Cook)   had 
visited   the   house   of    Colonel   Lewis  Washington    (great- 


552  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

grandson  of  George  Washington's  brother),  and  learned 
where  to  put  his  hand  upon  the  sword  of  Frederick  the 
Great  and  the  pistols  of  Lafayette,  presented  by  them  to 
Washington,  and  by  him  to  his  brother's  descendants. 
With  that  sense  of  historical  association  which  led  Brown 
to  make  his  first  attack  upon  slavery  in  Virginia  and  amid 
the  scenes  of  Washington's  early  life,  this  liberator  of  the 
slaves  had  determined  to  appear  at  their  head  wielding 
Washington's  own  sword,  and  followed  by  freedmen  who 
had  owed  service  in  the  Washington  family.  He  therefore 
assigned  to  Stephens  and  to  Cook,  as  their  first  duty  after 
Harper's  Ferry  should  be  taken,  to  proceed  to  Colonel  Wash 
ington's  plantation  of  Bellair,  about  four  miles  south  of  the 
Ferry,  seize  him,  with  his  arms,  set  free  his  slaves,  and 
bring  him  as  a  hostage  to  the  captured  town  ;  and  he  even 
directed  that  Osborn  Anderson,  a  free  black,  should  receive 
from  Washington  the  historical  weapons.1 

Cook  in  his  confession  said  :  — 

"  There  were  some  six  or  seven  in  Brown's  party  who  did  not 
know  anything  of  our  Constitution,  and  were  also  ignorant  of  the 
plan  of  operations  until  Sunday  morning,  October  16.  Among  this 
number  were  Edwin  and  Barclay  Coppoc,  Merriain,  Shields  Green, 
Copeland,  and  Leary.  The  Constitution  was  read  to  them  by  Ste 
phens,  and  the  oath  afterward  administered  by  Captain  Brown.  On 
Sunday  evening  Captain  Brown  made  his  final  arrangements  for  the 
capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  gave  to  his  men  their  orders.  In 
closing,  he  said  :  *  And  now,  gentlemen,  let  me  press  this  one  thing 
on  your  minds.  You  all  know  how  dear  life  is  to  you,  and  how  dear 
your  lives  are  to  your  friends;  and  in  remembering  that,  consider 
that  the  lives  of  others  are  as  dear  to  them  as  yours  are  to  you.  Do 
not,  therefore,  take  the  life  of  any  one  if  you  can  possibly  avoid  it ; 
but  if  it  is  necessary  to  take  life  in  order  to  save  your  own,  then 
make  sure  work  of  it.' " 

At  the  Kennedy  farm-house,  about  eight  o'clock  on  the 
evening  of  Sunday,  —  a  cold  and  dark  night,  ending  in  rain, 
—  Brown  mustered  his  eighteen  followers,  saying,  "Men, 

1  The  Puritanic  Quixotism  and  the  prophetic  symbolism  of  Brown's 
character  united  in  this  act,  which  will  be  remembered  longer  than  many 
of  his  exploits  that  were  more  important  in  their  results. 


1859.]  THE  FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  553 

get  on  your  arms  ;  we  will  proceed  to  the  Ferry."  His  horse 
and  wagon  were  brought  to  the  door  of  the  farmhouse,  and 
some  pikes,  a  sledge-hammer,  and  a  crowbar  were  placed  in 
the  wagon.  Brown  "  put  on  his  old  Kansas  cap,"  mounted 
the  wagon,  and  said,  "  Gome,  boys  ! "  at  the  same  time  driv 
ing  his  horse  down  the  rude  lane  into  the  main  road.  His 
men  followed  him  on  foot,  two  and  two,  Charles  Plummer 
Tidd,  a  Maine  farmer  who  had  joined  him  in  Kansas,  and 
John  E.  Cook  taking  the  lead.  At  a  proper  time  they  were 
sent  forward  in  advance  of  the  wagon  to  tear  down  the  tel 
egraph  wires  on  the  Maryland  side  of  the  Potomac.  The 
other  couples  walked  at  some  distance  apart  and  in  silence, 
making  no  display  of  arms.  Now  and  then  some  of  them 
rode  beside  Brown.  When  overtaken  by  any  one,  the  rear 
couple  were  to  detain  the  stranger  until  the  party  had  passed 
on  or  concealed  themselves,  and  the  same  order  was  given  if 
they  were  met  by  any  one.  The  road  was  unfrequented 
that  night,  and  they  passed  down  through  the  woods  to  the 
bridge  across  the  Potomac  without  delay  or  adventure. 
Upon  entering  the  covered  bridge  they  halted  and  fastened 
their  cartridge-boxes,  with  forty  rounds  of  ammunition,  out 
side  their  coats,  and  brought  their  rifles  into  view.  As  they 
approached  the  Virginia  side,  the  watchman  who  patrolled 
the  bridge  met  them  and  was  arrested  by  Kagi  and  Ste 
phens,  who  took  him  to  the  armory  gate,  leaving  Watson 
Brown  and  Stewart  Taylor  to  guard  the  bridge.  The  rest 
of  the  company  proceeded  with  Brown,  in  his  wagon  or  on 
foot,  to  the  armory  gate,  which  was  but  a  few  rods  from  the 
Virginia  end  of  the  bridge.  There  they  halted  at  about 
half  past  ten  o'clock,  broke  open  the  gate  with  the  crowbar 
in  the  wagon,  rushed  inside  the  armory  yard,  and  seized  one 
of  the  two  watchmen  on  duty.  Brown  himself  with  two 
men  then  mounted  guard  at  the  armory  gate,  and  the  other 
fourteen  men  were  sent  to  different  parts  of  the  village. 
Oliver  Brown  and  William  Thompson  occupied  the  bridge 
over  the  Shenandoah,  and  there  arrested  a  few  prisoners. 
Kagi,  with  John  Copeland,  went  up  the  Shenandoah  a  half- 
mile  or  more  to  that  part  of  the  armory  called  "  the  rifle 
works,"  where  he  captured  the  watchmen,  sent  them  to 
Brown,  and  occupied  the  buildings.  Edwin  Coppoc  and 


554  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

Albert  Hazlett  went  across  the  street  from  the  armory  gate 
and  occupied  the  arsenal,  which  was  not  in  the  armory  in- 
closure.  All  this  was  done  quietly  and  without  the  snapping 
of  a  gun ;  and  before  midnight  the  whole  village  was  in  the 
possession  of  Brown  and  his  men.  He  then  dispatched 
Stephens,  Cook,  and  others,  six  in  all,  on  the  turnpike 
toward  Charlestown  to  bring  in  Colonel  Washington  and 
some  of  his  neighbors,  with  their  slaves.1  This  was  done 
before  four  in  the  morning ;  and  then  some  of  the  same  party 
went  across  into  Maryland  and  brought  in  Terence  Byrne, 
a  small  slaveholder,  at  whose  house  they  had  expected  to 
find  slaves,  but  did  not.  In  the  mean  time,  at  1.30  A.  M., 
the  railroad  train  from  the  west  had  come  in,  and  a  negro 
porter,  who  was  crossing  the  bridge  to  find  the  missing 
watchman,  was  stopped  by  Watson  Brown's  guard.  Turn- 

1  The  interview  between  Brown  and  Colonel  Washington  (who  was  one 
of  the  military,  staff  of  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  thence  derived  his 
title)  is  thus  described  by  Washington  :  "  We  drove  to  the  armory  gate. 
The  person  on  the  front  seat  of  the  carriage  said  :  '  All  's  well  ; '  and  the 
reply  came  from  the  sentinel  at  the  gate,  'All  's  well.'  Then  the  gates 
were  opened,  and  I  was  driven  in  and  was  received  by  Old  Brown.  He  did 
not  address  me  by  name,  but  said  :  '  You  will  find  a  fire  in  here,  sir  ;  it  is 
rather  cool  this  morning.'  Afterwards  he  came  and  said  :  '  I  presume  you 
are  Mr.  Washington.  It  is  too  dark  to  see  to  write  at  this  time  ;  but  when 
it  shall  have  cleared  off  a  little  and  become  lighter,  if  you  have  not  pen 
and  ink  I  will  furnish  them,  and  shall  require  you  to  write  to  some  of 
your  friends  to  send  a  stout,  able-bodied  negro.  I  think,  after  a  while, 
possibly  I  shall  be  able  to  release  you  ;  but  only  on  condition  of  getting 
yonr  friends  to  send  in  a  negro  man  as  a  ransom.  I  shall  be  very  atten 
tive  to  you,  sir  ;  for  I  may  get  the  worst  of  it  in  my  first  encounter,  and  if 
so,  your  life  is  worth  as  much  as  mine.  My  particular  reason  for  taking 
you  first  was,  that  as  an  aid  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia  I  knew  you 
would  endeavor  to  perform  your  duty  ;  and  apart  from  that,  I  wanted 
you  particularly  for  the  moral  effect  it  would  give  our  cause  having  one 
of  your  name  as  a  prisoner.'  I  supposed  at  that  time,  from  his  actions, 
that  his  force  was  a  large  one,  —  that  he  was  very  strong.  Shortly  after 
reaching  the  armory  I  found  the  sword  of  General  Washington  in  Old 
Brown's  hand.  He  said,  '  I  will  take  especial  care  of  it,  and  shall  en 
deavor  to  return  it  to  you  after  you  are  released.'  Brown  carried  it  in 
his  hand  all  day  Monday  ;  when  the  attacking  party  came  on,  Tuesday 
morning,  he  laid  it  on  the  fire-engine,  and  after  the  rescue  I  got  it." 

Colonel  Washington  survived  the  Civil  War,  in  which  he  took  no  part. 
His  widow  has  sold  this  sword,  with  other  mementos  of  Washington, 
to  the  State  of  New  York. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  555 

ing  to  run  back  and  refusing  to  halt,  he  was  shot  and  mor 
tally  wounded  by  one  of  the  bridge  guard,  which  was  now 
increased  to  three.  This  was  the  first  shot  fired  on  either 
side,  and  was  three  hours  after  the  entrance  of  Brown  into 
the  village.  Shots  were  fired  in  return  by  some  of  the  rail 
road  men,  and  then  no  more  firing  took  place  until  after 
sunrise.  Before  sunrise  the  train  had  been  allowed  to  go 
forward,  Brown  and  one  of  his  men  walking  across  the 
bridge  with  the  conductor  of  the  train  to  satisfy  him  that 
all  was  safe,  and  that  the  bridge  was  not  broken  down.  The 
work  of  gathering  up  prisoners  as  hostages  had  also  been 
pushed  vigorously,  and  before  noon  Brown  had  more  than 
twice  the  number  of  his  own  force  imprisoned  in  the  armory 
yard.  None  of  his  own  men  were  killed  or  captured  until 
ten  or  eleven  o'clock  on  Monday  morning,  when  Dangerfield 
Newby,  the  Virginia  fugitive,  was  shot  near  the  armory 
gate.  Shortly  afterward  Stephens  was  wounded  and  cap 
tured,  Watson  Brown  wounded,  and  William  Thompson 
captured.  For  from  nine  o'clock  (when  the  terrified  citizens 
of  Harper's  Ferry  found  a  few  arms  and  mustered  courage 
enough  to  use  them)  until  night,  the  Virginians,  armed  and 
officered,  had  been  surrounding  Brown's  position,  and  before 
noon  had  cut  off  his  retreat  into  Maryland.  During  the 
four  or  five  hours  after  daybreak  when  he  might  have  es 
caped  from  the  town,  he  was  urged  to  do  so  by  Kagi,  by 
Stephens,  and  by  others ;  but  delayed  until  it  was  too  late. 
For  twelve  hours  he  held  the  town  at  his  mercy ;  after  that 
he  was  firmly  caught  in  the  trap  he  had  entered,  and  the  de 
feat  of  his  foray  was  only  the  question  of  a  few  hours'  time. 
He  drew  back  his  shattered  forces  into  the  engine-house 
near  the  armory  gate,  soon  after  noon ;  but  neither  his  men 
at  the  rifle  works,  nor  those  at  the  arsenal  across  the  street, 
nor  his  son  Owen,  on  the  Maryland  side  of  the  Potomac, 
could  join  him.  He  fought  bravely,  and  so  did  Kagi  and 
his  few  men  on  the  ba.nk  of  the  Shenandoah ;  but  the  latter 
were  all  killed  or  captured  before  the  middle  of  the  after 
noon;  and  at  evening,  when  Colonel  Lee  arrived  from  Wash 
ington  with  a  company  of  United  States  marines,  nothing 
was  left  of  Brown's  band  except  himself  and  six  men,  two 
of  them  wounded,  in  his  weak  fortress,  and  two  unharmed 


556  LIFE    AND  LETTERS    OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

and  undiscovered  men,  Hazlett  and  Osborn  Anderson,  in  the 
arsenal  not  far  off.  His  enterprise  had  failed,  and  through 
his  own  fault. 

Why,  then,  did  Brown  attack  Harper's  Ferry,  or,  having 
captured  it,  why  did  he  not  leave  it  at  once  and  push  on 
into  the  mountains  of  Virginia,  according  to  his  original 
plan  ?  His  explanation  is  characteristic  :  it  was  foreor 
dained  to  be  so.  "  All  our  actions,"  he  said,  •'  even  all  the 
follies  that  led  to  this  disaster,  were  decreed  to  happen  ages 
before  the  world  was  made."  He  declared  that  had  he  be 
taken  himself  to  the  mountains  he  could  never  have  been 
captured,  "  for  he  and  his  men  had  studied  the  country 
carefully,  and  knew  it  a  hundred  times  better  than  any  of 
the  inhabitants."  He  ascribed  his  ruin  to  his  weakness  in 
listening  to  the  entreaties  of  his  prisoners  and  delaying  his 
departure  from  the  captured  town.  "It  was  the  first  time," 
somebody  reports  him  as  saying,  "that  I  ever  lost  command 
of  myself;  and  now  I  am  punished  for  it."  But  he  soon 
began  to  see  that  this  mistake  was  leading  him  to  his  most 
glorious  success,  —  a  victory  such  as  he  might  never  have 
won  in  his  own  way. 

Among  many  accounts  of  the  final  scenes  of  tragedy  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  one  of  the  best  is  that  of  Captain  Danger- 
field,  who  at  the  time  was  a  clerk  in  the  armory,  and  was 
made  prisoner  early  in  the  morning  of  October  17.  He 
says : ] — 

<k/ 1  walked  towards  my  office,  then  just  within  the  armory  inclosure, 
and  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  from  my  house.  As  I  proceeded, 
I  saw  a  man  come  out  of  an  alley,  then  another  and  another,  all 
coming  towards  me.  I  inquired  what  all  this  meant;  they  said, 
'  Nothing,  only  they  had  taken  possession  of  the  Government  works.' 
I  told  them  they  talked  like  crazy  men.  They  answered,  '  Not  so 
crazy  as  you  think,  as  you  will  soon  see.'  Up  to  this  time  I  had 
not  seen  any  arms.  Presently,  however,  the  men  threw  back  the 
short  cloaks  they  wore,  and  disclosed  Sharp's  rifles,  pistols,  and 
knives.  Seeing  these,  and  fearing  something  serious  was  going  on, 

I  told  the  men  I  believed  I  would  return  home.    They  at  once  cocked 

• 

1  See  the  "Century  Magazine"  for  June,  1885.  I  have  abridged  the 
narrative  here  and  there. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN  VIRGINIA.  557 

their  guns,  and  told  me  I  was  a  prisoner.  This  surprised  me,  but  I 
could  do  nothing,  being  unarmed.  I  talked  with  them  some  little 
time  longer,  and  again  essayed  to  go  home ;  but  one  of  the  men 
stepped  before  me,  presented  his  gun,  and  told  me  if  I  moved  I  would 
be  shot  down.  I  then  asked  what  they  intended  to  do  with  me. 
They  said  I  was  in  no  personal  danger;  they  only  wanted  to  carry 
me  to  their  captain,  John  Smith.  I  asked  them  where  Captain  Smith 
was.  They  answered  at  the  guard  house,  inside  of  the  armory  in- 
closure.  I  told  them  I  would  go  there  j  that  was  the  point  for  which 
I  first  started.  (My  office  was  there,  and  I  felt  uneasy  lest  the  vault 
had  been  broken  open.) 

•'  Upon  reaching  the  gate,  I  saw  what  indeed  looked  like  war,  — 
negroes  armed  with  pikes,  and  sentinels  with  muskets  all  around.  I 
was  turned  over  to  '  Captain  Smith,7  who  called  me  by  name,  and 
asked  if  I  knew  Colonel  Washington  and  others,  mentioning  familiar 
names.  I  said  I  did ;  and  he  then  said,  l  Sir,  you  will  find  them 
there,'  motioning  me  towards  the  engine-room.  We  were  not  kept 
closely  confined,  but  were  allowed  to  converse  with  him.  I  asked 
him  what  his  object  was.  He  replied,  '  To  free  the  negroes  of 
Virginia.'  He  added  that  he  was  prepared  to  do  it,  and  by 
twelve  o'clock  would  have  fifteen  hundred  men  with  him,  ready 
armed.  Up  to  this  time  the  citizens  had  hardly  begun  to  move 
about,  and  knew  nothing  of  the  raid.  When  they  learned  what  was 
going  on,  some  came  out  with  old  shotguns,  and  were  themselves 
shot  by  concealed  men.  All  the  stores,  as  well  as  the  arsenal,  were 
in  the  hands  of  Brown's  men,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  either 
arms  or  ammunition,  there  being  hardly  any  private  weapons.  At 
last,  however,  a  few  arms  were  obtained,  and  a  body  of  citizens 
crossed  the  river  and  advanced  from  the  Maryland  side.  They  made 
a  vigorous  attack,  and  in  a  few  minutes  caused  all  the  invaders  who 
were  not  killed  to  retreat  to  Brown  inside  of  the  armory  gate.  Then 
he  entered  the  engine-house,  carrying  his  prisoners  along,  or  rather 
part  of  them,  for  he  made  selections.  After  getting  into  the  engine- 
house,  he  made  this  speech  :  *  Gentlemen,  perhaps  you  wonder  why 
I  have  selected  you  from  the  others.  It  is  because  I  believe  you 
to  be  more  influential ;  and  I  have  only  to  say  now,  that  you  will 
have  to  share  precisely  the  same  fate  that  your  friends  extend  to  my 
men.'  He  began  at  once  to  bar  the  doors  and  windows,  and  to  cut 
portholes  through  the  brick  wall. 

"Then  commenced  a  terrible  firing  from  without,  at  every  point 
from  which  the  window's  could  be  seen,  and  in  a  few  minutes  every 
window  was  shattered,  and  hundreds  of  balls  came  through  the  doors. 
These  shots  were  answered  from  within  whenever  the  attacking  party 
could  be  seen.  This  was  kept  up  most  of  the  day,  and,  strange  to 


558  LIFE  AND   LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BfiOWN.  [1859. 

say,  not  a  prisoner  was  hurt,  though  thousands  of  balls  were  im 
bedded  in  the  walls,  and  holes  shot  in  the  doors  almost  large  enough 
for  a  man  to  creep  through.  At  night  the  firing  ceased,  for  we  were 
in  total  darkness,  and  nothing  could  be  seen  in  the  engine-house. 
During  the  day  and  night  I  talked  much  with  Brown.  I  found  him 
as  brave  as  a  man  could  be,  and  sensible  upon  all  subjects  except 
slavery.  He  believed  it  was  his  duty  to  free  the  slaves,  even  if  in 
doing  so  he  lost  his  own  life.  During  a  sharp  fight  one  of  Brown's 
sons  was  killed.  He  fell ;  then  trying  to  raise  himself,  he  said,  l  It 
is  all  over  with  me/  and  died  instantly.  Brown  did  not  leave  his 
post  at  the  porthole  ;  but  when  the  fighting  was  over  he  walked  to 
his  son's  body,  straightened  out  his  limbs,  took  off  his  trappings,  and 
then,  turning  to  me,  said,  '  This  is  the  third  son  I  have  lost  in  this 
cause.'  Another  son  had  been  shot  in  the  morning,  and  was  then 
dying,  having  been  brought  in  from  the  street.  Often  during  the 
affair  in  the  engine-house,  when  his  men  would  want  to  fire  upon 
some  one  who  might  be  seen  passing,  Brown  would  stop  them,  say 
ing,  '  Don't  shoot ;  that  man  is  unarmed.'  The  firing  was  kept 
up  by  our  men  all  day  and  until  late  at  night,  and  during  that  time 
several  of  his  men  were  killed,  but  none  of  the  prisoners  were  hurt, 
though  in  great  danger.  During  the  day  and  night  many  proposi 
tions,  pro  and  cow,  were  made,  looking  to  Brown's  surrender  and  the 
release  of  the  prisoners,  but  without  result. 

"  When  Colonel  Lee  came  with  the  Government  troops  in  the 
night,  he  at  once  sent  a  flag  of  truce  by  his  aid,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  to 
notify  Brown  of  his  arrival,  and  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  to 
demand  his  surrender,  advising  him  to  throw  himself  on  the  clemency 
of  the  Government.  Brown  declined  to  accept  Colonel  Lee's  terms, 
and  determined  to  await  the  attack.  When  Stuart  was  admitted 
and  a  light  brought,  he  exclaimed,  '  Why,  are  n't  you  old  Osawa- 
tomie  Brown  of  Kansas,  whom  I  once  had  there  as  my  prisoner  ? ' 
*  Yes,'  was  the  answer,  *  but  you  did  not  keep  me.'  This  was  the 
first  intimation  we  had  of  Brown's  real  name.  When  Colonel  Lee 
advised  Brown  to  trust  to  the  clemency  of  the  Government,  Brown 
responded  that  he  knew  what  that  meant,  — a  rope  for  his  men  and 
himself;  adding,  'I  prefer  to  die  just  here.'  Stuart  told  him  he 
would  return  at  early  morning  for  his  final  reply,  and  left  him. 
When  he  had  gone,  Brown  at  once  proceeded  to  barricade  the  doors, 
windows,  etc.,  endeavoring  to  make  the  place  as  strong  as  possible. 
All  this  time  no  one  of  Brown's  men  showed  the  slightest  fear,  but 
calmly  awaited  the  attack,  selecting  the  best  situations  to  fire  from, 
and  arranging  their  guns  and  pistols  so  that  a  fresh  one  could  be 
taken  up  as  soon  as  one  was  discharged.  During  the  night  I  had  a 
long  talk  with  Brown,  and  told  him  that  he  and  his  men  were  com- 


1859.]  THE  FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  559 

mining  treason  against  the  State  and  the  United  States.  Two  of  his 
men,  hearing  the  conversation,  said  to  their  leader,  '  Are  we  commit 
ting  treason  against  our  country  by  being  here  ?  '  Brown  answered, 
'  Certainly.'  Both  said,  '  If  that  is  so,  we  don't  want  to  fight  any 
more  j  we  thought  we  came  to  liberate  the  slaves,  and  did  not  know 
that  was  committing  treason.'  Both  of  these  men  were  afterwards 
killed  in  the  attack  on  the  engine-house.  When  Lieutenant  Stuart 
came  in  the  morning  for  the  filial  reply  to  the  demand  to  surrender, 
I  got  up  and  went  to  Brown's  side  to  hear  his  answer.  Stuart  asked, 
1  Are  you  ready  to  surrender,  and  trust  to  the  mercy  of  the  Govern 
ment  ?  '  Brown  answered,  '  No,  I  prefer  to  die  here.'  His  manner 
did  not  betray  the  least  alarm.  Stuart  stepped  aside  and  made  a 
signal  for  the  attack,  which  was  instantly  begun  with  sledge-ham 
mers  to  break  down  the  door.  Finding  it  would  not  yield,  the 
soldiers  seized  a  long  ladder  for  a  battering-ram,  and  commenced 
beating  the  door  with  that,  the  party  within  firing  incessantly.  I 
had  assisted  in  the  barricading,  fixing  the  fastenings  so  that  I  could 
remove  them  on  the  first  effort  to  get  in.  But  I  was  not  at  the  door 
when  the  battering  began,  and  could  not  get  to  the  fastenings  till 
the  ladder  was  used.  I  then  quickly  removed  the  fastenings ;  and, 
after  two  or  three  strokes  of  the  ladder,  the  engine  rolled  partially 
back,  making  a  small  aperture,  through  which  Lieutenant  Green  of 
the  marines  forced  his  way,  jumped  on  top  of  the  engine,  and  stood 
a  second,  amidst  a  shower  of  balls,  looking  for  John  Brown.  When 
he  saw  Brown  he  sprang  about  twelve  feet  at  him,  giving  an  under 
thrust  of  his  sword,  striking  Brown  about  midway  the  body,  and 
raising  him  completely  from  the  ground.  Brown  fell  forward,  with 
his  head  between  his  knees,  while  Green  struck  him  several  times 
over  the  head,  and,  as  I  then  supposed,  split  his  skull  at  every 
stroke.  I  was  not  two  feet  from  Brown  at  that  time.  Of  course  I 
got  out  of  the  building  as  soon  as  possible,  and  did  not  know  till 
some  time  later  that  Brown  was  not  killed.  It  seems  that  Green's 
sword,  in  making  the  thrust,  struck  Brown's  belt  and  did  not  pene 
trate  the  body.  The  sword  was  bent  double.  The  reason  that 
Brown  was  not  killed  when  struck  on  the  head  was,  that  Green  was 
holding  his  sword  in  the  middle,  striking  with  the  hilt,  and  making 
only  scalp  wounds. 

"  When  Governor  Wise  came  and  was  examining  Brown,  I  heard 
the  questions  and  answers,  and  no  lawyer  could  have  used  more  care 
ful  reserve,  while  at  the  same  time  he  showed  no  disrespect.  Gov 
ernor  Wise  was  astonished  at  the  answers  he  received  from  Brown. 
After  some  controversy  between  the  United  States  and  the  State  of 
Virginia,  as  to  which  had  jurisdiction  over  the  prisoners,  Brown  was 
carried  to  the  Charlestown  jail,  and  after  a  fair  trial  was  hanged.  Of 


560  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

course  I  was  a  witness  at  the  trial ;  and  I  must  say  that  I  have  never 
seen  any  man  display  more  courage  and  fortitude  than  John  Brown 
showed  under  the  trying  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed.  I 
could  not  go  to  see  him  hanged.  He  had  made  me  a  prisoner,  but 
had  spared  my  life  and  that  of  other  gentlemen  in  his  power;  and 
when  his  sous  were  shot  down  beside  him,  almost  any  other  man 
similarly  placed  would  at  least  have  exacted  life  for  life." 

This  Colonel  Lee  was  the  same  officer  who  as  General  of 
the  Confederate  Army  afterwards  maintained  so  bravely 
the  lost  cause  of  slavery,  and  surrendered  to  General  Grant 
and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  April,  1865.  He  was  in 
1859  in  high  command,  under  General  Scott,  in  the  United 
States  Army,  and  then,  as  afterwards,  a  defender  of  slav 
ery  and  slaveholding  Virginia.1  Both  he  and  his  subordi 
nate,  Major  Russell,  treated  Brown,  who  was  supposed  to 
be  dying,  with  consideration.  After  his  capture  the  crowd 
gathered  round  Brown,  who  told  them  not  to  maltreat  him, 
—  that  he  was  dying,  and  would  soon  be  beyond  all  injury. 
Major  Russell  had  him  conveyed  into  a  room,  and  kindly 
ordered  all  attention  to  be  paid  him.  Brown,  recognizing 
Russell,  said,  "You  entered  first.  I  could  have  killed 
you,  but  I  spared  you."  In  reply  to  which  the  Major 
bowed  and  said,  "I  thank  you."  Brown  said:  — 

"  My  name  is  John  Brown;  I  have  been  well  known  as  Old 
Brown  of  Kansas.  Two  of  my  sons  were  killed  here  to-day,  and 
I'm  dying  too.  I  came  here  to  liberate  slaves,  and  was  to  receive  no 
reward.  I  have  acted  from  a  sense  of  duty,  and  am  content  to 
await  rny  fate  ;  but  I  think  the  crowd  have  treated  me  badly.  I  am 
an  old  man.  Yesterday  I  could  have  killed  whom  I  chose;  but  I  had 
no  desire  to  kill  any  person,  and  would  not  have  killed  a  man  had 
they  not  tried  to  kill  me  and  my  men.  I  could  have  sacked  and 

1  A  year  before  General  Lee's  death  he  said  to  John  Leyburn,  at  Balti 
more,  that  he  had  never  been  an  advocate  of  slavery,  had  emancipated 
most  of  his  slaves  before  the  war,  and  rejoiced  that  slavery  was  abolished  ; 
adding  :  "  I  would  cheerfully  have  lost  all  I  have  lost  by  the  war,  and 
have  suffered  all  I  have  suffered,  to  have  this  object  attained."  I  print 
this  in  justice  to  a  brave  soldier  ;  but  his  warfare  was  as  much  in  defence 
of  slavery  as  Hector's  in  defence  of  Helen,  though  the  great  Trojan  did  not 
approve  of  Paris  as  against  Menelaus.  General  Lee's 
"  One  best  omen  was  Virginia's  cause." 


1859.J  THE   FORAY   IN   VIRGINIA.  561 

burned  the  town,  but  did  not ;  I  have  treated  the  persons  whom  I 
took  as  hostages  kindly,  and  I  appeal  to  them  for  the  truth  of  what 
I  say.  If  I  had  succeeded  in  running  off  slaves  this  time,  I  could 
have  raised  twenty  times  as  many  men  as  I  have  now,  for  a  similar 
expedition.  But  1  have  failed." 

To  the  master  of  the  armory,  while  a  prisoner,  Brown 
had  said :  — 

u  We  are  Abolitionists  from  the  North,  come  to  take  and  release 
your  slaves  ;  our  organization  is  large,  and  must  succeed.  I  suffered 
much  in  Kansas,  and  expect  to  suffer  here,  in  the  cause  of  human 
freedom.  Slaveholders  I  regard  as  robbers  and  murderers ;  and  I 
have  sworn  to  abolish  slavery  and  liberate  my  fellow-men." 

To  a  reporter  he  said  :  — 

11  A  lenient  feeling  towards  the  citizens  led  me  into  a  parley  with 
them  as  to  compromise;  and  by  prevarication  on  their  part  I  was 
delayed  until  attacked,  and  then  in  self-defence  was  forced  to  in 
trench  myself." 

While  Brown  was  thus  undergoing  questions  from  offi 
cers,  reporters,  citizens,  and  others,  Colonel  Lee  said  that 
he  would  exclude  all  visitors  from  the  room  if  the  wounded 
men  were  annoyed  by  them.  Brown  said  that  on  the  con 
trary  he  was  glad  to  be  able  to  make  himself  and  his 
motives  clearly  understood.  He  conversed  freely,  fluently, 
and  cheerfully,  without  fear  or  uneasiness,  weighing  well 
his  words. 

The  "  New  York  Herald  "  correspondent  says  :  1  — 

1  In  a  paper  printed  in  the  "  Atlantic  Monthly,"  July,  1874,  I  used 
this  expression  :  "It  was  the  everlasting  reporter  of  the  '  New  York 
Herald  '  who  then  and  there  [at  Harper's  Ferry,  in  October,  1859]  noted 
down  the  undying  words  that  might  else  have  been  lost,  or  distorted  in 
the  recital  of  the  base  men  to  whom  they  were  spoken."  In  the  last  let 
ter  I  ever  received  from  Gerrit  Smith,  soon  after  my  latest  visit  to  him  in 
the  summer  of  1874,  be  thus  alluded  to  my  remark  :  "By  tbe  way,  I 
never  before  knew  of  the  essential  service  of  the  '  New  York  Herald '  in 
preserving  'the  undying  words'  of  John  Brown.  Remember  that  I  was 
sick  at  that  time.  As  Providence  chose  filthy  ravens  to  feed  Elijah,  so  did 
Providence  choose  this  vile  sheet  to  carry  to  mankind  the  precious  truths 
which  came  from  the  lips  of  dear  John  Brown." 

36 


562  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

"  When  I  arrived  in  the  armory  at  Harper's  Ferry,  shortly  after 
two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  October  19,  Brown  was  answering 
questions  put  to  him  by  Senator  Mason,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
his  residence  at  Winchester,  thirty  miles  distant;  Colonel  Faulkner, 
member  of  Congress,  who  lives  but  a  few  miles  off;  Mr.  Yallandig- 
haui,  member  of  Congress  from  Ohio;  and  several  other  distin 
guished  gentlemen.  The  following  is  a  verbatim  report  of  the 
conversation :  — 


BROWN'S     INTERVIEW     WITH      MASON,     VALLANDIGHAM, 
AND    OTHERS. 

Senator  Mason.  Can  you  tell  us  wbo  furnished  money  for  your 
expedition  ? 

John  Broivn.  I  furnished  most  of  it  "myself  ;  I  cannot  implicate 
others.  It  is  by  my  own  folly  that  I  have  been  taken.  I  could 
easily  have  saved  myself  from  it,  had  I  exercised  my  own  better 
judgment  rather  than  yielded  to  my  feelings. 

Mason.     You  mean  if  you  had  escaped  immediately  ? 

Brown.  No.  I  had  the  means  to  make  myself  secure  without 
any  escape  ;  but  I  allowed  myself  to  be  surrounded  by  a  force  by 
being  too  tardy.  I  should  have  gone  away  ;  but  I  had  thirty  odd 
prisoners,  whose  wives  and  daughters  were  in  tears  for  their  safety, 
and  I  felt  for  them.  Besides,  I  wanted  to  allay  the  fears  of  those 
who  believed  we  came  here  to  burn  and  kill.  For  this  reason  I 
allowed  the  train  to  cross  the  bridge,  and  gave  them  full  liberty  to 
pass  on.  I  did  it  only  to  spare  the  feelings  of  those  passengers  and 
their  families,  and  to  allay  the  apprehensions  that  you  had  got  here 
in  your  vicinity  a  band  of  men  who  had  no  regard  for  life  and  prop 
erty,  nor  any  feelings  of  humanity. 

Mason.  But  you  killed  some  people  passing  along  the  streets 
quietly. 

Brown.  Well,  sir,  if  there  was  anything  of  that  kind  done,  it  was 
without  my  knowledge.  Your  own  citizens  who  were  my  prisoners 
will  tell  you  that  every  possible  means  was  taken  to  prevent  it.  I 
did  not  allow  my  men  to  fire  when  there  was  danger  of  killing  those 
we  regarded  as  innocent  persons,  if  I  could  help  it.  They  will  tell 
you  that  we  allowed  ourselves  to  be  fired  at  repeatedly,  and  did  not 
return  it. 

A  Bystander.  That  is  not  so.  You  killed  an  unarmed  man  at 
the  corner  of  the  house  over  there  at  the  water-tank,  and  another 
besides. 

Brown.  See  here,  my  friend ;  it  is  useless  to  dispute  or  contra 
dict  the  report  of  your  own  neighbors  who  were  my  prisoners. 


1859.1  THE   FORAY   IN   VIRGINIA.  563 

Mason.  If  you  would  tell  us  who  sent  you  here,  —  who  provided 
the  means,  —  that  would  be  information  of  some  value. 

Brown.  I  will  answer  freely  and  faithfully  about  what  concerns 
myself,  —  I  will  answer  anything  I  can  with  honor,  —  but  not  about 
others. 

Mr.  Vallandigham  (who  had  just  entered).  Mr.  Brown,  who 
sent  you  here? 

Brown.  No  man  sent  me  here ;  it  was  my  own  prompting  and 
that  of  my  Maker,  or  that  of  the  Devil,  —  whichever  you  please  to 
ascribe  it  to.  I  acknowledge  no  master  in  human  form. 

Vallandigham.     Did  you  get  up  the  expedition  yourself? 

Brown.     I  did. 

Vallandigham.  Did  you  get  up  this  document  that  is  called  a 
Constitution  ? 

Brown.  I  did.  They  are  a  constitution  and  ordinances  of  my 
own  contriving  and  getting  up. 

Vallandigham.  How  long  have  you  been  engaged  in  this 
business  ? 

Brown.  From  the  breaking  out  of  the  difficulties  in  Kansas. 
Four  of  my  sons  had  gone  there  to  settle,  and  they  induced  me  to  go. 
I  did  not  go  there  to  settle,  but  because  of  the  difficulties. 

Mason.  How  many  are  there  engaged  with  you  in  this 
movement  ? 

Brown.  Any  questions  that  I  can  honorably  answer  I  will,  —  not 
otherwise.  So  far  as  I  am  myself  concerned,  I  have  told  everything 
truthfully.  I  value  my  word,  sir. 

Mason.     What  was  your  object  in  coming  ? 

Brown.     We  came  to  free  the  slaves,  and  only  that. 

A  Volunteer.     How  many  men,  in  all,  had  you  ? 

Brown.  I  came  to  Virginia  with  eighteen  men  only,  besides 
myself. 

Volunteer.  What  in  the  world  did  you  suppose  you  could  do  here 
in  Virginia  with  that  amount  of  men  ? 

Brown.     Young  man,  I  do  not  wish  to  discuss  that  question  here. 

Volunteer.     You  could  riot  do  anything. 

Brown.  Well,  perhaps  your  ideas  and  mine  on  military  subjects 
would  differ  materially. 

Mason.     How  do  you  justify  your  acts  ? 

Brown  I  think,  my  friend,  you  are  guilty  of  a  great  wrong 
against  God  and  humanity,  —  I  say  it  without  wishing  to  be  offen 
sive,  —  and  it  would  be  perfectly  right  for  any  one  to  interfere  with 
you  so  far  as  to  free  those  you  wilfully  and  wickedly  hold  in  bondage. 
I  do  not  say  this  insultingly. 

Mason.     I  understand  that. 


564  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

Brown.  I  think  I  did  right,  and  that  others  will  do  right  who 
interfere  with  you  at  any  time  and  at  all  times.  I  hold  that  the 
Golden  Rule,  "  Do  unto  others  as  ye  would  that  others  should 
do  unto  you,"  applies  to  all  who  would  help  others  to  gain  their 
liberty. 

Lieutenant  Stuart.     But  don't  you  believe  in  the  Bible  ? 

Brown.     Certainly  I  do. 

Mason.  Did  you  consider  this  a  military  organization  in  this 
Constitution  ?  I  have  not  yet  read  it. 

Brown.  I  did,  in  some  sense.  I  wish  you  would  give  that  paper 
close  attention. 

Mason.  You  consider  yourself  the  commander-in-chief  of  these 
"provisional"  military  forces? 

Brown.  I  was  chosen,  agreeably  to  the  ordinance  of  a  certain 
document,  commander-in-chief  of  that  force. 

Mason.     What  wages  did  you  offer? 

Brown.     None. 

Stuart.     "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 

Brown.  I  would  not  have  made  such  a  remark  to  you  if  you  had 
been  a  prisoner,  and  wounded,  in  my  hands. 

A  Bystander.  Did  you  not  promise  a  negro  in  Gettysburg  twenty 
dollars  a  month  ? 

Brown.     I  did  not. 

Mason.     Does  this  talking  annoy  you  ? 

Brown.     Not  in  the  least. 

Vallandigham.     Have  you  lived  long  in  Ohio  ? 

Brown.  I  went  there  in  1805.  I  lived  in  Summit  County,  which 
was  then  Portage  County.  My  native  place  is  Connecticut ;  my 
father  lived  there,  till  1805. 

Vallandigham.     Have  you  been  in  Portage  County  lately  ? 

Brown.     I  was  there  in  June  last. 

Vallandigham.  When  in  Cleveland,  did  you  attend  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law  Convention  there  ? 

Brown.  No.  I  was  there  about  the  time  of  the  sitting  of  the 
court  to  try  the  Oberlin  rescuers.  I  spoke  there  publicly  on  that 
subject ;  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law  and  my  own  rescae.  Of  course, 
so  far  as  I  had  any  influence  at  all,  I  was  supposed  to  justify  the 
Oberliu  people  for  rescuing  the  slave,  because  I  have  myself  forcibly 
taken  slaves  from  bondage.  I  was  concerned  in  taking  eleven  slaves 
from  Missouri  to  Canada  last  winter.  I  think  I  spoke  in  Cleveland 
before  the  Convention.  I  do  not  know  that  I  had  conversation  with 
any  of  the  Oberlin  rescuers.  I  was  sick  part  of  the  time  I  was  in 
Ohio  with  the  ague,  in  Ashtabula  County. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  565 

Vallandigham.  Did  you  see  anything  of  Joshua  R.  Giddings 
there  ? 

Broivn.     I  did  meet  him. 

Vallandigham.     Did  you  converse  with  him  ? 

Brown.  I  did.  I  would  not  tell  you,  of  course,  anything  that 
would  implicate  Mr.  Giddiugs ;  but  I  certainly  met  with  him  and 
had  conversations  with  him. 

Vallandigham.     About  that  rescue  case  ? 

Brown.  Yes  ;  I  heard  him  express  his  opinions  upon  it  very 
freely  and  frankly. 

Vallandigham.     Justifying  it  ? 

Brown.  Yes,  sir  j  I  do  not  compromise  him,  certainly,  in  saying 
that. 

Vallandigham.  Will  you  answer  this :  Did  you  talk  with  Gid 
dings  about  your  expedition  here  ? 

Brown.  No,  I  won't  answer  that ;  because  a  denial  of  it  I  would 
not  make,  and  to  make  any  affirmation  of  it  I  should  be  a  great 
dunce. 

Vallandigham.  Have  you  had  any  correspondence  with  parties  at 
the  North  on  the  subject  of  this  movement  ? 

Brown.     I  have  had  correspondence. 

A  Bystander.     Do  you  consider  this  a  religious  movement  ? 

Brown.  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  greatest  service  man  can  render 
to  God. 

Bystander.  Do  you  consider  yourself  an  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  Providence  ? 

Brown.     I  do. 

Bystander.     Upon  what  principle  do  you  justify  your  acts  ? 

Brown.  Upon  the  Golden  Rule.  I  pity  the  poor  in  bondage  that 
have  none  to  help  them  :  that  is  why  I  am  here ;  not  to  gratify  any 
personal  animosity,  revenge,  or  vindictive  spirit.  It  is  my  sympathy 
with  the  oppressed  and  the  wronged,  that  are  as  good  as  you  and  as 
precious  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Bystander.  Certainly.  But  why  take  the  slaves  against  their 
will  f 

Broivn.     I  never  did. 

Bystander.     You  did  in  one  instance,  at  least. 

Stephens,  the  other  wounded  prisoner,  here  said,  "  You  are  right. 
In  one  case  I  know  the  negro  wanted  to  go  back." 

Bystander.     Where  did  you  come  from  ? 

Stephens.     I  lived  in  Ashtabula  County,  Ohio. 

Vallandigham.     How  recently  did  you  leave  Ashtabula  County  ? 

Stephens.  Some  months  ago.  I  never  resided  there  any  length  of 
time  ;  have  been  through  there. 


f,66  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

Vailandigham.     How  far  did  you  live  from  Jefferson  ? 

Brown.  Be  cautious,  Stephens,  about  any  answers  that  would 
commit  any  friend.  I  would  not  answer  that. 

[Stephens  turned  partially  over  with  a  groan  of  pain,  and  was 
silent.] 

Vailandigham.     Who  are  your  advisers  in  this  movement  ? 

Brown.  I  cannot  answer  that.  I  have  numerous  sympathizers 
throughout  the  entire  North. 

Vailandigham.     In  northern  Ohio  ? 

Brown.  No  more  there  than  anywhere  else ;  in  all  the  free 
States. 

Vailandigham.  But  you  are  not  personally  acquainted  in  south 
ern  Ohio  ? 

Brown.     Not  very  much. 

A  Bystander.     Did  you  ever  live  in  Washington  City? 

Brown.  I  did  not.  I  want  you  to  understand,  gentlemen,  and  [to 
the  reporter  of  the  "  Herald  "]  you  may  report  that,  —  I  want  you  to 
understand  that  I  respect  the  rights  of  the  poorest  and  weakest  of 
colored  people,  oppressed  by  the  slave  system,  just  as  much  as  I  do 
those  of  the  most  wealthy  and  powerful.  That  is  the  idea  that  has 
moved  me,  and  that  alone.  We  expected  no  reward  except  the  satis 
faction  of  endeavoring  to  do  for  those  in  distress  and  greatly  oppressed 
as  we  would  be  done  by.  The  cry  of  distress  of  the  oppressed  is  my 
reason,  and  the  only  thing  that  prompted  me  to  come  here. 

Bystander.     Why  did  you  do  it  secretly  ? 

Broivn.  Because  I  thought  that  necessary  to  success  j  no  other 
reason. 

Bystander.     Have  you  read  Gerrit  Smith's  last  letter  ? 

Brown.     What  letter  do  you  mean  ? 

Bystander.  The  "  New  York  Herald  "  of  yesterday,  in  speaking 
of  this  affair,  mentions  a  letter  in  this  way  :  — 

""Apropos  of  this  exciting  news,  we  recollect  a  very  significant  passage 
in  one  of  Gerrit  Smith's  letters,  published  a  month  or  two  ago,  in  which  he 
speaks  of  the  folly  of  attempting  to  strike  the  shackles  off  the  slaves  by  the 
force  of  moral  suasion  or  legal  agitation,  and  predicts  that  the  next  move 
ment  made  in  the  direction  of  negro  emancipation  would  be  an  insurrection 
in  the  South." 

Brown.  I  have  not  seen  the  "  New  York  Herald  ''  for  some  days 
past ;  but  I  presume,  from  your  remark  about  the  gist  of  the  letter, 
that  I  should  concur  with  it.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Smith  that  moral 
suasion  is  hopeless.  I  don't  think  the  people  of  the  slave  States  will 
ever  consider  the  subject  of  slavery  in  its  true  light  till  some  other 
argument  is  resorted  to  than  moral  suasion. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY   IN   VIRGINIA.  567 

VaUandigham.  Did  you  expect  a  general  rising  of  the  slaves  in 
case  of  your  success  ? 

Broiun.  No,  sir ;  nor  did  I  wish  it.  I  expected  to  gather  them 
up  from  time  to  time,  and  set  them  free. 

VaUandigham.     Did  you  expect  to  hold  possession  here  till  then  ? 

Brown.  Well,  probably  I  had  quite  a  different  idea.  I  do  not  know 
that  I  ought  to  reveal  my  plans.  I  am  here  a  prisoner  arid  wounded, 
because  I  foolishly  allowed  myself  to  be  so.  You  overrate  your 
strength  in  supposing  I  could  have  been  taken  if  I  had  not  allowed 
it.  I  was  too  tardy  after  commencing  the  open  attack  —  in  delaying 
my  movements  through  Monday  night,  and  up  to  the  time  I  was 
attacked  by  the  Government  troops.  It  was  all  occasioned  by  my 
desire  to  spare  the  feelings  of  my  prisoners  and  their  families  and 
the  community  at  large.  I  had  no  knowledge  of  the  shooting  of  the 
negro  Heywood. 

VaUandigham.  What  time  did  you  commence  your  organization 
in  Canada  f 

Brown.     That  occurred  about  two  years  ago ;  in  1858. 

Vallandigham.     Who  was  the  secretary  ? 

Brown.  That  I  would  not  tell  if  I  recollected;  but  I  do  not  recol 
lect.  I  think  the  officers  were  elected  in  May,  1858.  I  may  answer 
incorrectly,  but  not  intentionally.  My  head  is  a  little  confused  by 
wounds,  and  my  memory  obscure  on  dates,  etc. 

Dr.  Biggs.     Were  you  in  the  party  at  Dr.  Kennedy's  house? 

Broivn.  I  was  the  head  of  that  party.  I  occupied  the  house 
to  mature  my  plans.  I  have  not  been  in  Baltimore  to  purchase 
caps. 

Dr.  Biggs.     What  was  the  number  of  men  at  Kennedy's  ? 

Brown.     I  decline  to  answer  that. 

Dr.  Biggs.     Who  lanced  that  woman's  neck  on  the  hill  ? 

Brown.  I  did.  I  have  sometimes  practised  in  surgery  when  I 
thought  it  a  matter  of  humanity  and  necessity,  and  there  was  no  one 
else  to  do  it ;  but  I  have  not  studied  surgery. 

Dr.  Biggs.  It  was  done  very  well  and  scientifically.  They  have 
been  very  clever  to  the  neighbors,  I  have  been  told,  and  we  had  no 
reason  to  suspect  them,  except  that  we  could  not  understand  their 
movements.  They  were  represented  as  eight  or  nine  persons ;  on 
Friday  there  were  thirteen. 

Broivn.     There  were  more  than  that. 

Q.     Where  did  you  get  arms  ?     A.  I  bought  them. 

Q.     In  what  State  I     A.  That  I  will  not  state. 

Q.  How  many  guns  ?  A.  Two  hundred  Sharpe's  rifles  and  two 
hundred  revolvers,  —  what  is  called  the  Massachusetts  Arms  Com 
pany's  revolvers,  a  little  under  navy  size. 


568  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

Q.  Why  did  you  not  take  that  swivel  you  left  in  the  house  ? 
A.  I  had  no  occasion  for  it.  It  was  given  to  me  a  year  or  two 
ago. 

Q.     In  Kansas  ?    A.  No.    I  had  nothing  given  to  me  in  Kansas. 

Q.  By  whom,  and  in  what  State  ?  A.  1  decline  to  answer.  It 
is  not  properly  a  swivel;  it  is  a  very  large  rifle  with  a  pivot.  The 
ball  is  larger  than  a  musket  ball;  it  is  intended  for  a  slug. 

Reporter.  I  do  not  wish  to  annoy  you  ;  but  if  you  have  anything 
further  you  would  like  to  say,  I  will  report  it. 

Brown.  I  have  nothing  to  say,  only  that  I  claim  to  be  here  in 
carrying  out  a  measure  I  believe  perfectly  justifiable,  and  not  to  act 
the  part  of  an  incendiary  or  ruffian,  but  to  aid  those  suffering  great 
wrong.  I  wish  to  say,  furthermore,  that  you  had  better  —  all  you 
people  at  the  South  —  prepare  yourselves  for  a  settlement  of  this 
question,  that  must  come  up  for  settlement  sooner  than  you  are  pre 
pared  for  it.  The  sooner  you  are  prepared  the  better.  You  may 
dispose  of  me  very  easily,  —  I  am  nearly  disposed  of  now  ;  but  this 
question  is  still  to  be  settled,  —  this  negro  question  I  mean  ;  the  end 
of  that  is  not  yet.  These  wounds  were  inflicted  upon  me  —  both 
sabre  cuts  on  my  head  and  bayonet  stabs  in  different  parts  of  my 
body  —  some  minutes  after  I  had  ceased  fighting  and  had  consented  to 
surrender,  for  the  benefit  of  others,  not  for  my  own.1  I  believe  the 
Major  would  not  have  been  alive  ;  I  could  have  killed  him  just  as 
easy  as  a  mosquito  when  he  came  in,  but  I  supposed  he  only  came 
in  to  receive  our  surrender.  There  had  been  loud  and  long  calls 
of  "  surrender"  from  us,  — as  loud  as  men  could  yell;  but  in  the 
confusion  and  excitement  I  suppose  we  were  not  heard.  I  do  not 
think  the  Major,  or  any  one,  meant  to  butcher  us  after  we  had 
surrendered. 

An  Officer.     Why  did  you  not  surrender  before  the  attack  ? 

Brown.  I  did  not  think  it  was  my  duty  or  interest  to  do  so.  We 
assured  the  prisoners  that  we  did  not  wish  to  harm  them,  and  they 
should  be  set  at  liberty.  I  exercised  my  best  judgment,  not  believ 
ing  the  people  would  wantonly  sacrifice  their  own  fellow- citizens, 
when  we  offered  to  let  them  go  on  condition  of  being  allowed  to 
change  our  position  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  prisoners  agreed 
by  a  vote  among  themselves  to  pass  across  the  bridge  with  us.  We 

1  At  the  trial  of  Copeland  the  following  evidence  was  given  :  — 

Mr.  Sennott.  You  say  that  when  Brown  was  down  you  struck  him  in  the  face  with 
your  sabre  ? 

Lieutenant  Green.    Yes. 

Q.     This  was  after  he  was  down  ?    A.  Yes  ;  he  was  down. 

Q.  How  many  times,  Lieutenant  Green,  did  you  strike  Brown  in  the  face  with  your 
sabre  after  he  was  down  ?  A.  Why,  sir,  he  was  defending  himself  with  his  gun. 

Mr.  Hunter.     I  hope  the  counsel  for  the  defence  will  not  press  such  questions  as  theye. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  569 

wanted  them  only  as  a  sort  of  guarantee  of  our  own  safety,  —  that  we 
should  not  be  fired  into.  We  took  them,  in  the  first  place,  as  host 
ages  and  to  keep  them  from  doing  any  harm.  We  did  kill  some 
men  in  defending  ourselves,  but  I  saw  no  one  fire  except  directly  in 
self-defence.  Our  orders  were  strict  not  to  harm  any  one  not  in  arms 
against  us. 

Q.  Brown,  suppose  you  had  every  nigger  in  the  United  States, 
what  would  you  do  with  them  ?  A.  Set  them  free. 

Q.  Your  intention  was  to  carry  them  off  and  free  them  ?  A.  Not 
at  all. 

A  Bystander.  To  set  them  free  would  sacrifice  the  life  of  every 
man  in  this  community. 

Brown.     I  do  not  think  so. 

Bystander.     I  know  it.     I  think  you  are  fanatical. 

Brown.  And  I  think  you  are  fanatical.  "  Whom  the  gods  would 
destroy  they  first  make  mad,"  and  you  are  mad. 

Q.  Was  it  your  only  object  to  free  the  negroes  ?  A.  Absolutely 
our  only  object. 

Q.  But  you  demanded  and  took  Colonel  Washington's  silver  and 
watch  ?  A.  Yes  ;  we  intended  freely  to  appropriate  the  property  of 
slaveholders  to  carry  out  our  object.  It  was  for  that,  and  only  that, 
and  with  no  design  to  enrich  ourselves  with  any  plunder  whatever. 

Bystander.  Did  you  know  Sherrod  in  Kansas  ?  I  understand  you 
killed  him. 

Brown.  I  killed  no  man  except  in  fair  fight.  I  fought  at  Black 
Jack  Point  and  at  Osawatomie ;  and  if  I  killed  anybody,  it  was  at 
one  of  these  places. 

There  is  no  record  so  full  as  this  of  any  conversation  held 
with  Brown  after  his  capture.  We  have  notes  and  reports, 
more  or  less  conflicting,  of  what  took  place  in  his  conversa 
tion  with  Wise,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  a  few  hours  after 
the  engine-house  was  taken.  Wise  had  been  a  leading  and 
turbulent  Congressman  from  Virginia,  had  belonged  to  more 
than  one  political  party,  and  was  a  man  of  force  and  courage, 
though  infatuated,  like  most  Virginians  of  his  time,  with 
slavery  and  Southern  institutions.  A  correspondent  of 
"  Harper's  Weekly  "  (which  was  then  supporting  slavery 
as  a  pillar  of  the  Union)  has  thus  described  Wise's  inter 
view  with  Brown  :  — 

"  The  mid-day  train  (October  18)  brought  Governor  Wise,  ac 
companied  by  several  hundred  men  from  Richmond,  Alexandria, 


570  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859*. 

Baltimore,  and  elsewhere.  Accompanied  by  Andrew  Hunter,  the 
Governor  repaired  to  the  guard-room  where  the  two  wounded  prison 
ers  lay,  and  had  a  conversation  with  Brown.  The  Governor  treated 
the  wounded  man  with  a  courtesy  that  evidently  surprised  him. 
Brown  was  lying  upon  the  floor  with  his  feet  to  the  fire  and  his  head 
propped  upon  pillows  on  the  back  of  a  chair.  His  hair  was  a  mass  of 
clotted  gore,  so  that  I  could  not  distinguish  the  original  color;  his  eye 
a  pale  blue  or  gray,  nose  Roman,  and  beard  (originally  sandy)  white 
and  blood-stained.  His  speech  was  frequently  interrupted  by  deep 
groans,  reminding  me  of  the  agonized  growl  of  a  ferocious  beast.  A 
few  feet  from  the  leader  lay  Stephens,  a  fine-looking  fellow,  quiet,  not 
in  pain  apparently,  and  conversing  in  a  voice  as  full  and  natural  as  if 
he  were  unhurt.  However,  his  hands  lay  folded  upon  his  breast  in  a 
child-like,  helpless  way,  —  a  position  that  I  observed  was  assumed 
by  all  those  who  had  died  or  were  dying  of  their  wounds.  Only  those 
who  were  shot  stone-dead  lay  as  they  fell. 

"Brown  was  frank  and  communicative,  answering  all  questions 
without  reserve,  except  such  as  might  implicate  his  associates.  I 
append  extracts  from  notes  taken  by  Mr.  Hunter  :  — 

"  '  Brown  avers  that  the  small  pamphlet,  many  copies  of  which  were 
found  on  the  persons  of  the  slain,  and  entitled  Provisional  Constitution 
and  Ordinances  for  the  People  of  the  United  States,  was  prepared  prin 
cipally  by  himself ;  under  its  provisions  he  was  appointed  Commander- 
in-Chief.  His  two  sons  and  Stephens  were  each  captains,  and  Coppoc  a 
lieutenant  ;  they  each  had  commissions,  issued  by  himself.  He  avers 
that  the  whole  number  operating  under  this  organization  was  but  twenty- 
two,  each  of  whom  had  taken  the  oath  required  by  Article  48  ;  but  he  con 
fidently  expected  large  reinforcements  from  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Maryland, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  and  several  other  Slave  States,  besides  the  Free 
States,  —  taking  it  for  granted  that  it  was  only  necessary  to  seize  the  pub 
lic  arms  and  place  them  in  the  hands  of  the  negroes  and  non -slaveholders 
to  recruit  his  forces  indefinitely.  In  this  calculation  he  reluctantly  and 
indirectly  admitted  that  he  had  been  disappointed.' 

"When  Governor  Wise  went  away,  some  of  us  lingered,  and  the 
old  man  recurred  again  to  his  sons,  of  whom  he  had  spoken  several 
times,  asking  if  we  were  sure  they  were  both  dead.  He  was  assured 
that  it  was  so.  i  How  many  bodies  did  you  take  from  the  engine- 
house  ? '  he  asked.  He  was  told  three.  l  Then  they  are  not  both 
dead  ;  there  were  three  dead  bodies  there  last  night.  Gentlemen, 
my  son  is  doubtless  living  and  in  your  power.  I  will  ask  for  him 
what  I  would  not  ask  for  myself;  let  him  have  kind  treatment,  for 
he  is  as  pure  and  noble-hearted  a  youth  as  ever  breathed  the  breath 
of  life.'  His  prayer  was  vain.  Both  his  boys  lay  stark  and  bloody 
by  the  Armory  wall." 


1859.]  THE    FORA^   IN   VIRGINIA.  571 

In  this  conversation,  according  to  Governor  Wise,  Brown 
did  not  say  a  word  which  was  personally  offensive  to  him. 
Somebody  in  the  crowd  called  Brown  "  robber,"  and  Brown 
retorted,  "  You  [the  slaveholders]  are  the  robbers."  And 
in  this  connection  he  said,  "  If  you  have  your  opinions 
about  me,  I  have  my  opinions  about  you."  «Wise  then  said : 
'-  Mr.  Brown,  the  silver  of  your  hair  is  reddened  by  the 
blood  of  crime,  and  you  should  eschew  these  hard  words 
and  think  upon  eternity.  You  are  suffering  from  wounds, 
perhaps  fatal ;  and  should  you  escape  death  from  these 
causes,  you  must  submit  to  a  trial  which  may  involve  death. 
Your  confessions  justify  the  presumption  that  you  will  be 
found  guilty  ;  and  even  now  you  are  committing  a  felony 
under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  by  uttering  sentiments  like 
these.  It  is  better  you  should  turn  your  attention  to  your 
eternal  future  than  be  dealing  in  denunciations  which  can 
only  injure  you."  Brown  replied,  "Governor,  I  have  from 
all  appearances  not  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  years  the 
start  of  you  in  the  journey  to  that  eternity  of  which  you 
kindly  warn  me  ;  and  whether  my  time  here  shall  be  fifteen 
months,  or  fifteen  days,  or  fifteen  hours,  I  am  equally  pre 
pared  to  go.  There  is  an  eternity  behind  and  an  eternity 
before ;  and  this  little  speck  in  the  centre,  however  long,  is 
but  comparatively  a  minute.  The  difference  between  your 
tenure  and  mine  is  trifling,  and  I  therefore  tell  you  to  be 
prepared.  I  am  prepared.  You  all  have  a  heavy  respon 
sibility,  and  it  behooves  you  to  prepare  more  than  it  does 
me." 

In  speaking  of  this  conversation,1  Wise  said  publicly : 

u  They  are  mistaken  who  take  Brown  to  be  a  madman.  He  is  a 
bundle  of  the  "best  nerves  I  ever  saw  :  cut  and  thrust  and  bleeding, 
and  in  bonds.  He  is  a  man  of  clear  head,  of  courage,  fortitude,  and 

1  A  Virginian  gives  me  this  addition  to  Brown's  conversation  with 
Wise  :  - 

Jailer.  I  see  in  the  papers  that  you  told  Governor  Wise  you  had  promises  of  aid 
from  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  the  Carolinas.  Is  that  true,  or  did  you  make  it  up  to 
"  rile  "  the  old  Governor? 

Brown.    No  ;  I  did  not  tell  Wise  that. 

Jailer.     What  did  you  tell  him  that  could  have  made  that  impression  on  his  mind? 

Brown.  Wise  said  something  about  fanaticism,  and  intimated  that  no  man  in  full 
possession  of  his  senses  could  have  expected  to  overcome  a  State  with  such  a  handful 


572  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

simple  ingenuousness.  He  is  cool,  collected,  and  indomitable,  and 
it  is  but  just  to  him  to  say  that  he  was  humane  to  his  prisoners, 
and  he  inspired  me  with  great  trust  in  his  integrity  as  a  man  of 
truth.  He  is  a  fanatic,  vain  and  garrulous,  but  firm,  truthful,  and 
intelligent.  He  professes  to  be  a  Christian  in  communion  with  the 
Congregational  Church  of  the  North,  and  openly  preaches  his  pur 
pose  of  universal  emancipation ;  and  the  negroes  themselves  were  to 
be  the  agents,  by  means  of  arms,  led  on  by  white  commanders.  .  .  . 
Colonel  Washington  says  that  he  was  the  coollest  and  firmest 
man  he  ever  saw  in  defying  danger  and  death.  With  one  son 
dead  by  his  side,  and  another  shot  through,  he  felt  the  pulse  of  his 
dying  son  with  one  hand,  held  his  rille  with  the  other,  and  com 
manded  his  men  with  the  utmost  composure,  encouraging  them  to 
be  firm,  and  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  they  could." 

BROWN'S    SPEECHES    AT   HIS    TRIAL. 

On  the  first  day  of  his  trial  under  indictment  (October 
25),  in  the  court-house  at  Charlestown  not  far  from  Har 
per's  Ferry,  Brown  and  Coppoc  were  brought  in  manacled 
together.  Brown  appeared  weak,  haggard,  and  with  eyes 
swollen  from  the  effects  of  the  wound  in  his  head.  The 
prisoners  were  severally  charged  with  treason  and  murder. 
The  Court  asked  if  they  had  counsel,  when  Brown  spoke  as 
follows  :  — 

u  I  did  not  ask  for  any  quarter  at  the  time  I  was  taken;  I  did  not 
ask  to  have  my  life  spared.  The  Governor  of  the  State  of  Virginia 
tendered  me  assurances  that  I  should  have  a  fair  trial ;  but  under  no 

of  men  as  I  had,  backed  only  by  struggling  negroes  ;  and  I  replied  that  I  had  prom 
ises  of  ample  assistance,  and  would  have  received  it  too  if  I  could  only  have  put  the 
ball  in  motion.  He  then  asked  suddenly  and  in  a  harsh  voice,  as  you  've  seen  lawyers 
snap  up  a  witness:  "Assistance  !  From  what  State,  sir?"  I  was  not  thrown  off  my 
guard,  and  replied  :  "  From  more  than  you  'd  believe  if  I  should  name  them  all ;  but  I 
expected  more  from  Virginia,  Tennessee,  and  the  Carolinas  than  from  any  others." 

Jailer.  You  "expected'*  it  Too  did  not  say  it  was  promised  from  the  States 
named  ? 

Brown.  No  ;  I  knew,  of  course,  that  the  negroes  would  rally  to  my  standard.  If  I 
had  only  got  the  thing  fairly  started,  you  Virginians  would  have  seen  sights  that  would 
have  opened  your  eyes  ;  and  I  tell  you  if  I  was  free  this  moment,  and  had  five  hundred 
negroes  aronnd  me,  I  would  put  these  irons  on  Wise  himself  before  Saturday  night. 

Jailer.     Then  it  was  true  about  aid  being  promised  f    What  States  promised  it  ? 

Brown  (with  a  laugh).  Well,  you  are  about  as  smart  a  man  as  Wise,  and  I  '11  give 
you  the  same  answer  I  gave  him. 

So  far  as  the  language  goes,  this  is  perhaps  not  very  correctly  reported, 
being  from  memory  and  at  second  hand. 


1859.]  THE   FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  573 

circumstances  whatever  shall  I  be  able  to  have  a  fair  trial.  If  you 
seek  my  blood,  you  can  have  it  at  any  moment,  without  this  mockery 
of  a  trial.  I  have  had  no  counsel.  I  have  not  been  able  to  advise 
with  any  one.  I  know  nothing  about  the  feelings  of  my  fellow- 
prisoners,  and  am  utterly  unable  to  attend  in  any  way  to  my  own 
defence.  My  memory  does  n't  serve  me ;  my  health  is  insufficient 
although  improving.  There  are  mitigating  circumstances  that  I 
would  urge  in  our  favor,  if  a  fair  trial  is  to  be  had;  but  if  we  are  to 
be  forced  with  a  mere  form,  a  trial  for  execution,  you  might  spare 
yourselves  that  trouble.  I  am  ready  for  my  fate.  I  beg  for  no 
mockery  of  a  trial,  no  insult,  —  nothing  but  that  which  conscience 
gives  or  cowardice  drives  you  to  practise.  I  ask  again  to  be  excused 
from  the  mockery  of  a  trial.  I  do  not  even  know  what  the  special 
design  of  this  examination  is ;  I  do  not  know  what  is  to  be  the 
benefit  of  it  to  the  Commonwealth.  I  have  now  little  further  to  ask, 
other  than  that  I  may  not  be  foolishly  insulted,  only  as  cowardly 
barbarians  insult  those  who  fall  into  their  power." 

As  the  trial  went  on,  Brown  again  rose  from  the  pallet 
on  which  he  lay  wounded,  and  said :  — 

"  I  do  not  intend  to  detain  the  Court,  but  barely  wish  to  say,  as  I 
have  been  promised  a  fair  trial,  that  I  am  not  now  in  circumstances 
that  enable  me  to  attend  to  a  trial,  owing  to  the  state  of  my  health. 
I  have  a  severe  wound  in  the  back,  or  rather  in  one  kidney,  which 
enfeebles  me  very  much.  But  I  am  doing  well,  and  I  only  ask  for 
a  short  delay  of  my  trial,  and  I  think  I  may  get  able  to  listen  to  it ; 
and  I  merely  ask  this,  that,  as  the  saying  is,  *  the  devil  may  have 
his  dues,'  —  no  more.  I  wish  to  say,  further,  that  my  hearing  is 
impaired  and  rendered  indistinct,  in  consequence  of  wounds  I  have 
about  my  head.  I  cannot  hear  distinctly  at  all.  I  could  not  hear 
M7hat  the  Court  said  this  morning.  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  what 
is  said  on  my  trial,  and  I  am  now  doing  better  than  I  could  expect  to 
be  under  the  circumstances.  A  very  short  delay  would  be  all  I  would 
ask.  I  do  not  presume  to  ask  more  than  a  very  short  delay,  so  that 
I  may  in  some  degree  recover,  and  be  able  at  least  to  listen  to  my 
trial,  and  hear  what  questions  are  asked  of  the  citizens,  and  what 
their  answers  are.  If  that  could  be  allowed  me,  I  should  feel  very 
much  obliged." 

The  Court  refused  his  requests,  and  a  jury  having  been 
sworn,  directed  that  the  prisoner  might  forego  the  form  of 
standing  while  arraigned,  if  he  desired  it.  He  therefore 
continued  to  lie  prostrate  on  his  cot-bed  while  the  long 


574  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

indictment  was  read,  —  for  conspiring  with  negroes  to  pro 
duce  insurrection ;  for  treason  to  the  Commonwealth,  and 
for  murder. 

In  the  course  of  the  first  day's  proceedings,  Brown  rose, 
evidently  excited,  and  standing  on  his  feet  said  : 

"  May  it  please  the  Court,  —  I  discover  that,  notwithstanding  all 
the  assertions  I  have  received  of  a  fair  trial,  nothing  like  a  fair  trial 
is  to  be  given  me,  as  it  would  seem.  I  gave  the  names,  as  soon  as  I 
could  get  at  them,  of  the  persons  I  wished  to  have  called  as  witnesses, 
and  was  assured  that  they  would  be  subpoenaed.  I  wrote  down  a 
memorandum  to  that  effect,  saying  where  those  parties  were,  but  it 
appears  that  they  have  not  been  subpoenaed,  so  far  as  I  can  learn. 
And  now  I  ask  if  I  am  to  have  anything  at  all  deserving  the  name  and 
shadow  of  a  fair  trial,  thit  this  proceeding  be  deferred  until  to-mor 
row  morning ;  for  I  have  no  counsel,  as  I  have  before  stated,  in  whom 
I  feel  that  I  can  rely,  but  I  am  in  hopes  counsel  may  arrive  who  will 
see  that  I  get  the  witnesses  necessary  for  my  defence.  I  am  myself 
unable  to  attend  to  it.  I  have  given  all  the  attention  I  possibly 
could  to  it,  but  tun  unable  to  see  or  know  about  them,  and  can't  even 
find  out  their  names ;  and  I  have  nobody  to  do  any  errand,  for  my 
money  was  all  taken  from  me  when  I  was  hacked  and  stabbed,  and  I 
have  not  a  dime.  I  had  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  sixty  dollars  in 
gold  and  silver  taken  from  my  pocket,  and  now  I  have  no  possible 
means  of  getting  anybody  to  go  any  errands  for  me,  and  I  have  not 
had  all  the  witnesses  subpoenaed.  They  are  not  within  reach,  and 
are  not  here.  I  ask  at  least  until  to-morrow  morning  to  have  some 
thing  done,  if  anything  is  designed.  If  not,  I  am  ready  for  anything 
that  may  come  up." 

Brown  then  lay  down  again,  drew  his  blanket  over  him, 
closed  his  eyes,  and  appeared  to  sink  in  tranquil  slumber. 
The  day  after,  when  insanity  was  pleaded  in  his  defence, 
he  desired  his  counsel  to  say  that  he  did  not  put  in  the 
plea  of  insanity.  This  movement  was  made  without  his 
approbation  or  concurrence,  and  was  unknown  to  him  till 
then.  He  then  raised  himself  up  in  bed,  and  said  :  — 

"  I  will  add,  if  the  Court  will  allow  me,  that  I  look  upon  it  as  a 
miserable  artifice  and  pretext  of  those  who  ought  to  take  a  different 
course  in  regard  to  me,  if  they  took  any  at  all,  and  I  view  it  with 
contempt  more  than  otherwise.  As  I  remarked  to  Mr.  Green,  insane 
prisoners,  so  far  as  my  experience  goes,  have  but  little  ability  to 
judge  of  their  own  sanity ;  and  if  I  am  insane,  of  course  I  should 


1859.]  THE  FORAY  IN  VIRGINIA.  575 

think  I  knew  more  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  But  I  do  not 
think  so.  I  am  perfectly  unconscious  of  insanity,  and  I  reject,  so 
far  as  I  am  capable,  any  attempts  to  interfere  in  my  behalf  on  that 
score." 

Brown  was  ably  defended,  among  others,  by  a  young 
Massachusetts  attorney,  George  H.  Hoyt,  but  of  course 
was  convicted.  The  prosecutor  was  Andrew  Hunter,  of 
Charlestown,  who  in  his  argument 

"  Contended  that  the  code  of  Virginia  defines  citizens  of  Virginia  as 
'  all  those  white  persons  born  in  any  other  State  of  this  Union,  who 
may  become  residents  here ; '  and  that  evidence  shows  without  a 
shadow  of  a  question  that  when  Brown  went  to  Virginia,  and  planted 
his  feet  at  Harper's  Ferry,  he  came  there  to  reside,  and  to  hold  the 
place  permanently.  True,  he  occupied  a  farm  four  or  five  miles  off 
in  Maryland,  but  not  for  the  legitimate  purpose  of  establishing  his 
domicil  there  ;  no,  for  the  nefarious  and  hellish  purpose  of  rallying 
forces  into  this  Commonwealth,  and  establishing  himself  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  as  the  starting-point  for  a  new  government.  Whatever  it  was, 
whether  tragical,  or  farcial  and  ridiculous,  as  Brown's  counsel  had 
presented  it,  his  conduct  showed,  if  his  declarations  were  insufficient, 
that  it  was  not  alone  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  off  slaves  that  he 
came  there.  His  i  Provisional  Government '  was  a  real  thing  and 
no  debating  society,  as  his  counsel  would  have  us  believe;  and  in 
holding  office  under  it  and  exercising  its  functions,  he  was  clearly 
guilty  of  treason.  As  to  conspiring  with  slaves  and  rebels,  the  law 
says  the  prisoners  are  equally  guilty,  whether  insurrection  is  made  or 
not.  Advice  may  be  given  by  actions  as  well  as  words.  When  you 
put  pikes  in  the  hands  of  slaves,  and  have  their  master  captive,  that 
is  advice  to  slaves  to  rebel,  and  is  punishable  with  death." 

During  most  of  the  arguments  Brown  lay  on  his  back, 
with  his  eyes  closed.  When  the  verdict  was  read,  "  Guilty 
of  treason,  and  of  conspiring  and  advising  with  slaves  and 
others  to  rebel,  and  of  murder  in  the  first  degree,"  not 
the  slightest  sound  was  heard  in  the  crowd  present,  who 
a  moment  before,  outside  the  court,  had  joined  in  threats 
and  imprecations.  Brown  himself  said  not  a  word,  but  as 
on  any  previous  day  turned  to  adjust  his  pallet,  and  then 
composedly  stretched  himself  upon  it.  A  motion  for  an 
arrest  of  judgment  was  put  in,  but  counsel  on  both  sides 
being  too  much  exhausted  to  go  on,  Brown  was  removed 
unsentenced  to  prison. 


576  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON, 

OF  all  the  work  done  by  this  hero  in  behalf  of  the  slave 
throughout  a  life  almost  wholly  devoted  to  emancipa 
tion,  none  was  so  wonderful  as  that  wrought  by  him  in 
prison  and  on  the  scaffold.  History  seeks  in  vain  for  par 
allels  to  this  achievement,  —  a  defeated,  dying  old  man, 
who  had  been  praying  and  fighting,  pleading  and  toiling, 
for  years,  to  persuade  a  great  people  that  their  national  life 
was  all  wrong,  suddenly  converting  millions  to  his  cause  by 
the  silent  magnanimity  or  the  spoken  wisdom  of  his  last 
days  as  a  fettered  prisoner.  For  Brown  was  not  figuratively 
and  rhetorically  in  chains  during  that  period  of  frenzied  ter 
ror  which  lay  between  his  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  Octo 
ber  16,  and  his  death  at  Charlestown,  Dec.  2,  1859.  He 
was  loaded  with  chains,  hand  and  foot  \  he  was  fastened  to 
the  floor  of  his  cell,  and  watched  day  and  night  by  armed 
men,  whose  instructions  were  to  kill  him  if  he  should  have 
any,  the  most  remote,  chance  of  escape.  He  was  forced  to 
rise  from  what  was  feared  to  be  his  dying  bed,  to  hear  the 
ferocious  indictment  against  him  recited ;  and  during  the 
most  of  his  trial  he  lay  on  a  pallet  in  the  court-room.  But 
that  Divine  Wisdom  which  he  adored,  and  whose  purposes 
he  alone,  of  living  or  dying  men,  could  best  fulfil,  was  his 
guide  and  his  guard ;  from  the  hand  which  had  armed  him 
with  sword  and  rifle  he  now  received  that  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  heavenly  in  temper  and  in  power,  which  won  for 
him  his  final  victory. 

"For  in  all  things, '  0  Lord!  Thou  didst  magnify  Thy  servant, 
and  glorify  him;  neither  didst  Thou  lightly  regard  him,  but  didst 
assist  him  in  ev>-"  time  and  place.  When  unrighteous  men  thought 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  577 

to  oppress  this  righteous  one  in  prison,  they  themselves,  the  pris 
oners  of  darkness,  and  fettered  with  the  bonds  of  a  long  night, 
lay  there  exiled  from  the  Eternal  Providence.  Yea,  the  tasting  of 
death  touched  the  righteous  also  j  but  then  the  blameless  man  made 
haste,  and  stood  forth  to  defend  them  ;  and  bringing  the  shield  of  his 
proper  ministry,  even  prayer  and  propitiation,  set  himself  against  the 
wrath,  and  brought  the  calamity  to  an  end.  Declaring  himself  Thy 
servant,  he  overcame  the  destroyer,  not  with  the  strength  of  body  or 
the  force  of  arms ;  but  with  a  word  subdued  he  him  that  punished, 
alleging  the  oaths  and  covenants  made  with  the  fathers. 

"  This  was  he  whom  we  had  sometime  in  derision  and  a  proverb 
of  reproach  j  we,  fools,  accounted  his  life  madness,  and  his  end  to  be 
without  honor.  But  how  is  he  numbered  among  the  children  of 
God !  His  lot  is  among  the  saints.  In  the  sight  of  the  unwise  he 
seemed  to  die  ;  and  his  departure  was  taken  for  misery,  his  going 
from  us  to  be  utter  destruction.  But  he  is  in  peace.  Though  he 
be  punished  in  the  sight  of  men,  yet  is  his  hope  full  of  immortality  ; 
and  having  been  a  little  chastised,  he  shall  be  greatly  rewarded. 

"God  proved  him  and  found  him  worthy  of  Himself;  he  shall 
judge  the  nations,  and  have  dominion  over  the  people  ;  and  his  Lord 
shall  reign  forever." 

These  words  of  an  old  Scripture,  long  disregarded,  were 
found  true  of  John  Brown,  —  literally  and  exactly  fulfilled, 
like  the  computations  of  the  astronomer.  And  who  shall 
doubt  that  there  is  an  astronomy  for  the  period  of  great 
•souls,  as  for  the  stars  in  their  courses,  —  a  lore  which  the 
devout  may  learn,  if  they  will  but  obey  ?  To  this  John 
Brown  had  meekly  schooled  his  imperious  will ;  and  no 
where  in  history  do  we  find  a  more  punctual  submission  to 
the  Divine  purpose,  a  more  perfect  resignation  and  com 
posure,  than  this  headstrong  old  warrior  now  displayed. 
Then  appeared,  what  had  before  been  but  little  regarded, 
the  strange  power  and  pathos  of  his  unschooled  words. 
His  speech  to  the  Court  was  the  first  great  example  of  this, 
although  his  replies  to  Mason  and  Wise  of  Virginia  had 
already  taught  the  world  to  listen  for  every  sentence  he 
uttered.  "  What  avail  all  your  scholarly  accomplishments 
and  learning,  compared  with  wisdom  and  manhood  ?  "  said 
Thoreau,  speaking  of  John  Brown.  "  To  omit  his  other  be 
havior,  see  what  a  work  this  comparatively  unread  and  unlet 
tered  man  wrote  within  six  weeks  !  He  wrote  in  prison,  not 

37 


578  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

a  '  History  of  the  World,'  like  Raleigh,  but  an  American 
book  which  I  think  will  live  longer  than  that.  What  a  va 
riety  of  themes  he  touched  on  in  that  short  space  !  "  It  is 
the  virtue  of  sucli  writings  that  they  continue  to  influence 
mankind  forever,  so  long  as  they  continue  to  be  read ;  and 
we  may  predict  for  these  prison  letters  as  long  a  life  as  for 
the  "  Apology  "  of  Socrates  and  the  dying  address  to  his 
disciples.  But  what  a  work  they  have  accomplished  al 
ready,  in  the  few  brief  years  since  John  Brown  was  borne 
from  the  scaffold  in  Charles  town  to  his  resting-place  beside 
the  great  rock  at  North  Elba,  where  the  grave  became  his 
stronghold,  while  "  his  soul  went  marching  on  !  "  Those 
who  mourned  his  death,  now  finding  him  risen  and  trium 
phant,  may  exclaim  with  Milton's  Hebrews,  after  that 
"  last  victory  of  Samson  "  which  Brown  had  foretold  for 
himself :  — 

"  All  is  best,  though  we  oft  doubt 
What  the  unsearchable  dispose 
Of  highest  wisdom  brings  about, 
And  ever  best  found  in  the  close. 
Oft  He  seems  to  hide  His  face, 
But  unexpectedly  returns, 
And  to  His  faithful  champion  hath  in  place 
Borne  witness  gloriously  ;  whence  Gaza  mourns, 
And  all  that  band  them  to  resist 
His  uncontrollable  intent. 
His  servants  He,  with  new  acquist 
Of  true  experience  from  this  great  event, 
With  peace  and  consolation  hath  dismissed, 
And  calm  of  mind,  all  passion  spent." 


PRISON    LETTERS    AND     SPEECHES. 
Letter  to  Judge  Russell,  of  Boston.1 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Oct.  21,  1859. 
HON.  THOMAS  RUSSELL. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  here  a  prisoner,  with  several  sabre-cuts  in  my 
head  and  bayonet-stabs  in  my  body.  My  object  in  writing,  to  you  is 
to  obtain  able  and  faithful  counsel  for  myself  and  fellow-prisoners 

1  A  copy  of  this  letter  was  also  sent  to  Reuben  A.  Chapman,  of  Spring 
field,  Mass.,  and  a  third  to  Daniel  R.  Tilden,  of  Ohio. 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  579 

(five  in  all),  as  we  have  the  faith  of  Virginia  pledged  through  her 
Governor  and  numerous  other  prominent  citizens  to  give  us  a  fair 
trial.  Without  we  can  obtain  such  counsel  from  without  the  slave 
States,  neither  the  facts  in  our  case  can  come  before  the  world,  nor 
can  we  have  the  benefit  of  such  facts  as  might  be  considered  miti 
gating  in  the  view  of  others  upon  our  trial.  I  have  money  in  hand 
here  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  personal 
property  sufficient  to  pay  a,  most  liberal  fee  to  yourself,  or  to  any 
suitable  man  who  will  undertake  our  defence,  if  I  can  be  allowed  the 
benefit  of  said  property.  Can  you  or  some  other  good  man  come  on 
immediately,  for  the  sake  of  the  young  men  prisoners  at  least  ?  My 
wounds  are  doing  well.  Do  not  send  an  ultra  Abolitionist. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Indorsed,  "  The  trial  is  set  for  Wednesday  next,  the  25th  inst. — 
J.  W.  Campbell,  Sheriff  of  Jefferson  County." 

To  his  Family. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Oct.  31,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  suppose  you 
have  learned  before  this  by  the  newspapers  that  two  weeks  ago  to 
day  we  were  fighting  for  our  lives  at  Harper's  Ferry ;  that  during 
the  fight  Watson  was  mortally  wounded,  Oliver  killed,  William 
Thompson  killed,  and  Dauphin  slightly  wounded ;  that  on  the  fol 
lowing  day  I  was  taken  prisoner,  immediately  after  which  I  received 
several  sabre-cuts  on  my  head  and  bayonet-stabs  in  my  body.  As 
nearly  as  I  can  learn,  Watson  died  of  his  wound  on  Wednesday,  the 
second  —  or  on  Thursday,  the  third  —  day  after  I  was  taken.  Dauphin 
was  killed  when  I  was  taken,  and  Anderson  I  suppose  also.  I  have 
since  been  tried,  and  found  guilty  of  treason,  etc.,  and  of  murder  in 
the  first  degree.  I  have  not  yet  received  my  sentence.  No  others  of 
the  company  with  whom  you  were  acquainted  were,  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  either  killed  or  taken.  Under  all  these  terrible  calamities,  I 
feel  quite  cheerful  in  the  assurance  that  God  reigns  and  will  overrule 
all  for  his  glory  and  the  best  possible  good.  I  feel  no  consciousness 
of  guilt  in  the  matter,  nor  even  mortification  on  account  of  my  im 
prisonment  and  irons ;  and  I  feel  perfectly  sure  that  very  soon  no 
member  of  my  family  will  feel  any  possible  disposition  to  "  blush  on 
my  account."  Already  dear  friends  at  a  distance,  with  kindest  sym 
pathy,  are  cheering  me  with  the  assurance  that  posterity,  at  least, 
will  do  me  justice.  I  shall  commend  you  all  together,  with  my  be 
loved  but  bereaved  daughters-in-law,  to  their  sympathies,  which  I 


580  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

do  not  doubt  will  soon  reach  you.  I  also  commend  you  all  to  Him 
"whose  mercy  endureth  forever,"  —  to  the  God  of  my  fathers,  "whose 
I  am,  and  whom  I  serve."  "  He  will  never  leave  you  nor  forsake 
you,"  unless  you  forsake  Him.  Finally,  my  dearly  beloved,  be  of 
good  comfort.  Be  sure  to  remember  and  follow  my  advice,  and  my 
example  too,  so  far  as  it  has  been  consistent  with  the  holy  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  —  in  which  I  remain  a  most  firm  and  humble  be 
liever.  Never  forget  the  poor,  nor  think  anything  you  bestow  on 
them  to  be  lost  to  you,  even  though  they  may  be  black  as  Ebedme- 
lech,  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  who  cared  for  Jeremiah  in  the  pit  of  the 
dungeon ;  or  as  black  as  the  one  to  whom  Philip  preached  Christ. 
Be  sure  to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby  some  have —  "  Remem 
ber  them  that  are  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them." 

I  am  in  charge  of  a  jailer  like  the  one  who  took  charge  of  Paul 
and  Silas ;  and  you  may  rest  assured  that  both  kind  hearts  and  kind 
faces  are  more  or  less  about  me,  while  thousands  are  thirsting  for 
my  blood.  "  These  light  afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment, 
shall  work  out  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory."  I  hope  to  be  able  to  write  you  again.  Copy  this,  Ruth, 
and  send  it  to  your  sorrow-stricken  brothers  to  comfort  them.  Write 
me  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  welfare  of  all.  God  Almighty  bless 
you  all,  and  make  you  "joyful  in  the  midst  of  all  your  tribulations !  " 
Write  to  John  Brown.  Charlestown,  Jefferson  County,  Va.,  care  of 
Captain  John  Avis. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Nov.  3,  1859. 

P.  S.  Yesterday,  November  2,  I  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  on 
December  2  next.  Do  not  grieve  on  my  account.  I  am  still  quite 
cheerful.  God  bless  you  !  Yours  ever, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  Mrs.  Child. 

%    ;  October  31. 

MRS.  L.  MARIA  CHILD. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  such  you  prove  to  be,  though  a  stranger,  — 
Your  most  kind  letter  has  reached  me,  with  the  kind  offer  to  come 
here  and  take  care  of  me.  Allow  me  to  express  my  gratitude  for 
your  great  sympathy,  and  at  the  same  time  to  propose  to  you  a  dif 
ferent  course,  together  with  my  reasons  for  wishing  it.  I  should 
certainly  be  greatly  pleased  to  become  personally  acquainted  with 
one  so  gifted  and  so  kind  ;  but  I  cannot  avoid  seeing  some  objections 
to  it  under  present  circumstances.  First,  I  am  in  charge  of  a  most 


1859.J  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  581 

humane  gentleman,  who  with  his  family  have  rendered  me  every 
possible  attention  I  have  desired  or  that  could  be  of  the  least  advan 
tage  ;  and  I  am  so  far  recovered  from  my  wounds  as  no  longer  to  re 
quire  nursing.  Then,  again,  it  would  subject  you  to  great  personal 
inconvenience  and  heavy  expense,  without  doing  me  any  good.  Al 
low  me  to  name  to  you  another  channel  through  which  you  may 
reach  me  with  your  sympathies  much  more  effectually.  I  have  at 
home  a  wife  and  three  young  daughters,  the  youngest  but  little  over 
five  years  old,  the  oldest  nearly  sixteen.  I  have  also  two  daughters- 
in-law,  whose  husbands  have  both  fallen  near  me  here.  There  is 
also  another  widow,  Mrs.  Thompson,  whose  husband  fell  here. 
Whether  she  is  a  mother  or  not  I  cannot  say.  All  these,  my  wife 
included,  live  at  North  Elba,  Essex  County,  N.  Y.  I  have  a  middle- 
aged  son,  who  has  been  in  some  degree  a  cripple  from  his  childhood, 
who  would  have  as  much  as  he  could  well  do  to  earn  a  living.  He 
was  a  most  dreadful  sufferer  in  Kansas,  and  lost  all  he  had  laid  up. 
He  has  not  enough  to  clothe  himself  for  the  winter  comfortably. 
I  have  no  living  son  or  son-in-law  who  did  not  suffer  terribly  in 
Kansas. 

Now,  dear  friend,  would  you  not  as  soon  contribute  fifty  cents  now, 
and  a  like  sum  yearly,  for  the  relief  of  those  very  poor  and  deeply 
afflicted  persons,  to  enable  them  to  supply  themselves  and  their  chil 
dren  with  bread  and  very  plain  clothing,  and  to  enable  the  children 
to  receive  a  common  English  education  ?  Will  you  also  devote  your 
own  energies  to  induce  others  to  join  you  in  giving  a  like  amount, 
to  constitute  a  little  fund  for  the  purpose  named  ? 

I  cannot  see  how  your  coming  here  can  do  me  the  least  good ;  and 
I  am  quite  certain  you  can  do  me  immense  good  where  you  are.  I 
am  quite  cheerful  under  all  my  afflicting  circumstances  and  prospects; 
having,  as  I  humbly  trust,  "  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all 
understanding,"  to  rule  in  my  heart.  You  may  make  such  use  of 
this  as  you  see  fit.  God  Almighty  bless  and  reward  you  a  thousand 
fold  !  Yours  in  sincerity  and  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Letter  from  a  Quaker  Lady  to  John  Brown. 

NEWPORT,  R.  I.,  Tenth  Month,  27th,  '59. 
CAPTAIN  JOHN  BROWN. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Since  thy  arrest  I  have  often  thought  of  thee, 
and  have  wished  that,  like  Elizabeth  Fry  toward  her  prison  friends, 
so  I  might  console  thee  in  thy  confinement.  But  that  can  never  be ; 
and  so  I  can  only  write  thee  a  few  .lines  which,  if  they  contain  any 
comfort,  may  come  to  thee  like  some  little  ray  of  light. 


582  LIFE  AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

You  can  never  know  how  very  many  dear  Friends  love  thee  with 
all  their  hearts  for  thy  brave  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  poor  oppressed  ; 
and  though  we,  who  are  non-resistants,  and  religiously  believe  it 
better  to  reform  by  moral  and  not  by  carnal  weapons,  could  not  ap 
prove  of  bloodshed,  yet  we  know  thee  was  animated  by  the  most 
generous  and  philanthropic  motives.  Very  many  thousands  openly 
approve  thy  intentions,  though  most  Friends  would  not  think  it  right 
to  take  up  arms.  Thousands  pray  for  thee  every  day  ;  and  oh,  I  do 
pray  that  God  will  be  with  thy  soul.  Posterity  will  do  thee  justice. 
If  Moses  led  out  the  thousands  of  Jewish  slaves  from  their  bondage, 
and  God  destroyed  the  Egyptians  iu  the  sea  because  they  went  after 
the  Israelites  to  bring  them  back  to  slavery,  then  surely,  by  the  same 
reasoning,  we  may  judge  thee  a  deliverer  who  wished  to  release  mil 
lions  from  a  more  cruel  oppression.  If  the  American  people  honor 
Washington  for  resisting  with  bloodshed  for  seven  years  an  unjust 
tax,  how  much  more  ought  thou  to  be  honored  for  seeking  to  free  the 
poor  slaves. 

Oh,  I  wish  I  could  plead  for  thee  as  some  of  the  other  sex  can 
plead,  how  I  would  seek  to  defend  thee  !  If  I  had  now  the  eloquence 
of  Portia,  how  I  would  turn  the  scale  in  thy  favor  !  But  I  can  only 
pray  "  God  bless  thee!"  God  pardon  thee,  and  through  our  Re 
deemer  give  thee  safety  and  happiness  now  and  always  ! 
From  thy  friend, 

E.  B. 

John  Brown's  Reply. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  1,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND  E.  B.  OF  R.  I.,  —  Your  most  cheering  l<ftter  of 
the  27th  of  October  is  received ;  and  may  the  Lord  reward  you  a 
thousandfold  for  the  kind  feeling  you  express  toward  me ;  but  more 
especially  for  your  fidelity  to  the  "  poor  that  cry,  and  those  that  have 
no  help."  For  this  I  am  a  prisoner  in  bonds.  It  is  solely  my  own 
fault,  in  a  military  point  of  view,  that  we  met  with  our  disaster.  I 
mean  that  I  mingled  with  our  prisoners  and  so  far  sympathized  with 
them  and  their  families  that  I  neglected  my  duty  iu  other  respects. 
But  God's  will,  not  mine,  be  done. 

You  know  that  Christ  once  armed  Peter.  So  also  in  my  case  I 
think  he  put  a  sword  into  my  hand,  and  there  continued  it  so  long  as 
he  saw  best,  and  then  kindly  took  it  from  me.  I  mean  when  I  first 
went  to  Kansas.  I  wish  you  could  know  with  what  cheerfulness  I 
am  now  wielding  the  "  sword  of  the  Spirit"  on  the  right  hand  and 
on  the  left.  I  bless  God  that  it  proves  "  mighty  to  the  pulling  down 
of  strongholds."  I  always  loved  my  Quaker  friends,  and  I  commend 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  583 

to  their  kind  regard  my  poor  bereaved  widowed  wife  and  my  daugh 
ters  and  daughters-in-law,  whose  husbands  fell  at  my  side.  One  is 
a  mother  and  the  other  likely  to  become  so  soon.  They,  as  well  as 
my  own  sorrow- stricken  daughters,  are  left  very  poor,  and  have  much 
greater  need  of  sympathy  than  I,  who,  through  Infinite  Grace  and 
the  kindness  of  strangers,  am  "joyful  in  all  my  tribulations." 

Dear  sister,  write  them  at  North  Elba.  Essex  County,  N.  Y.,  to 
comfort  their  sad  hearts.  Direct  to  Mary  A.,  Brown,  wife  of  John 
Brown.  There  is  also  another  —  a  \vidow,  wife  of  Thompson,  who 
fell  with  my  poor  boys  in  the  affair  at  Harper's  Ferry  —  at  the  same 
place. 

I  do  not  feel  conscious  of  guilt  in  taking  up  arms  j  and  had  it  been 
in  behalf  of  the  rich  and  powerful,  the  intelligent,  the  great  (as  men 
count  greatness),  or  those  who  form  enactments  to  suit,  themselves 
and  corrupt  others,  or  some  of  their  friends,  that  I  interfered,  suffered, 
sacrificed,  and  fell,  it  would  have  been  doing  very  well.  But  enough 
of  this.  These  light  afflictions,  which  endure  for  a  moment,  shall  but 
work  for  me  "  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory."  I 
would  be  very  grateful  for  another  letter  from  you.  My  wounds  are 
healing.  Farewell.  God  will  surely  attend  to  his  own  cause  in  the 
best  possible  way  and  time,  and  he  will  not  forget  the  work  of  his 
own  hands.  Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

An  Appeal. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  1,  1859. 

To  MY  FRIENDS  IN  NEW  ENGLAND  AND  ELSEWHERE,  —  Aaron 
D.  Stephens,  one  of  the  prisoners  now  in  confinement  with  me  in 
this  place,  is  desirous  of  obtaining  the  assistance  of  George  Sennott, 
Esq.,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  in  defending  him  on  his  trial  to  come  off 
before  the  United  States  Court.  Anything  you  can  do  toward 
securing  the  services  of  Mr.  Sennott  for  the  prisoner  will  add  to  the 
many  obligations  of  your  humble  servants. 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  above  contains  the  expression  of  my  own  wishes. 

A.  D.  STEPHENS. 

When  brought  into  court,  the  day  after  his  conviction, 
to  receive  his  sentence,  Brown  was  taken  by  surprise  at 
being  called  on  to  say  why  sentence  of  death  should  not  be 
pronounced.  He  had  expected  some  further  delay,  and 
was  unprepared  at  the  moment.  He  rose,  however,  and  in 
a  singularly  mild  and  gentle  manner  made  his  famous  plea, 


584  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

in  which  we  may  recognize  some  of  the  phrases  he  had 
used  in  his  letters  :  — 

JOHN  BROWN'S  LAST  SPEECH  (NOV.  2). 

"  I  have,  may  it  please  the  Court,  a  few  words  to  say. 

' l  In  the  first  place,  I  deny  everything  but  what  I  have  all  along 
admitted,  — the  design  on  my  part  to  free  the  slaves.  I  intended  cer 
tainly  to  have  made  a  clean  thing  of  that  matter,  as  I  did  last  winter, 
when  I  went  into  Missouri  and  there  took  slaves  without  the  snap 
ping  of  a  gun  on  either  side,  moved  them  through  the  country,  and 
finally  left  them  in  Canada.  I  designed  to  have  done  the  same 
thing  again,  on  a  larger  scale.1  That  was  all  I  intended.  I  never 
did  intend  murder,  or  treason,  or  the  destruction  of  property,  or  to 
excite  or  incite  slaves  to  rebellion,  or  to  make  insurrection. 

"  I  have  another  objection  :  and  that  is,  it  is  unjust  that  I  should 
suffer  such  a  penalty.  Had  I  interfered  in  the  manner  which  I  ad 
mit,  and  which  I  admit  has  been  fairly  proved  (for  I  admire  the  truth 
fulness  and  candor  of  the  greater  portion  of  the  witnesses  who  have 
testified  in  this  case), — -had  I  so  interfered  in  behalf  of  the  rich,  the 
powerful,  the  intelligent,  the  so-called  great,  or  in  behalf  of  any  of 
their  friends,  —  either  father,  mother,  brother,  sister,  wife,  or  chil 
dren,  or  any  of  that  class,  —  and  suffered  and  sacrificed  what  I  have 
in  .this  interference,  it  would  have  been  all  right ;  and  every  man 
in  this  court  would  have  deemed  it  an  act  worthy  of  reward  rather 
than  punishment. 

1  In  explanation  of  this  passage,  Brown  three  weeks  afterward  handed 
to  Mr.  Hunter  this  letter  :  — 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  22,  1859. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  just  had  my  attention  called  to  a  seeming  confliction  between 
the  statement  I  at  first  made  to  Governor  Wise  and  that  which  I  made  at  the  time  1 
received  my  sentence,  regarding  my  intentions  respecting  the  slaves  we  took  about  the 
Ferry.  There  need  be  no  such  confliction,  and  a  few  words  of  explanation  will,  I 
think,  be  quite  sufficient.  I  had  given  Governor  Wise  a  full  and  particular  account  of 
that ;  and  when  called  in  court  to  say  whether  I  had  anything  further  to  urge,  I  was 
taken  wholly  by  surprise,  as  I  did  not  expect  my  sentence  before  the  others.  In  the 
hurry  of  the  moment  I  forgot  much  that  I  had  before  intended  to  say,  and  did  not  con 
sider  the  full  bearing  of  what  I  then  said.  I  intended  to  convey  this  idea,  —  that  it  was 
my  object  to  place  the  slaves  in  a  condition  to  defend  their  liberties,  if  they  would,  with 
out  any  bloodshed  ;  but  not  that  I  intended  to  run  them  out  of  the  slave  States.  I  was 
not  aware  of  any  such  apparent  confliction  until  my  attention  was  called  to  it,  and  I  do 
not  suppose  that  a  man  in  my  then  circumstances  should  be  superhuman  in  respect  to 
the  exact  purport  of  every  word  he  might  litter.  What  I  said  to  Governor  Wise  was  spo 
ken  with  all  the  deliberation  I  was  master  of,  and  was  intended  for  truth  ;  and  what  I 
said  in  court  was  equally  intended  for  truth,  but  required  a  more  full  explanation  than 
I  then  gave.  Please  make  such  use  of  this  as  you  think  calculated  to  correct  any  wrong 
impressions  I  may  have  given.  Very  respectfully  yours, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

ANDREW  HUNTER,  ESQ.,  Present. 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN   IN  PRISON.  585 

u  This  court  acknowledges,  as  I  suppose,  the  validity  of  the  law  of 
God.  I  see  a  book  kissed  here  which  I  suppose  to  be  the  Bible,  or 
at  least  the  New  Testament.  That  teaches  me  that  all  things 
whatsoever  I  would  that  men  should  do  to  me,  I  should  do  even  so 
to  them.  It  teaches  me,  further,  to  t  remember  them  that  are  in 
bonds,  as  bound  with  them.'  I  endeavored  to  act  up  to  that  instruc 
tion.  I  say,  I  am  yet  too  young  to  understand  that  God  is  any  re 
specter  of  persons.  I  believe  that  to  have  interfered  as  I  have  done 
—  as  I  have  always  freely  admitted  I  have  done  —  in  behalf  of  His 
despised  poor,  was  not  wrong,  but  right.  Now,  if  it  is  deemed 
necessary  that  I  should  forfeit  my  life  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
ends  of  justice,  and  mingle  my  blood  further  with  the  blood  of  my 
children  and  with  the  blood  of  millions  in  this  slave  country  whose 
rights  are  disregarded  by  wicked,  cruel,  and  unjust  enactments,  — 
I  submit ;  so  let  it  be  done  ! 

11  Let  me  say  one  word  further. 

"  I  feel  entirely  satisfied  with  the  treatment  I  have  received  on  rny 
trial.  Considering  all  the  circumstances,  it  has  been  more  generous 
than  I  expected.  But  I  feel  no  consciousness  of  guilt.  I  have  stated 
from  the  first  what  was  my  intention,  and  what  was  not.  I  never 
had  any  design  against  the  life  of  any  person,  nor  any  disposition  to 
commit  treason,  or  excite  slaves  to  rebel,  or  make  any  general  insur 
rection.  I  never  encouraged  any  man  to  do  so,  but  always  discour 
aged  any  idea  of  that  kind. 

u  Let  me  say,  also,  a  word  in  regard  to  the  statements  made  by 
some  of  those  connected  with  me.  I  hear  it  has  been  stated  by  some 
of  them  that  I  have  induced  them  to  join  me.  Bat  the  contrary  is 
true.  I  do  not  say  this  to  injure  them,  but  as  regretting  their  weak 
ness.  There  is  not  one  of  them  but  joined  me  of  his  own  accord, 
and  the  greater  part  of  them  at  their  own  expense.  A  number  of 
them  I  never  saw,  and  never  had  a  word  of  conversation  with,  till  the 
day  they  came  to  me  ;  and  that  was  for  the  purpose  I  have  stated. 

u  Now  I  have  done." 

Brown  was  then  taken  from  the  court-room  back  to  his 
prison,  where  he  continued  to  recover  from  his  wounds,  but 
did  not  write  many  letters  until  a  week  after  his  conviction. 
He  then  wrote  first  to  his  family,  as  follows  :  — 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  8,  1859. 

DEAR  WIFE  AND  CHILDREN,  EVERY  ONE,  —  I  will  begin  by  say 
ing  that  I  have  in  some  degree  recovered  from  my  wounds,  but  that 
I  am  quite  weak  in  my  back  and  sore  about  my  left  kidney.  My 


586  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

appetite  has  been  quite  good  for  most  of  the  time  since  I  was  hurt. 
I  am  supplied  with  almost  everything  I  could  desire  to  make  me 
comfortable,  and  the  little  I  do  lack  (some  articles  of  clothing  which 
I  lost)  I  may  perhaps  soon  get  again.  I  am,  besides,  quite  cheerful, 
having  (as  I  trust)  "  the  peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  under 
standing,"  to  "  rule  in  my  heart,"  and  the  testimony  (in  some  degree) 
of  a  good  conscience  that  I  have  not  lived  altogether  in  vain.  I  can 
trust  God  with  both  the  time  and  the  manner  of  my  death,  believing, 
as  I  now  do,  that  for  me  at  this  time  to  seal  my  testimony  for  God 
and  humanity  with  my  blood  will  do  vastly  more  toward  advancing 
the  cause  I  have  earnestly  endeavored  to  promote,  than  all  I  have 
done  in  my  life  before.  I  beg  of  you  all  meekly  and  quietly  to  sub 
mit  to  this,  not  feeling  yourselves  in  the  least  degraded  on  that 
account.  Remember,  dear  wife  and  children  all,  that  Jesus  of  Naza 
reth  suffered  a  most  excruciating  death  on  the  cross  as  a  felon,  under 
the  most  aggravating  circumstances.  Think  also  of  the  prophets  and 
apostles  and  Christians  of  former  days,  who  went  through  greater 
tribulations  than  you  or  I,  and  try  to  be  reconciled.  May  God 
Almighty  comfort  all  your  hearts,  and  soon  wipe  away  all  tears  from 
your  eyes!  To  him  be  endless  praise!  Think,  too,  of  the  crushed 
millions  who  "  have  no  comforter."  I  charge  you  all  never  in  your 
trials  to  forget  the  griefs  "  of  the  poor  that  cry,  and  of  those  that 
have  none  to  help  them."  I  wrote  most  earnestly  to  my  dear  and 
afflicted  wife  not  to  come  on  for  the  present,  at  any  rate.  I  will  now 
give  her  my  reasons  for  doing  so.  First,  it  would  use  up  all  the 
scanty  means  she  has,  or  is  at  all  likely  to  have,  to  make  herself  and 
children  comfortable  hereafter.  For  let  me  tell  you  that  the  sym 
pathy  that  is  now  aroused  in  your  behalf  may  not  always  follow  you. 
There  is  but  little  more  of  the  romantic  about  helping  poor  widows 
and  their  children  than  there  is  about  trying  to  relieve  poor  "  nig 
gers."  Again,  the  little  comfort  it  might  afford  us  to  meet  again 
would  be  dearly  bought  by  the  pains  of  a  final  separation.  We  must 
part ;  and  I  feel  assured  for  us  to  meet  under  such  dreadful  circum 
stances  would  only  add  to  our  distress.  If  she  comes  on  here,  she 
must  be  only  a  gazing-stock  throughout  the  whole  journey,  to  be  re 
marked  upon  in  every  look,  word,  and  action,  and  by  all  sorts  of 
creatures,  and  by  all  sorts  of  papers,  throughout  the  whole  country. 
Again,  it  is  my  most  decided  judgment  that  in  quietly  and  submis 
sively  staying  at  home  vastly  more  of  generous  sympathy  will  reach 
her,  without  such  dreadful  sacrifice  of  feeling  as  she  must  put  up 
with  if  she  comes  on.  The  visits  of  one  or  two  female  friends  that 
have  come  on  here  have  produced  great  excitement,  which  is  very 
annoying;  and  they  cannot  possibly  do  me  any  good.  Oh,  Mary! 
do  not  come,  but  patiently  wait  for  the  meeting  of  those  who  love 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  587 

God  and  their  fellow-men,  where  no  separation  must  follow.  u  They 
shall  go  no  more  out  forever."  I  greatly  long  to  hear  from  some 
one  of  you,  and  to  learn  anything  that  in  any  way  affects  your  wel 
fare.  I  sent  you  ten  dollars  the  other  day  ;  did  you  get  it  ?  I 
have  also  endeavored  to  stir  up  Christian  friends  to  visit  and  write  to 
you  in  your  deep  affliction.  I  have  no  doubt  that  some  of  them,  at 
least,  will  heed  the  call.  Write  to  me,  care  of  Captain  John  Avis, 
Charlestown,  Jefferson  County,  Virginia. 

"  Finally,  my  beloved,  be  of  good  comfort."  May  all  your  names 
be  "  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life  ! "  —  may  you  all  have  the 
purifying  and  sustaining  influence  of  the  Christian  religion  !  —  is  the 
earnest  prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 
Nov.  9. 

P.  S.  I  cannot  remember  a  night  so  dark  as  to  have  hindered  the 
coming  day,  nor  a  storm  so  furious  or  dreadful  as  to  prevent  the  re 
turn  of  warm  sunshine  and  a  cloudless  sky.  But,  beloved  ones,  do 
remember  that  this  is  not  your  rest,  —  that  in  this  world  you  have 
no  abiding  place  or  continuing  city.  To  God  and  his  infinite  mercy 
I  always  commend  you. 

J.  B. 

To  Mrs.  Spring.1 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  8, 1859. 
MRS.  REBECCA  B.  SPRING. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  When  you  get  home,  please  enclose  this  to 
Mrs.  John  Brown,  North  Elba,  Essex  County,  N.  Y.  It  will  com 
fort  her  broken  heart  to  know  that  I  received  it.  Captain  Avis  will 
kindly  let  you  see  what  I  have  written  her.  May  the  God  of  my 
fathers  bless  and  reward  you  a  thousandfold  ;  and  may  all  yours  be 
partakers  of  his  infinite  grace  ! 

Yours  ever, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

Nov.  9. 

P.  S.  Will  try  to  write  you  at  your  home.  I  forgot  to  acknowl 
edge  the  receipt  of  your  bounty.  It  is  hard  for  me  to  write,  on 
account  of  my  lameness. 

Yours  in  truth, 

J.  B. 

1  "  Written  by  John  Brown  on  the  back  of  a  note  sent  by  him  to  Mrs. 
Marcus  Spring.  This  note  and  indorsement  is  now  in  my  possession. " — • 
James  Freeman  Clarke,  January,  1883. 


588  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

To  his  Brother,  Jeremiah  Brown. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  YA.,  Nov.  12,  1859. 
DEAR  BROTHER  JEREMIAH,  —  Your  kind  letter  of  the  9th  inst.  is 
received,  and  also  one  from  Mr.  Tilden  ;  for  both  of  which  I  am 
greatly  obliged.  You  inquire,  "  Can  I  do  anything  for  you  or  your 
family?"  I  would  answer  that  my  sons,  as  well  as  my  wife  and 
daughters,  are  all  very  poor ;  and  that  anything  that  may  hereafter  be 
due  me  from  my  father's  estate  I  wish  paid  to  them,  as  I  will  en 
deavor  hereafter  to  describe,  without  legal  formalities  to  consume  it 
all.  One  of  my  boys  has  been  so  entirely  used  up  as  very  likely  to 
be  in  want  of  comfortable  clothing  for  the  winter.  I  have,  through 
the  kindness  of  friends,  fifteen  dollars  to  send  him,  which  I  will  re 
mit  shortly.  If  you  know  where  to  reach  him,  please  send  him  that 
amount  at  once,  as  I  shall  remit  the  same  to  you  by  a  safe  convey 
ance.  If  I  had  a  plain  statement  from  Mr.  Thompson  of  the  state  of 
my  accounts  with  the  estate  of  my  father,  I  should  then  better  know 
what  to  say  about  that  matter.  As  it  is,  I  have  not  the  least  mem 
orandum  left  me  to  refer  to.  If  Mr.  Thompson  will  make  me  a 
statement,  and  charge  my  dividend  fully  for  his  trouble,  I  would  be 
greatly  obliged  to  him.  In  that  case  you  can  send  me  any  remarks 
of  your  own.  I  am  gaining  in  health  slowly,  and  am  quite  cheerful 
in  view  of  my  approaching  end,  —  being  fully  persuaded  that  I  am 
worth  inconceivably  more  to  hang  than  for  any  other  purpose.  God 
Almighty  bless  and  save  you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  brother,  JOHN  BROWN. 

November  13. 

P.  S.  Say  to  my  poor  boys  never  to  grieve  for  one  moment  on 
my  account ;  and  should  many  of  you  live  to  see  the  time  when  you 
will  not  blush  to  own  your  relation  to  Old  John  Brown,  it  will  not 
be  more  strange  than  many  things  that  have  happened.  I  feel  a 
thousand  times  more  on  account  of  my  sorrowing  friends  than  on  rny 
own  account.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  "  count  it  all  joy."  "  I 
have  fought  the  good  fight,"  and  have,  as  I  trust,  '"  finished  my 
course."  Please  show  this  to  any  of  my  family  that  you  may  see. 
My  love  to  all  ;  and  may  God,  in  his  infinite  mercy,  for  Christ's 
sake,  bless  and  save  you  all! 

Your  affectionate  brother,  J.  BROWN. 

To  George  Adams,  Boston. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  15,  1859. 
MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  kind  mention  of  some  things  in  my  con 
duct  here  which   you   approve  .is  .very  comforting,,  indeed,  ..to.  my 


1859.)  JOHN  BROWN   IN   PRISON.  589 

\ 

mind.  Yet  I  am  conscious  tbat  you  do  me  no  more  than  justice.  I 
do  certainly  feel  that  through  Divine  grace  I  have  endeavored  to  be 
"  faithful  in  a  few  things,"  mingling  with  even  these  much  of  im 
perfection.  I  am  certainly  "  unworthy  even  to  suffer  affliction  with 
the  people  of  God ;  "  yet  in  infinite  grace  he  has  thus  honored 
me.  May  the  same  grace  enable  me  to  serve  him  in  a  "  new  obedi 
ence"  through  my  little  remainder  of  this  life,  and  to  rejoice  in  him 
forever.  I  cannot  feel  that  God  will  suffer  even  the  poorest  service 
we  may  any  of  us  render  him  or  his  cause  to  be  lost  or  in  vain.  I 
do  feel,  dear  brother,  that  I  am  wonderfully  u  strengthened  from  on 
high."  May  I  use  that  strength  in  "  showing  His  strength  unto  this 
generation,"  and  His  power  to  every  one  that  is  to  come  !  I  am  most 
grateful  for  your  assurance  that  my  poor,  shattered,  heart-broken 
family  will  not  be  forgotten.  I  have  long  tried  to  recommend  them 
to  "  the  God  of  my  fathers."  I  have  many  opportunities  for  faithful 
plain-dealing  with  the  more  powerful,  influential,  and  intelligent 
classes  in  this  region,  which  I  trust  are  not  entirely  misimproved.  I 
humbly  trust  that  I  firmly  believe  that  "  God  reigns,"  and  I  think  I 
can  truly  say,  "  Let  the  earth  rejoice!  "  May  God  take  care  of  his 
own  cause,  and  of  his  own  great  name,  as  well  as  of  those  who  love 
their  neighbors.  Farewell !  Yours  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN 

To  his  Old  Teacher. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  15,  1859. 
REV.  H.  L.  VAILL. 

MY  DEAR,  STEADFAST  FRIEND,  —  Your  most  kind  and  most 
welcome  letter  of  the  8th  inst.  reached  me  in  due  time.  I  am  very 
grateful  for  all  the  good  feeling  you  express,  and  also  for  the  kind 
counsels  you  give,  together  with  your  prayers  in  my  behalf.  Allow 
me  here  to  say,  notwithstanding  "  my  soul  is  among  lions,"  still  I 
believe  that  u  God  in  very  deed  is  with  me."  You  will  not,  there 
fore,  feel  surprised  Avhen  I  tell  you  that  I  am  "  joyful  in  all  my  trib 
ulations  '}  "  that  I  do  not  feel  condemned  of  Him  whose  j-udgment  is 
just,  nor  of  my  own  conscience.  Nor  do  I  feel  degraded  by  rny  im 
prisonment,  my  chains,  or  prospect  of  the  gallows.  I  have  not 
only  been  (though  utterly  unworthy)  permitted  to  "  suffer  affliction 
with  God's  people,"  but  have  also  had  a  great  many  rare  oppor 
tunities  for  u  preaching  righteousness  in  the  great  congregation."  I 
trust  it  will  not  all  be  lost.  The  jailer  (in  whose  charge  I  am)  and 
his  family  and  assistants  have  all  been  most  kind ;  and  notwith 
standing  he  was  one  of  the  bravest  of  all  who  fought  me,  he  is  now 
being  abused  for  his  humanity.  So  far  as  my  observation  goes,  none 
but  brave  men  are  likely  to  be  humane  to  a  Mien  foe.  "  Cowards 


LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

prove  their  courage  by  their  ferocity."  It  may  be  done  in  that  way 
with  but  little  risk. 

I  wish  I  could  write  you  about  a  few  only  of  the  interesting  times 
I  here  experience  with  different  classes  of  men,  clergymen  among 
others.  Christ,  the  great  captain  of  liberty  as  well  as  of  salvation, 
and  who  began  his  mission,  as  foretold  of  him,  by  proclaiming  it, 
saw  fit  to  take  from  me  a  sword  of  steel  after  I  had  carried  it  for  a 
time;  but  he  has  put  another  in  my  hand  ("the  sword  of  the 
Spirit"),  and  I  pray  God  to  make  me  a  faithful  soldier,  wherever  he 
may  send  me,  not  less  on  the  scaffold  than  when  surrounded  by  my 
warmest  sympathizers. 

My  dear  old  friend,  I  do  assure  you  I  have  not  forgotten  our  last 
meeting,  nor  our  retrospective  look  over  the  route  by  which  God  had 
then  led  us ;  and  I  bless  his  name  that  he  has  again  enabled  me  to 
hear  your  words  of  cheering  and  comfort  at  a  time  when  I,  at  least, 
am  on  the  "  brink  of  Jordan."  (See  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim.")  God  in 
infinite  mercy  grant  us  soon  another  meeting  on  the  opposite  shore. 
I  have  often  passed  under  the  rod  of  him  whom  I  call  my  Father,  — 
and  certainly  no  son  ever  needed  it  oftener ;  and  yet  I  have  enjoyed 
much  of  life,  as  I  was  enabled  to  discover  the  secret  of  this  somewhat 
early.  It  has  been  in  making  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  others 
my  own  ;  so  that  really  I  have  had  a  great  deal  of  prosperity.  I  am 
very  prosperous  still;  and  looking  forward  to  a  time  when  "  peace 
on  earth  and  good-will  to  men  "  shall  everywhere  prevail,  I  have  no 
murmuring  thoughts  or  envious  feelings  to  fret  my  mind.  "I'll 
praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath." 

I  am  an  unworthy  nephew  of  Deacon  John,  and  I  loved  him  much ; 
and  in  view  of  the  many  choice  friends  I  have  had  here,  I  am  led  the 
more  earnestly  to  pray,  "  gather  not  my  soul  with  the  unrighteous." 

Your  assurance  of  the  earnest  sympathy  of  the  friends  in  my  native 
land  is  very  grateful  to  my  feelings ;  and  allow  me  to  say  a  word  of 
comfort  to  them. 

As  I  believe  most  firmly  that  God  reigns,  I  cannot  believe  that 
anything  I  have  done,  suffered,  or  may  yet  suffer  will  be  lost  to  the 
cause  of  God  or  of  humanity.  And  before  I  began  my  work  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  I  felt  assured  that  in  the  worst  event  it  would  certainly 
pay.  I  often  expressed  that  belief ;  and  I  can  now  see  no  possible 
cause  to  alter  my  mind.  I  am  not  as  yet,  in  the  main,  at  all  disap 
pointed.  I  have  been  a  good  deal  disappointed  as  it  regards  myself 
in  not  keeping  up  to  my  own  plans;  but  I  now  feel  entirely  recon 
ciled  to  that,  even,  — for  God's  plan  was  infinitely  better,  no  doubt,  or 
I  should  have  kept  to  my  own.  Had  Samson  kept  to  his  determina 
tion  of  not  telling  Delilah  wherein  his  great  strength  lay,  he  would 
probably  have  never  overturned  the  house.  I  did  not  tell  Delilah, 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  591 

but  I  was  induced  to  act  very  contrary  to  my  better  judgment ;  and  I 
have  lost  my  two  noble  boys,  and  other  friends,  if  not  my  two  eyes. 

But  "  God's  will,  not  mine,  be  done."  I  feel  a  comfortable  hope 
that,  like  that  erring  servant  of  whom  I  have  just  been  writing,  even 
I  may  (through  infinite  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus)  yet  "  die  in  faith." 
As  to  both  the  time  and  manner  of  my  death,  —  I  have  but  very  little 
trouble  on  that  score,  and  am  able  to  be  (as  you  exhort)  "  of  good 
cheer." 

I  send,  through  you,  my  best  wishes  to  Mrs.  W. l  and  her 

son  George,  and  to  all  dear  friends.     May  the  God  of  the  poor  and 
oppressed  be  the  God  and  Savior  of  you  all ! 

Farewell,  till  we  meet  again. 

Your  friend  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  Wife. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  16,  1859. 
MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  write  you  in  answer  to  a  most  kind  letter  of 
November  13  from  dear  Mrs.  Spring.  I  owe  her  ten  thousand  thanks 
for  her  kindness  to  you  particularly,  and  more  especially  than  for 
what  she  has  done  and  is  doing  in  a  more  direct  way  for  me  per 
sonally.  Although  I  feel  grateful  for  every  expression  of  kindness 
or  sympathy  towards  me,  yet  nothing  can  so  effectually  minister  to 
my  comfort  as  acts  of  kindness  done  to  relieve  the  wants  or  miti 
gate  the  sufferings  of  my  poor  distressed  family.  May  God  Almighty 
and  their  own  consciences  be  their  eternal  rewarders  !  I  am  ex 
ceedingly  rejoiced  to  have  you  make  the  acquaintance  and  be 
surrounded  by  such  choice  friends,  as  I  have  long  known  by 
reputation  some  of  those  to  be  with  whom  you  are  staying.  I 

1  The  Eev.  Leonard  Woolsey  Bacon,  then  of  Litchfield,  Conn.,  who  first 
printed  this  letter,  said  in  1859  :  "  My  aged  friend,  the  Eev.  H.  L.  Vaill, 
of  this  place,  remembers  John  Brown  as  having  been  under  his  instruction 
in  the  year  1817,  at  Morris  Academy.  He  was  a  godly  youth,  laboring  to 
recover  from  his  disadvantages  of  early  education,  in  the  hope  of  entering , 
the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Since  then  the  teacher  and  pupil  have  met  but 
once.  But  a  short  time  since,  Mr.  Vaill  wrote  to  Brown,  in  his  prison,  a 
letter  of  Christian  friendship,  to  which  he  has  received  this  heroic  and 
sublime  reply.  I  have  copied  it  faithfully  from  the  autograph  that  lies 
before  me,  without  the  change  or  omission  of  a  word,  except  to  omit  the 
full  name,  of  the  friends  to  whom  he  sends  his  message.  The  handwriting 
is  clear  and  firm,  but  toward  the  end  of  the  sheet  seems  to  show  that  the 
sick  old  man's  hand  was  growing  weary.  The  very  characters  make  an 
appeal  to  us  for  our  sympathy  and  prayers.  '  His  salutation  with  his  own 
hand.  Remember  his  bonds.'  " 


592  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

am  most  glad  to  have  you  meet  with  one  of  a  family  (or  I  would 
rather  say  of  two  families)  most  beloved  and  never  to  be  forgotten 

by  me.  I  mean  dear  gentle .  Many  and  many  a  time  have 

she,  her  father,  mother,  brother,  sisters,  uncle,  and  aunt,  like  angels 
of  mercy,  ministered  to  the  wants  of  myself  and  of  my  poor  sons, 
both  in  sickness  and  health.  Only  last  year  I  lay  sick  for  quite  a 
number  of  weeks  with  them,  and  was  cared  for  by  all  as  though  I 
had  'been  a  most  affectionate  brother  or  father.  Tell  her  that  I 
ask  God  to  bless  and  reward  them  all  forever.  "I  was  a  stranger, 

and  they  took  me  in."  It  may  possibly  be  that would  like  to 

copy  this  letter,  and  send  it  to  her  home.  If  so,  by  all  means  let 
her  do  so.  I  would  write  them  if  I  had  the  power. 

Now  let  me  say  a  word  about  the  effort  to  educate  our  daughters. 
I  am  no  longer  able  to  provide  means  to  help  towards  that  object, 
and  it  therefore  becomes  me  not  to  dictate  in  the  matter.  I  shall 
gratefully  submit  the  direction  of  the  whole  thing  to  those  whose  gen 
erosity  may  lead  them  to  undertake  in  their  behalf,  while  I  give  anew 
a  little  expression  of  my  own  choice  respecting  it.  You,  my  wife,  per 
fectly  well  know  that  I  have  always  expressed  a  decided  preference 
for  a  very  plain  but  perfectly  practical  education  fo.r  both  sons  and 
daughters.  I  do  not  mean  an  education  so  very  miserable  as  that 
you  and  I  received  in  early  life  ;  nor  as  some  of  our  children  enjoyed. 
When  I  say  plain  but  practical,  I  mean  enough  of  the  learning  of  the 
schools  to  enable  them  to  transact  the  common  business  of  life  com 
fortably  and  respectably,  together  with  that  thorough  training  to 
good  business  habits  which  best  prepares  both  men  and  women  to 
be  useful  though  poor,  and  to  meet  the  stern  realities  of  life  with 
a  good  grace.  You  well  know  that  I  always  claimed  that  the 
music  of  the  broom,  wash-tub,  needle,  spindle,  loom,  axe,  scythe, 
hoe,  flail,  etc.,  should  first  be  learned  at  all  events,  and  that  of  the 
piano,  etc.,  afterwards.  I  put  them  in  that  order  as  most  condu 
cive  to  health  of  body  and  mind  ;  and  for  the  obvious  reason,  that 
after  a  life  of  some  experience  and  of  much  observation,  I  have 
found  ten  women  as  well  as  te"n  men  who  have  made  their  mark 
in  life  right,  whose  early  training  was  of  that  plain,  practical  kind, 
to  one  who  had  a  more  popular  and  fashionable  early  training.  But 
enough  of  that. 

Now,  in  regard  to  your  coming  here.  If  you  feel  sure  that  you  can 
endure  the  trials  and  the  shock  which  will  be  unavoidable  (if  you 
come),  I  should  be  most  glad  to  see  you  once  more  ;  but  when  I 
think  of  your  being  insulted  on  the  road,  and  perhaps  while  here, 
and  of  only  seeing  your  wretchedness  made  complete,  I  shrink  from 
it.  Your  composure  and  fortitude  of  mind  may  be  quite  equal  to  it 
all ;  but  I  am  in  dreadful  doubt  of  it.  If  you  do  come,  defer  your 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  593 

journey  till  about  the  27th  or  28th  of  this  month.  The  scenes  which 
you  will  have  to  pass  through  on  coming  here  will  be  anything  but 
those  you  now  pass,  with  tender,  kind-hearted  friends,  and  kind  faces 
to  meet  you  everywhere.  Do  consider  the  matter  well  before  you 
make  the  plunge.  I  think  I  had  better  say  no  more  on  thia  most  pain 
ful  subject.  My  health  improves  a  little;  my  mind  is  very  tranquil,  I 
may  say  joyous,  and  I  continue  to  receive  every  kind  attention  that  I 
have  any  possible  need  of.  I  wish  you  to  send  copies  of  all  my  let 
ters  to  all  our  poor  children.  What  I  write  to  one  must  answer  for 
all,  till  I  have  more  strength.  I  get  numerous  kind  letters  from 
friends  in  almost  all  directions,  to  encourage  me  to  u  be  of  good 
cheer,"  and  I  still  have,  as  I  trust,  "  the  peace  of  God  to  rule  in  my 
heart."  May  God,  for  Christ's  sake,  ever  make  his  face  to  shine  on 
you  all ! 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  Thomas  B.  Musgrave.1 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  17,  1859. 
T.  B.  MUSGRAVE,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  YOUNG  FRIEND,  —  I  have  just  received  your  most  kind 
and  welcome  letter  of  the  15th  inst.,  but  did  not  get  any  other  from  you. 
I  am  under  many  obligations  to  you  and  to  your  father  for  all  the 
kindnesses  you  have  shown  me,  especially  since  my  disaster.  May 
God  and  your  own  consciousness  ever  be  your  rewarders.  Tell  your 
father  that  1  am  quite  cheerful ;  that  I  do  not  feel  myself  in  the  least 
degraded  by  my  imprisonment,  my  chains,  or  the  near  prospect  of 
the  gallows.  Men  cannot  imprison,  or  chain,  or  hang  the  soul.  I 
go  joyfully  in  behalf  of  millions  that  "  have  no  rights  "  that  this 
great  and  glorious,  this  Christian  Republic  "  is  bound  to  respect." 
Strange  change  in  morals,  political  as  well  as  Christian,  since 
1776!  I  look  forward  to  other  changes  to  take  place  in  God's 
good  time,  fully  believing  that  "  the  fashion  of  this  world  passeth 
away."  I  am  unable  now  to  tell  you  where  my  friend  is,  that  you 
inquire  after.  Perhaps  my  wife,  who  I  suppose  is  still  with  Mrs. 
Spring,  may  have  some  information  of  him.  I  think  it  quite  un 
certain,  however. 

Farewell.     May  God  abundantly  bless  you  all ! 

Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

1  The  father  of  this  gentleman  was  Mr.  Musgrave,  the  English  manufac 
turer  at  Northampton,  mentioned  in  Chapter  III. 


594  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OE   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 


To  his  Cousin,  Rev.  Mr.  Humphrey. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  19,  1859. 
REV.  LUTHER  HUMPHREY. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Your  kind  letter  of  the  12th  instant  is  now 
before  me.  So  far  as  my  knowledge  goes  as  to  our  mutual  kindred, 

I  suppose  T  am  the  first  since  the  landing  of  Peter  Brown  from  the 

II  Mayflower"  that  has  either  been  sentenced  to  imprisonment  or  to  the 
gallows.     But,  my  dear  old  friend,  let  not  that  fact  alone  grieve  you. 
You  cannot  have  forgotten  how  and  where  our  grandfather  fell  in 
1776,  and  that  he,  too,  might  have  perished  on  the  scaffold  had  cir 
cumstances  been  but  a  very  little  different.     The  fact  that  a  man 
dies  under  the  hand  of  an  executioner  (or  otherwise)  lias  but  little  to 
do  with  his  true  character,  as  I  suppose.     John  Rogers  perished  at 
the  stake,  a  great  and  good  man,  as  I  suppose;  but  his  doing  so  does 
not  prove  that  any  other  man  who  has  died  in  the  same  way  was 
good  or  otherwise. 

Whether  I  have  any  reason  to  "  be  of  good  cheer"  or  not  in  view 
of  my  end,  I  can  assure  you  that  I  feel  so;  and  I  am  totally  blinded 
if  I  do  not  really  experience  that  strengthening  and  consolation  you 
so  faithfully  implore  in  my  behalf :  the  God  of  our  fathers  reward 
your  fidelity !  I  neither  feel  mortified,  degraded,  nor  in  the  least 
ashamed  of  my  imprisonment,  my  chains,  or  near  prospect  of  death 
by  hanging.  I  feel  assured  "that  not  one  hair  shall  fall  from  my 
head  without  the  will  of  my  Heavenly  Father."  I  also  feel  that  I 
have  long  been  endeavoring  to  hold  exactly  u  such  a  fast  as  God  has 
chosen."  (See  the  passage  in  Isaiah  which  you  have  quoted.1)  No 
part  of  my  life  has  been  more  happily  spent  than  that  I  have  spent 
here ;  and  I  humbly  trust  that  no  part  has  been  spent  to  better  pur 
pose.  I  would  not  say  this  boastingly,  but  thanks  be  unto  God,  who 
giveth  us  the  victory  through  infinite  grace. 

1  The  reference  here  is  to  the  familiar  text  in  the  fifty-eighth  chapter 
of  the  prophet,  who  may  be  said  to  have  foretold  Brown  as  clearly  as  he 
predicted  any  event  in  Hebrew  history  :  "  Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have 
chosen,  —  to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to  undo  the  heavy  burdens,  and 
to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every  yoke  ?  Is  it  not  to 
deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that  thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast 
out  to  thy  house  ?  when  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover  him :  and 
that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh  ?  .  .  .  Then  shalt  thou 
call,  and  the  Lord  shall  answer ;  thou  shalt  cry,  and  he  shall  say,  Here 
I  am.  .  .  .  Thou  shalt  raise  up  the  foundations  of  many  generations  ;  and 
thou  shalt  be  called  the  Repairer  of  the  breach,  the  Restorer  of  paths  to 
dwell  in." 


1859.]  JOHN   BROWN   IN  PRISON.  595 

I  should  be  sixty  years  old  were  I  to  live  to  May  9>  1860.  I  have 
enjoyed  much  of  life  as  it  is,  and  have  been  remarkably  prosperous, 
having  early  learned  to  regard  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  others  as 
my  own.  I  have  never,  since  I  can  remember,  required  a  great 
amount  of  sleep ;  so  that  I  conclude  that  I  have  already  enjoyed  full 
an  average  number  of  working  hours  with  those  who  reach  their 
threescore  years  and  ten.  I  have  not  yet  been  driven  to  the  use  of 
glasses,  but  can  see  to  read  and  write  quite  comfortably.  But  more 
than  that.  I  have  generally  enjoyed  remarkably  good  health.  I  might 
go  on  to  recount  unnumbered  and  unmerited  blessings,  among  which 
would  be  some  very  severe  afflictions,  and  those  the  most  needed 
blessings  of  all.  And  now,  when  I  think  how  easily  I  might  be  left 
to  spoil  all  I  have  done  or  suffered  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  I  hardly 
dare  wish  another  voyage,  even  if  I  had  the  opportunity. 

It  is  a  long  time  since  we  met ;  but  we  shall  come  together  in  our 
Father's  house,  I  trust.  Let  us  hold  fast  that  we  already  have,  re 
membering  we  shall  reap  in  due  time  if  we  faint  not.  Thanks  be 
unto  God,  who  giveth  us  the  victory  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 
And  now,  my  old,  warm-hearted  friend,  good-by. 
Your  affectionate  cousin, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  Wife. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  21,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  Your  most  welcome  letter  of  the  13th  instant 
I  g0t  yesterday.  I  am  very  glad  to  learn  from  yourself  that  you  feel 
so  much  resigned  to  your  circumstances,  so  much  confidence  in  a  wise 
and  good  Providence,  and  such  composure  of  mind  in  the  midst  of 
all  your  deep  afflictions.  This  is  just  as  it  should  be;  and  let  me 
still  say,  "  Be  of  good  cheer,"  for  we  shall  soon  "  come  out  of  all  our 
great  tribulations  ;  "  and  very  soon,  if  we  trust  in  him,  "  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  our  eyes."  Soon  "  we  shall  be  satisfied 
when  we  are  awake  in  His  likeness."  There  is  now  here  a  source  of 
much  disquietude  to  me, — namely,  the  fires  which  are  almost  of 
daily  and  nightly  occurrence  in  this  immediate  neighborhood.  While 
I  well  know  that  no  one  of  them  is  the  work  of  our  friends,  I  know 
at  the  same  time  that  by  more  or  less  of  the  inhabitants  we  shall  be 
charged  with  them,  —  the  same  as  with  the  ominous  and  threatening 
letters  to  Governor  Wise.  In  the  existing  state  of  public  feeling  I 
can  easily  see  a  further  objection  to  your  coming  here  at  present ;  but 
I  did  not  intend  saying  auother  word  to  you  on  that  subject. 

Why  will  you  not  say  to  me  whether  you  had  any  crops  mature 
this  season?  If  so,  what  ones?  Although  I  may  nevermore  inter- 


596  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

meddle  with  your  worldly  affairs,  I  have  not  yet  lost  all  interest  m 
them.  A  little  history  of  your  success  or  of  your  failures  I  should 
very  much  prize ;  and  I  would  gratify  you  and  other  friends  some 
way  were  it  in  my  power.  I  am  still  quite  cheerful,  and  by  no  means 
cast  down.  I  "  remember  that  the  time  is  short."  The  little  trunk 
and  all  its  contents,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  reached  me  safe.  May 
God  reward  all  the  contributors !  I  wrote  you  under  cover  to  our 
excellent  friend  Mrs.  Spring  on  the  16th  instant.  I  presume  you 
have  it  before  now.  When  you  return,  it  is  most  likely  the  lake  will 
not  be  open  ;  so  you  must  get  your  ticket  at  Troy  for  Moreau  Station 
or  Glens  Falls  (for  Glens  Falls,  if  you  can  get  one),  or  get  one  for 
Vergennes  in  Vermont,  and  take  your  chance  of  crossing  over  on  the 
ice  to  Westport.  If  you  go  soon,  the  route  by  Glens  Falls  to  Eliza- 
bethtown  will  probably  be  the  best. 

I  have  just  learned  that  our  poor  Watson  lingered  until  Wednesday 
about  noon  of  the  19th  of  October.  Oliver  died  near  my  side  in  a 
few  moments  after  he  was  shot.  Dauphin  died  the  next  morning 
after  Oliver  and  William  were  killed,  —  namely,  Monday.  He  died 
almost  instantly ;  was  by  my  side.  William  was  shot  by  several 
persons.  Anderson  was  killed  with  Dauphin. 

Keep  this  letter  to  refer  to.  God  Almighty  bless  and  keep  you 
all! 

Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

DEAR  MRS.  SPRING,  —  I  send  this  to  your  care,  because  I  am  at 
a  loss  where  it  will  reach  my  wife. 

Your  friend  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  younger  Children. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  22,  1859. 
DEAR  CHILDREN,  ALL,  —  I  address  this  letter  to  you,  supposing 
that  your  mother  is  not  yet  with  you.  She  has  not  yet  come  here, 
as  I  have  requested  her  not  to  do  at  present,  if  at  all.  She  may  think 
it  best  for  her  not  to  come  at  all.  She  has  (or  will),  I  presume,  writ 
ten  you  before  this.  Annie's  letter  to  us  both,  of  the  9th,  has  but  just 
reached  me.  I  am  very  glad  to  get  it,  and  to  learn  that  you  are  in 
any  measure  cheerful.  This  is  tiie  greatest  comfort  I  can  have,  ex 
cept  that  it  would  be  to  know  that  you  are  all  Christians.  God  in 
mercy  grant  you  all  may  be  so !  That  is  what  you  all  will  certainly 
need.  When  and  in  what  form  death  may  come  is  but  of  small  mo 
ment.  I  feel  just  as  content  to  die  for  God's  eternal  truth  and  for 
suffering  humanity  on  the  scaffold  as  in  any  other  way ;  and  I  do 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  597 

not  say  this  from  any  disposition  to  "  brave  it  out."  No  ;  I  would 
readily  own  my  wrong  were  I  in  the  least  convinced  of  it.  I  have 
now  been  confined  over  a  month,  with  a  good  opportunity  to  look  the 
whole  thing  as  "fair  in  the  face"  as  I  am  capable  of  doing;  and  I 
now  feel  it  most  grateful  that  I  am  counted  in  the  least  possible  de 
gree  worthy  to  sutler  for  the  truth.  I  want  you  all  to  "be  uf  good 
cheer."  This  life  is  intended  as  a  season  of  training,  chastisement, 
temptation,  affliction,  and  trial;  and  the  "  righteous  shall  come  out 
of"  it  all.  Oh,  my  dear  children,  let  me  again  entreat  you  all  to 
"forsake  the  foolish,  and  live."  What  can  you  possibly  lose  by  such 
a  course ?  "Godliness  with  contentment  is  great  gain,  having  the 
promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come."  "  Trust 
in  the  Lord  and  do  good,  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land  ;  and  verily 
thou  shalt  be  fed."  I  have  enjoyed  life  much ;  why  should  I  com 
plain  on  leaving  it  ?  I  want  some  of  you  to  write  me  a  little  more 
particularly  about  all  that  concerns  your  welfare.  I  intend  to  write 
you  as  often  as  I  can.  ".To  God  and  the  word  of  his  grace  I  com 
mend  you  all."  Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  older  Children. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  22,  1859. 
DEAR  CHILDREN,  — Your  most  welcome  letters  of  the  16th  inst. 
I  have  just  received,  and  I  bless  God  that  he  has  enabled  you  to  bear 
the  heavy  tidings  of  our  disaster  with  so  much  seeming  resignation 
and  composure  of  mind.  That  is  exactly  the  thing  I  have  wished 
you  all  to  do  for  me,  — to  be  cheerful  and  perfectly  resigned  to  the  holy 
will  of  a  wise  and  good  God.  I  bless  his  most  holy  name  that  I  am, 
I  trust,  in  some  good  measure  able  to  do  the  same.  I  am  even  "  joy 
ful  in  all  my  tribulations"  ever  since  my  confinement,  and  I  humbly 
trust  that  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  trusted."  A  calm  peace,  per 
haps  like  that  which  your  own  dear  mother  felt  in  view  of  her  last 
change,  seems  to  fill  my  mind  by  day  and  by  night.  Of  this  neither 
the  powers  of  "earth  or  hell"  can  deprive  me.  Do  not,  my  dear 
children,  any  of  you  grieve  for  a  single  moment  on  my  account.  As 
I  trust  my  life  has  not  been  thrown  away,  so  I  also  humbly  trust 
that  my  death  will  not  be  in  vain.  God  can  make  it  to  be  a  thousand 
times  more  valuable  to  his  own  cause  than  all  the  miserable  service 
(at  best)  that  I  have  rendered  it  during  my  life.  When  I  was  first 
taken,  I  was  too  feeble  to  write  much;  so  I  wrote  what  I  could  to 
North  Elba,  requesting  Ruth  and  Anne  to  send  you  copies  of  all  my 
letters  to  them.  I  hope  they  have  done  so,  and  that  you,  Ellen,1  will 

1  Mrs.  Jason  Brown. 


598  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

do  the  same  with  what  I  may  send  to  you,  as  it  is  still  quite  a  labor 
for  me  to  write  all  that  I  need  to.  I  want  your  brothers  to  know 
what  I  write,  if  you  know  where  to  reach  them.  I  wrote  Jeremiah 
a  few  days  since  to  supply  a  trifling  assistance,  fifteen  dollars,  to  such 
of  you  as  might  be  most  destitute.  I  got  his  letter,  but  do  not  know 
as  he  got  mine.  I  hope  to  get  another  letter  from  him  soon.  I  also 
asked  him  to  show  you  my  letter.  I  know  of  nothing  you  can  any  of 
you  now  do  for  me,  unless  it  is  to  comfort  your  own  hearts,  and  cheer 
and  encourage  e_ach  other  to  trust  in  God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he 
hath  sent.  If  you  will  keep  his  sayings,  you  shall  certainly  "know  of 
his  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God  or  no."  Nothing  can  be  more  grate 
ful  to  me  than  your  earnest  sympathy,  except  it  be  to  know  that  you 
are  fully  persuaded  to  be  Christians.  And  now,  dear  children,  fare 
well  for  this  time.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  write  you  again.  The  God 
of  my  fathers  take  you  for  his  children. 

Your  affectionate  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  the  Rev. McFarland. 

JAIL,  CHARLESTOWN,  Wednesday,  Nov.  23,  1859. 

THE  REV. MCFARLAND. 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  Although  you  write  to  me  as  a  stranger,  the 
spirit  you  show  towards  me  and  the  cause  for  which  I  am  in  bonds 
makes  me  feel  towards  you  as  a  dear  friend.    I  would  be  glad  to  have 
you  or  any  of  my  liberty-loving  ministerial  friends  here,  to  talk  and 
pray  with  me.    I  am  not  a  stranger  to  the  way  of  salvation  by  Christ. 
From  my  youth  I  have  studied  much  on  that  subject,  and  at  one  time 
hoped  to  be  a  minister  myself;  but  God  had  another  work  for  me  to 
do.     To  me  it  is  given,  in  behalf  of  Christ,  not  only  to  believe  on 
him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  his  sake.      But  while  I  trust  that  I  have 
some  experimental  and  saving  knowledge  of  religion,  it  would  be  a 
great  pleasure  to  me  to  have  some  one  better  qualified  than  myself  to 
lead  my  mind  in  prayer  and  meditation,  now-that  my  time  is  so  near 
a  close.    You  may  wonder,  are  there  no  ministers  of  the  gospel  here  ? 
I  answer,  no.     There  are  no  ministers  of  Christ  here.     These  minis 
ters  who  profess  to  be  Christian,  and  hold  slaves  or  advocate  slavery, 
I  cannot  abide  them.     My  knees  will  not  bend  in  prayer  with  them, 
while  their  hands  are  stained  with  the  blood  of  souls.      The  subject 
you  mention  as  having  been  preaching  on  the  day  before  you  wrote 
to  me  is  one  which  I  have  often  thought  of  since  my  imprisonment. 
I  think  I  feel  as  happy  as  Paul  did  when  he  lay  in  prison.    He  knew 
if  they  killed  him,  it  would  greatly  advance  the  cause  of  Christ ;  that 
was  the  reason  he  rejoiced  so.      On  that  same  ground  "  I  do  rejoice, 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  599 

yea,  and  will  rejoice."  Let  them  hang  me ;  I  forgive  them,  and  may 
God  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.  I  have  no  regret 
for  the  transaction  for  which  I  am  condemned.  I  went  against  the 
laws  of  men,  it  is  true,  but  "  whether  it  be  right  to  obey  God  or 
men,  judge  ye."  Christ  told  me  to  remember  them  that  were  in 
bonds  as. bound  with  them,  to  do  towards  them  as  I  would  wish 
them  to  do  towards  me  in  similar  circumstances.  My  conscience 
bade  me  do  that.  I  tried  to  do  it,  but  failed.  Therefore  I  have  no 
regret  on  that  score.  I  have  no  sorrow  either  as  to  the  result,  only 
for  my  poor  wife  and  children.  They  have  suffered  much,  and  it  is 
hard  to  leave  them  uncared  for.  But  God  will  be  a  husband  to  the 
widow  and  a  father  to  the  fatherless. 

I  have  frequently  been  in  Wooster,  and  if  any  of  my  old  friends 
from  about  Akron  are  there,  you  can  show  them  this  letter.     I  have 
but  a  few  more  days,  and  I  feel  anxious  to  be  away  u  where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling,  and  the  weary  are  at  rest."     Farewell. 
Your  friend,  and  the  friend  of  all  friends  of  liberty, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  Mrs.  Marcus  Spring. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  24,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  SPRING,  — Your  ever  welcome  letter  of  the  19th 
inst.,  together  with  the  one  now  enclosed,  were  received  by  me  last 
night  too  late  for  any  reply.  I  am  always  grateful  for  anything  you 
either  do  or  write.  I  would  most  gladly  express  my  gratitude  to  you 
and  yours  by  something  more  than  words ;  but  it  has  come  to  that,  I 
now  have  but  little  else  to  deal  in,  and  sometimes  they  are  not  so 
kind  as  they  should  be.  You  have  laid  me  and  my  family  under 
many  and  great  obligations.  I  hope  they  may  not  soon  be  forgotten. 
The  same  is  also  true  of  a  vast  many  others,  that  I  shall  never  be 
able  even  to  thank.  I  feel  disposed  to  leave  the  education  of  my  dear 
children  to  their  mother,  and  to  those  dear  friends  who  bear  the  bur 
den  of  it;  only  expressing  my  earnest  hope  that  they  may  all  be 
come  strong,  intelligent,  expert,  industrious,  Christian  housekeepers. 
I  would  wish  that,  together  with  other  studies,  they  may  thoroughly 
study  Dr.  Franklin's  "  Poor  Richard."  I  want  them  to  become 
matter-of-fact  women.  Perhaps  I  have  said  too  much  about  this 
already  j  I  would  not  allude  to  this  subject  now  but  for  the  fact  that 
you  had  most  kindly  expressed  your  generous  feelings  with  regard 
to  it. 

I  sent  the  letter  to  my  wife  to  your  care,  because  the  address  she 
sent  me  from  Philadelphia  was  not  sufficiently  plain,  and  left  me 
quite  at  a  loss.  I  am  still  in  the  same  predicament,  and  were  I  not 


600  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

ashamed  to  trouble  you  farther,  would  ask  you  either  to  send  this  to 
her  or  a  copy  of  it,  in  order  that  she  may  see  something  from  me 
often. 

I  have  very  many  interesting  visits  from  proslavory  persons  almost 
daily,  and  I  endeavor  to  improve  them  faithfully,  plainly,  and  kindly. 
I  do  not  think  that  I  ever  enjoyed  life  better  than  since  my  confine 
ment  here.  For  this  I  am  indebted  to  Infinite  Grace,  and  the  kind 
letters  of  friends  from  different  quarters.  I  wish  I  could  only  know 
that  all  my  poor  family  were  as  much  composed  and  as  happy  as  I. 
I  think  that  nothing  but  the  Christian  religion  can  ever  make  any 
one  so  much  composed. 

"  My  willing  soul  would  stay 
In  such  a  frame  as  this." 

There  are  objections  to  my  writing  many  things  while  here  that  I 
might  be  disposed  to  write  were  I  under  different  circumstances.  I  do 
not  know  that  my  wife  yet  understands  that  prison  rules  require  that 
all  I  write  or  receive  should  first  be  examined  by  the  sheriff  or  State's 
attorney,  and  that  all  company  1  see  should  be  attended  by  the  jailer 
or  some  of  his  assistants.  Yet  such  is  the  case;  and  did  she  know 
this,  it  might  influence  her  mind  somewhat  about  the  opportunity  she 
would  have  on  coming  here.  We  cannot  expect  the  jailer  to  devote 
very  much  time  to  us,  as  he  has  now  a  very  hard  task  on  his  hands.  I 
have  just  learned  how  to  send  letters  to  my  wife  near  Philadelphia. 

I  have  a  son  at  Akron,  Ohio,  that  I  greatly  desire  to  have  located 
in  such  a  neighborhood  as  yours ;  and  you  will  pardon  me  for  giving 
you  some  account  of  him,  making  all  needful  allowance  for  the 
source  the  account  comes  from.  His  name  is  Jason;  he  is  about 
thirty-six  years  old;  has  a  wife  and  one  little  boy.  He  is  a  very  la 
borious,  ingenious,  temperate,  honest,  and  truthful  man.  He  is  very 
expert  as  a  gardener,  vine-dresser,  and  manager  of  fruit-trees,  but 
does  not  pride  himself  on  account  of  his  skill  in  anything  ;  always 
has  underrated  himself;  is  bashful  and  retiring  in  his  habits;  is  not 
(like  his  father)  too  much  inclined  to  assume  and  dictate  ;  is  too  con 
scientious  in  his  dealings  and  too  tender  of  people's  feelings  to  get 
from  them  his  just  deserts,  and  is  very  poor.  He  suffered  almost 
everything  on  tne  way  to  and  while  in  Kansas  but  death,  and  re 
turned  to  Ohio  not  a  spoiled  but  next  to  a  ruined  man.  He  never 
quarrels,  and  yet  I  know  that  he  is  both  morally  and  physically 
brave.  He  will  not  deny  his  principles  to  save  his  life,  and  he 
"  turned  not  back  in  the  day  of  battle."  At  the  battle  of  Osa- 
watomie  he  fought  by  my  side.  He  is  a  most  tender,  loving,  and 
steadfast  friend,  and  on  the  right  side  of  rhings  in  general,  a  practical 
Samaritan  (if  not  Christian) ;  and  could  I  know  that  he  was  located 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  601 

with  a  population  who  were  disposed  to  encourage  him,  without  ex 
pecting  him  to  pay  too  dearly  in  the  end  for  it,  I  should  feel  greatly 
Telieved.  His  wife  is  a  very  neat,  industrious,  prudent  woman,  who 
has  undergone  a  severe  trial  in  "  the  school  of  affliction." 

You  make  one  request  of  me  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  comply 
with.  Am  sorry  that  I  cannot  at  least  explain.  Your  own  account 
of  my  plans  is  very  well.  The  sou  I  mentioned  has  now  a  small 
stock  of  choice  vines  and  fruit-trees,  and  in  them  consists  his  worldly 
store  mostly.  I  would  give  you  some  account  of  others,  but  I  sup 
pose  my  wife  may  have  done  so. 

Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  Counsel. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  24,  1859. 
GEORGE  H.  HOYT,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  kind  letter  of  the  22d  instant  is  received.  I 
exceedingly  regret  my  inability  to  make  you  some  other  acknowledg 
ment  for  all  your  efforts  in  my  behalf  than  that  which  consists  merely 
in  words ;  but  so  it  is.  May  God  and  a  good  conscience  be  your 
continual  reward.  I  really  do  not  see  what  you  can  do  for  me  any 
further.  I  commend  my  poor  family  to  the  kind  remembrance  of  all 
friends,  but  I  well  understand  that  they  are  not  the  only  poor  in  our 
world.  I  ought  to  begin  to  leave  off  saying  "  our  world."  I  have 
but  very  little  idea  of  the  charges  made  against  Mr.  Griswold,  as  I 
get  to  see  but  little  of  what  is  afloat.  I  am  very  sorry  for  any  wrong 
that  may  be  done  him,  but  I  have  no  means  of  contradicting  any 
thing  that  may  be  said,  not  knowing  what  is  said.  I  cannot  see 
how  it  should  be  any  more  dishonorable  for  him  to  receive  some 
compensation  for  his  expenses  and  service  than  for  Mr.  Chilton,  and 
I  am  not  aware  that  any  blame  is  attached  to  him  on  that  score.  I 
am  getting  more  letters  constantly  than  I  well  know  how  to  answer. 
My  kind  friends  appear  to  have  very  wrong  ideas  of  my  condition,  as 
regards  replying  to  all  the  kind  communications  I  receive. 
Your  friend  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

In  contrast  with  the  letter  of  the  good  Quaker  woman  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  as  a  key  to  the  answer  made  by  John 
Brown,  I  print  next  the  expostulatory,  not  to  say  Phari 
saical,  letter  of  his  aged  cousin,  the  Rev.  Dr.  He  man  Hum 
phrey,  of  western  Massachusetts,  addressed  to  the  martyr 
in  his  Virginia  prison. 


602  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

Dr.  Humphrey  to  Captain  Brown. 

PITTSFIELD,  MASS.,  Nov.  20,  1859. 
MR.  JOHN  BKOWN. 

MY   POOR   WOUNDED   AND   DOOMED   KlNSMAN,  —  I    should    have 

written  you  before  now  if  I  had  known  what  to  say.  That  we  all 
deeply  feel  for  you  in  your  present  extraordinary  circumstances  you 
will  not  doubt.  Most  gladly  would  we  fly  to  your  relief,  if  the  sen 
tence,  under  which  you  lie  had  not  put  you  entirely  Beyond  the  reach 
of  hope.  All  we  can  do  is  to  pray  for  you.  This  we  can  do ;  and  I 
am  sure  that  prayer  is  offered  without  ceasing  for  you,  that  you  may 
be  prepared  for  that  death  from  which  I  am  persuaded  nothing  short 
of  a  miracle  would  save  you.  Oh,  that  we  had  known  the  amazing 
infatuation  which  was  urging  you  on  to  certain  destruction  before  it 
was  too  late !  We  should  have  felt  bound  to  have  laid  hold  upon 
and  retained  you  by  violence,  if  nothing  short  wftuld  have  availed. 
You  will  not  allow  us  to  interpose  the  plea  of  insanity  in  your  be 
half;  you  insist  that  you  were  never  more  sane  in  your  life,  —  and 
indeed,  there  was  so  much  "  method  in  your  madness,"  that  such  a 
plea  would  be  of  no  avail.  I  do  not  intend  to  use  the  word  madness 
reproachfully.  I  am  bound  to  believe  that  you  were  as  conscientious 
as  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  in  going  to  Damascus ;  and  I  am  sure  it  was 
in  an  infinitely  better  cause.  But  what  you  intended  was  an  impossi 
bility  ;  and  all  your  friends  are  amazed  that  you  did  not  see  it.-  They 
can  never  believe  that  if  you  had  been  John  Brown  of  better  days,  — 
if  you  had  been  in  your  right  mind,  —  you  would  ever  have  plunged 
headlong,  as  you  did,  into  the  lion's  den,  where  you  were  certain  to 
be  devoured.  Oh,  that  you  would  have  been  held  back  !  But,  alas ! 
these  are  unavailing  regrets ;  it  is  too  late ;  it  is  done.  The  sentence 
is  passed. 

You  have  come  almost  to  the  foot  of  the  scaffold,  and  I  presume 
you  have  no  hope  of  escape.  All  that  remains  is  to  prepare  for  the 
closing  scene  of  the  awful  tragedy.  Are  you  prepared  ?  You  have 
long  been  a  professor  of  religion.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  will 
now  anxiously  examine  yourself  whether  you  are  in  the  faith ;  whether 
you  are  a  true  child  of  God,  and  prepared  to  die  and  go  to  the  judg 
ment.  I  do  not  believe  you  had  murder  in  your  heart.  Your  object, 
as  you  say,  was  to  liberate  the  slaves.  You  wanted  to  do  it  without 
killing  anybody.  It  is  astonishing  you  did  not  consider  that  it  could 
not  be  done  without  wading  in  blood.  The  time  has  not  come.  It 
is  not  the  right  way,  and  never  will  be.  It  is  right  to  pray,  "  0 
Lord,  how  long?'7  but  not  to  run  before  and  take  the  avenging 
sword  into  our  own  hands.  You  have  nothing  more  to  do  in  this 
world.  You  have  done  with  the  Border  Ruffians,  who  hunted  for 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  603 

your  precious  life.  It  becomes  you  prayerfully  to  inquire  how  far 
you  will  be  answerable  at  the  bar  of  God  for  the  blood  which  was 
shed  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  for  the  fate  of  those  who  are  to  die  with 
you.  I  judge  you  not;  but  there  is  One  that  judgeth,  with  whom  is 
mercy  and  plentiful  forgiveness  to  all  who  truly  repent  and  savingly 
believe  on  him  whose  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  There  is  a  great 
deal  more  danger  that  we  shall  think  too  little  of  our  sins  than  too 
much.  The  time  is  now  so  short  that  it  becomes  you  to  spend  it 
mostly  in  prayer  and  meditation  over  your  Bible.  Oh,  how  precious 
is  every  hour !  I  am  sure  you  will  welcome  any  pious  friend  who 
may  visit  you  in  prison ;  and  I  hope  there  is  some  godly  minister 
who  may  come  to  you  with  his  warmest  sympathies  and  prayers. 
May  God  sustain  you,  my  dying  friend  !  Vain  is  the  help  of  man. 

Christ  can  stand  by  you  and  carry  you  through.  Other  help  there 
is  none.  Oh,  that  there  was  a  possibility  that  your  life  might  be 
spared !  But,  no !  there  is  nothing  to  hang  a  hope  on.  Farewell, 
my  wounded  and  condemned  friend.  We  shall  not  meet  again  in 
this  world.  Should  I  outlive  you,  it  will  not  be  long.  I  have  passed 
my  fourscore  years.  We  trust  that  many  of  our  kindred  have  gone 
to  heaven.  Oh,  may  we  be  prepared  to  meet,  and  to  meet  them 
there,  washed  in  the  Redeemer's  blood ! 

From  your  affectionate  and  deeply  affected  kinsman, 

PL  HUMPHREY. 

Captain  Brown  to  Rev.  Dr.  Humphrey. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  25,  1859. 
REV.  HEMAN  HUMPHREY,  D.D. 

MY  DEAR  AND  HONORED  KINSMAN,  —  Your  very  sorrowful,  kind, 
and  faithful  letter  of  the  20th  instant  is  now  before  me.  I  accept  it 
with  all  kindness.  I  have  honestly  endeavored  to  profit  by  the  faith 
ful  advice  it  contains.  Indeed,  such  advice  could  never  come  amiss. 
You  will  allow  me  to  say  that  I  deeply  sympathize  with  you  and  all 
my  sorrowing  friends  in  their  grief  and  terrible  mortification.  I  feel 
ten  times  more  afflicted  on  their  account  than  on  account  of  my  own 
circumstances.  But  I  must  say  that  I  am  neither  conscious  of  be 
ing  "  infatuated  "  nor  "  mad."  You  will  doubtless  agree  with  me  in 
this,  —  that  neither  imprisonment,  irons,  nor  the  gallows  falling  to 
one's  lot  are  of  themselves  evidence  of  either  guilt,  "  infatuation, 
or  madness." 

I  discover  that  you  labor  under  a  mistaken  impression  as  to  some 
important  facts,  which  my  peculiar  circumstances  will  in  all  proba 
bility  prevent  the  possibility  of  my  removing ;  and  I  do  not  propose 
to  take  up  any  argument  to  prove  that  any  motion  or  act  of  my  life 


604  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

is  right.  But  I  will  here  state  that  I  know  it  to  be  wholly  my  own 
fault  as  a  leader  that  caused  our  disaster.  Of  this  you  have  no  proper 
means  of  judging,  not  heing  on  the  ground,  or  a  practical  soldier.  I 
will  only  add,  that  it  was  in  yielding  to  my  feelings  of  humanity 
(if  I  ever  exercised  such  a  feeling),  in  leaving  my  proper  place  and 
mingling  with  my  prisoners  to  quiet  their  fears,  that  occasioned  our 
being  caught.  I  firmly  believe  that  God  reigns,  and  that  he  over 
rules  all  things  in  the  best  possible  manner ;  and  in  that  view  of  the 
subject  I  try  to  be  in  some  degree  reconciled  to  my  own  weaknesses 
and  follies  even. 

If  you  were  here  on  the  spot,  and  could  be  with  me  by  day  and  by 
night,  and  know  the  facts  and  how  my  time  is  spent  here,  I  think 
you  would  find  much  to  reconcile  your  own  mind  to  the  ignominious 
death  I  am  about  to  suffer,  and  to  mitigate  your  sorrow.  I  am,  to 
say  the  least,  quite  cheerful.  "  He  shall  begin  to  deliver  Israel  out 
of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines."  This  was  said  of  a  poor  erring  ser 
vant  many  years  ago ;  and  for  many  years  I  have  felt  a  strong  im 
pression  that  God  had  given  me  powers  and  faculties,  unworthy  as 
I  was,  that  he  intended  to  use  for  a  similar  purpose.  This  most 
unmerited  honor  He  has  seen  fit  to  bestow ;  and  whether-  like  the 
same  poor  frail  man  to  whom  I  allude,  my  death  may  not  be  of  vastly 
more  value  than  my  life  is,  I  think  quite  beyond  all  human  foresight. 
I  really  have  strong  hopes  that  notwithstanding  all  my  many  sins,  I 
too  may  yet  die  "  in  faith." 

If  you  do  not  believe  I  had  a  murderous  intention  (while  I  know  I 
had  not),  why  grieve  so  terribly  on  my  account?  The  scaffold  has 
but  few  terrors  for  me.  God  has  often  covered  my  head  in  the  day 
of  battle,  and  granted  me  many  times  deliverances  that  were  almost 
so  miraculous  that  I  can  scarce  realize  their  truth  j  and  now,  when 
it  seems  quite  certain  that  he  intends  to  use  me  in  a  different  way, 
shall  I  not  most  cheerfully  go?  I  may  be  deceived,  but  I  humbly 
trust  that  he  will  not  forsake  me  "  till  I  have  showed  his  favor  to 
this  generation  and  his  strength  to  every  one  that  is  to  come."  Your 
letter  is  most  faithfully  and  kindly  written,  and  I  mean  to  profit  by 
it.  I  am  certainly  quite  grateful  for  it.  I  feel  that  a  great  responsi 
bility  rests  upon  me  as  regards  the  lives  of  those  who  have  fallen  and 
may  yet  fall.  I  must  in  that  view  cast  myself  on  the  care  of  Him 
u  whose  mercy  endureth  forever."  If  the  cause  in  which  I  engaged 
in  any  possible  degree  approximated  to  be  "  infinitely  better"  than 
the  one  which  Saul  of  Tarsus  undertook,  I  have  no  reason  to  be 
ashamed  of  it;  and  indeed  I  cannot  now,  after  more  than  a  month 
for  reflection,  find  in  my  heart  (before  God  in  whose  presence  I 
expect  to  stand  within  another  week)  any  cause  for  shame. 


1859.]  JOHN   BROWN  IN  PRISON.  605 

I  got  a  long  and  most  kind  letter  from  your  pure-hearted  brother 
Luther,  to  which  I  replied  at  some  length.  The  statement  that 
seerns  to  be  going  around  in  the  newspapers  that  I  told  Governor 
Wise  that  I  came  on  here  to  seek  revenge  for  the  wrongs  of  either 
myself  or  my  family,  is  utterly  false.  I  never  intended  to  convey 
such  an  idea,  and  I  bless  God  that  I  am  able  even  now  to  say  that  I 
have  never  yet  harbored  such  a  feeling.  See  testimony  of  witnesses 
who  were  with  me  while  I  had  one  son  lying  dead  by  my  side,  and 
another  mortally  wounded  and  dying  on  my  other  side.  I  do  not 
believe  that  Governor  Wise  so  understood,  and  I  think  he  ought  to 
correct  that  impression.  The  impression  that  we  intended  a  general 
insurrection  is  equally  untrue. 

Now,  my  much  beloved  and  much  respected  kinsman,  farewell. 
May  the  God  of  our  fathers  save  and  abundantly  bless  you  and  yours ! 

JOHN  BROWN. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  last  letter  received 
by  Mrs.  Brown  before  she  started  to  go  to  Charlestown, 
bearing  date  Charlestown,  Jefferson  County,  Va.,  Nov.  26, 
1859,  in  which,  after  referring  to  his  wife's  being  under 
Mrs.  Mott's  roof,  he  proceeds  to  say:  — 

...  I  remember  the  faithful  old  lady  well,  but  presume  she  has 
no  recollection  of  me.  I  once  set  myself  to  oppose  a  mob  at  Boston, 
where  she  was.  After  I  interfered,  the  police  immediately  took  up 
the  matter,  and  soon  put  a  stop  to  mob  proceedings.  The  meeting 
was,  I  think,  in  Marlboro  Street  Church,  or  Hotel,  perhaps.  I  am 
glad  to  have  you  make  the  acquaintance  of  such  old  pioneers  in  the 
cause.  I  have  just  received  from  Mr.  John  Jay,  of  New  York,  a 
draft  for  fifty  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  my  family,  and  will  enclose  it 
made  payable  to  your  order.  I  have  also  fifteen  dollars  to  send  to 
our  crippled  and  destitute  unmarried  son.  When  I  can  I  intend 
to  send  you,  by  express,  two  or  three  little  articles  to  carry  home. 
Should  you  happen  to  meet  with  Mr.  Jay,  say  to  him  that  you  fully 
appreciate  his  great  kindness  both  to  me  and  my  family.  God  bless 
all  such  friends  !  It  is  out  of  my  power  to  reply  to  all  the  kind  and 
encouraging  letters  I  get  r  I  wish  I  could  do  so.  I  have  been  so 
mucli  relieved  from  my  lameness  for  the  last  three  or  four  days  as  to 
be  able  to  sit  up  to  read  and  write  pretty  much  all  day,  as  well  as 
part  of  the  night  ;  and  1  do  assure  you  and  all  other  friends  that  I 
am  quite  busy,  and  none  the  less  happy  on  that  account.  The  time 
passes  quite  pleasantly,,  and  the  near  approach  of  my  great  change  is 
not  the  occasion  of  any  particular  dread. 


606  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

I  trust  that  God,  who  has  sustained  me  so  long,  will  not  forsake 
me  when  I  most  feel  my  need  of  Fatherly  aid  and  support.  Should 
he  hide  his  face,  my  spirit  will  droop  and  die;  hut  not  otherwise,  be 
assured.  My  only  anxiety  is  to  be  properly  assured  of  my  fitness  for 
the  company  of  those  who  are  "  washed  from  all  filthiness,"  and  for 
the  presence  of  Him  who  is  infinitely  pure.  I  certainly  think  I  do 
have  some  "  hunger  arid  thirst  after  righteousness."  If  it  be  only 
genuine,  I  make  no  doubt  I  "shall  be  filled."  Please  let  all  our 
friends  read  my  letters  when  you  can ;  and  ask  them  to  accept  of  it 
as  in  part  for  them.  I  am  inclined  to  think  you  will  not  be  likely  to 
succeed  well  about  getting  away  the  bodies  of  your  family  ;  but 
should  that  be  so,  do  not  let  that  grieve  you.  It  can  make  but  little 
difference  what  is  done  with  them. 

You  can  well  remember  the  changes  you  have  passed  through. 
Life  is  made  up  of  a  series  of  changes,  and  let  us  try  to  meet  them 
in  the  best  manner  possible.  You  will  not  wish  to  make  yourself 
and  children  any  more  burdensome  to  friends  than  you  are  really 
compelled  to  do.  I  would  not. 

I  will  close  this  by  saying  that  if  you  now  feel  that  you  are  equal 
to  the  undertaking,  do  exactly  as  you  feel  disposed  to  do  about  coin 
ing  to  see  me  before  I  suffer.     I  am  entirely  willing. 
Your  affectionate  husband, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  27,  1859. 
THADDEUS  HYATT,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  very  acceptable  letter  of  the  24th  instant 
has  just  been  handed  to  me.  I  am  certainly  most  obliged  to  you  for 
it,  and  for  all  your  efforts  in  behalf  of  my  family  and  myself.  I  can 
form  no  idea  of  the  objections  to  your  mode  of  operating  in  their  be 
half,  to  which  my  friend  Dr.  Webb  refers ;  and  I  suppose  it  is  now 
too  late  for  any  explanations  from  him  that  would  enlighten  me.  It 
(your  effort)  at  any  rate  takes  from  my  mind  the  greatest  burden  I 
have  felt  since  my  imprisonment,  —  to  feel  assured  that  in  some  way 
my  shattered  and  broken-hearted  wife  and  children  would  be  so  far 
relieved  as  to  save  them  from  great  physical  suffering.  Others  may 
have  devised  a  better  way  of  doing  it.  I  had  no  advice  in  regard  to 
it,  and  felt  very  grateful  to  know,  while  I  was  yet  living,  of  almost 
any  active  measure  being  taken.  I  hope  no  offence  is  taken  at  your- 
self  or  me  in  the  matter.  I  am  beginning  to  familiarize  my  mind 
with  new  and  very  different  scenes.  Am  very  cheerful.  Farewell, 
my  friend. 

JOHN  BROWN. 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  607 


To  Miss  Sterns,  of  Springfield. 
CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  27,  1859. 
MY  DEAR  Miss  STERNS,  —  Your  most  kind  and  cheering  letter  of 
the  18th  instant  is  received.  Although  I  have  not  been  at  all  low- 
spirited  or  cast  down  in  feeling  since  being  imprisoned  and  under 
sentence  (which  I  am  fully  aware  is  soon  to  be  carried  out),  it  is  ex 
ceedingly  gratifying  to  learn  from  friends  that  there  are  not  wanting 
in  this  generation  some  to  sympathize  with  me  and  appreciate  my 
motive,  even  now  that  I  am  whipped.  Success  is  in  general  the 
standard  of  all  merit.  I  have  passed  my  time  here  quite  cheerfully  ; 
still  trusting  that  neither  my  life  nor  my  death  will  prove  a  total  loss. 
As  regards  both,  however,  I  am  liable  to  mistake.  It  affords  me 
some  satisfaction  to  feel  conscious  of  having  at  least  tried  to  better 
the  condition  of  those  who  are  always  on  the  under-hill  side,  and  am 
in  hopes  of  being  able  to  meet  the  consequences  without  a  murmur. 
I  am  endeavoring  to  get  ready  for  another  field  of  action,  where  no 
defeat  befalls  the  truly  brave.  That  "  God  reigns,"  and  most  wisely, 
and  controls  all  events,  might,  it  would  seem,  reconcile  those  who 
believe  it  to  much  that  appears  to  be  very  disastrous.  I  am  one  who 
has  tried  to  believe  that,  and  still  keep  trying.  Those  who  die 
for  the  truth  may  prove  to  be  courageous  at  last ;  so  I  continue 
"  hoping  on,"  till  I  shall  find  that  the  truth  must  finally  prevail. 
I  do  not  feel  in  the  least  degree  despondent  or  degraded  by  my  cir 
cumstances  ;  and  I  entreat  my  friends  not  to  grieve  on  my  account. 
You  will  please  excuse  a  very  poor  and  short  letter,  as  I  get  more 
than  I  can  possibly  answer.  I  send  my  best  wishes  to  your  kind 
mother,  and  to  all  the  family,  and  to  all  the  true  friends  of  humanity. 
And  now,  dear  friends,  God  be  with  you  all,  and  ever  guide  and 
bless  you  !  Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  his  sisters  Mary  and  Martha. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA., 
Nov.  27,  1859  (Sabbath). 

MY   DEARLY  BELOVED  SISTERS  MARY  A.  AND  MARTHA,  —  I   am 

obliged  to  occupy  a  part  of  what  is  probably  my  last  Sabbath  on 
earth  in  answering  the  very  kind  and  comforting  letters  of  sister 
Hand  and  son  of  the  23d  inst.,  or  I  must  fail  to  do  so  at  all.  I  do 
not  think  it  any  violation  of  the  day  that  God  made  for  man. 
Nothing  could  be  more  grateful  to  my  feelings  than  to  learn  that  you 
do  not  feel  dreadfully  mortified,  and  even  disgraced,  on  account  of 
your  relation  to  one  who  is  to  die  on  the  scaffold.  I  have  really 


608  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859 

suffered  more,  by  tenfold,  since  my  confinement  here,  on  account  of 
what  I  feared  would  be  the  terrible  feelings  of  my  kindred  on  my 
account,  than  from  all  other  causes.  I  am  most  glad  to  learn  from 
you  that  my  fears  on  your  own  account  were  ill  founded.  I  was 
afraid  that  a  little  seeming  present  prosperity  might  have  carried  you 
away  from  realities,  so  that  "  the  honor  that  cometh  from  men  n 
might  lead  you  in  some  measure  to  undervalue  that  which  "cometh 
from  God."  I  bless  God,  who  has  most  abundantly  supported  and 
comforted  me  Jtll  along,  to  find  you  are  not  ensnared.  Dr.  Heman 
Humphrey  has  just  sent  me  a  most  doleful  lamentation  over  my 
"infatuation  and  madness"  (very  kindly  expressed),  in  which,  I 
cannot  doubt,  he  has  given  expression  to  the  extreme  grief  of  others 
of  our  kindred.  I  have  endeavored  to  answer  him  kindly  also,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  deal  faithfully  with  my  old  friend.  I  think  I 
will  send  you  his  letter ;  and  if  you  deem  it  worth  the  trouble,  you 
can  probably  get  my  reply,  or  a  copy  of  it.  Suffice  it  for  me  to  say, 
"None  of  these  things  move  me."  Luther  Humphrey  wrote  me  a 
very  comforting  letter. 

There  are  things,  dear  sisters,  that  God  hides  even  from  the  wise 
and  prudent.  I  feel  astonished  that  one  so  exceedingly  vile  and  un 
worthy  as  I  am  should  even  be  suffered  to  have  a  place  anyhow  or 
anywhere  among  the  very  least  of  all  who,  when  they  come  to  die 
(as  all  must),  were  permitted  to  pay  the  debt  of  nature  in  defence  of 
the  right  and  of  God's  eternal  and  immutable  truth.  Oh,  my  dear 
friends,  can  you  believe  it  possible  that  the  scaffold  has  no  terrors 
for  your  own  poor  old  unworthy  brother  ?  I  thank  God,  through 
Jesus  Christ  my  Lord,  it  is  even  so.  I  am  now  shedding  tears,  but 
they  are  no  longer  tears  of  grief  or  sorrow ;  I  trust  I  have  nearly 
done  with  those.  I  am  weeping  for  joy  and  gratitude  that  I  can  in 
no  other  way  express.  I  get  many  very  kind  and  comforting  letters 
that  I  cannot  possibly  reply  to  j  wish  I  had  time  and  strength  to 
answer  all.  I  am  obliged  to  ask  those  to  whom  I  do  write  to  let 
friends  read  what  I  send  as  much  as  they  well  can.  *Do  write  my 
deeply  afflicted  and  affectionate  wife.  It  will  greatly  comfort  her  to 
have  you  write  her  freely.  She  has  borne  up  manfully  under  accumu 
lated  griefs.  She  will  be  most  glad  to  know  that  she  has  not  been 
entirely  forgotten  by  my  kindred.  Say  to  all  my  friends  that  I 
am  waiting  cheerfully  and  patiently  the  days  of  my  appointed  time ; 
fully  believing  that  for  me  now  to  die  will  be  to  me  an  infinite  gain 
and  of  untold  benefit  to  the  cause  we  love.  Wherefore,  "  be  of  good 
cheer,"  and  "  let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled."  "  To  him  that  over- 
cometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  witli  me  in  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  over 
came  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne."  I  wish  my 
friends  could  know  but  a  little  of  the  rare  opportunities  I  now  get  for 


1S59.J  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  609 

kind  and  faithful  labor  in  God's  cause.     I  hope  they  have  not  been 
entirely  lost. 

Now,  dear  friends,  I  have  done.     May  the  God  of  peace  bring 
us  all  again  from  the  dead ! 

Your  affectionate  brother, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA., 

Monday,  Nov.  28,  1859. 
HON.  D.  R.  TILDEN. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  most  kind  and  comforting  letter  of  the  23d 
inst.  is  received.  I  have  no  language  to  express  the  feelings  of  grat 
itude  and  obligation  I  am  under  for  your  kind  interest  in  my  behalf 
ever  since  rny  disaster.  The  great  bulk  of  mankind  estimate  each 
other's  actions  and  motives  by  the  measure  of  success  or  otherwise 
that  attends  them  through  life.  By  that  rule,  I  have  been  one  of 
the  worst  and  one  of  the  best  of  men.  I  do  not  claim  to  have  been 
one  of  the  latter,  and  I  leave  it  to  an  impartial  tribunal  to  decide 
whether  the  world  has  been  the  worse  or  the  better  for  my  living 
and  dying  in  it.  My  present  great  anxiety  is  to  get  as  near  in  readir 
ness  for  a  different  field  of  action  as  I  well  can,  since  being  in  a 
good  measure  relieved  from  the  fear  that  my  poor  broken-hearted 
wife  and  children  would  come  to  immediate  want.  May  God  reward 
a  thousandfold  all  the  kind  efforts  made  in  their  behalf!  I  have  en 
joyed  remarkable  cheerfulness  and  composure  of  mind  ever  since  my 
confinement ;  and  it  is  a  great  comfort  to  feel  assured  that  I  am  per 
mitted  to  die  for  a  cause,  —  not  merely  to  pay  the  debt  of  nature,  as 
all  must.  I  feel  myself  to  be  most  unworthy  of  so  great  distinction. 
The  particular  manner  of  dying  assigned  to  me  gives  me  but  very 
little  uneasiness.  I  wish  I  had  the  time  and  the  ability  to  give  you, 
my  dear  friend,  some  little  idea  of  what  is  daily,  and  I  might  almost 
say  hourly,  passing  within  my  prison  walls :  and  could  my  friends 
but  witness  only  a  few  of  these  scenes,  just  as  they  occur,  I  think 
they  would  feel  very  well  reconciled  to  my  being  here,  just  what  I 
am,  and  just  as  I  am.  My  whole  life  before  had  not  afforded  me  one 
half  the  opportunity  to  plead  for  the  right.  In  this,  also,  I  find  much 
to  reconcile  me  to  both  my  present  condition  and  my  immediate 
prospect.  I  may  be  very  insane  ;  and  I  am  so,  if  insane  at  all.  But 
if  that  be  so,  insanity  is  like  a  very  pleasant  dream  to  me.  I  am  not 
in  the  least  degree  conscious  of  my  ravings,  of  my  fears,  or  of  any 
terrible  visions  whatever ;  but  fancy  myself  entirely  composed,  and 
that  my  sleep,  in  particular,  is  as  sweet  as  that  of  a  healthy,  joyous 
little  infant.  I  pray  God  that  he  will  grant  me  a  continuance  of 
the  same  calm  but  delightful  dream,  until  I  come  to  know  of  those 

39 


610  LIFE   AND  LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

realities  which  eyes  have  not  seen  and  which  ears  have  not  heard. 
I  have  scarce  realized  that  I  am  in  prison  or  in  irons  at  all.  I  cer 
tainly  think  I  was  never  more  cheerful  in  my  life. 

I  intend  to  take  the  liberty  of  sending  by  express  to  your  care 
some  trifling  articles  for  those  of  my  family  who  may  be  in  Ohio, 
which  you  can  hand  to  my  brother  Jeremiah  when  you  may  see  him, 
together  with  fifteen  dollars  I  have  asked  him  to  advance  to  them. 
Please  excuse  me  so  often  troubling  you  with  my  letters  or  any  of 
my  matters.  Please  also  remember  me  most  kindly  to  Mr.  Griswold, 
and  to  all  others  who  love  their  neighbors.  I  write  Jeremiah  to 
your  care.  Your  friend  in  truth, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

To  Various  Friends. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  29,  1859. 

MY  DEAR  COVENANTER  [Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan], —  Notwithstand 
ing  I  now  get  daily  more  than  three  times  the  number  of  kind  letters 
I  can  possibly  answer,  I  cannot  deny  myself  the  satisfaction  of  say 
ing  a  few  words  to  a  stranger,  whose  feelings  and  whose  judgment 
so  nearly  coincide  with  my  own.  No  letter,  of  a  great  number  I 
have  got  to  cheer,  encourage,  and  advise  me,  has  given  more  heart 
warming  satisfaction  or  better  counsel  than  your  own.  I  hope  to 
profit  by  it ;  and  I  am  greatly  obliged  for  this  your  visit  to  my 
prison.  It  really  seemed  to  impart  new  strength  to  my  soul,  notwith 
standing  I  was  very  cheerful  before.  I  trust,  dear  brother,  that  God, 
in  infinite  grace  and  mercy  for  Christ's  sake,  will  neither  leave  me 
nor  forsake  me  till  I  "  have  showed  His  power  to  this  generation, 
and  his  strength  to  every  one  that  is  to  come."  I  would  most  gladly 
commune  further  as  we  journey  on  j  but  I  am  so  near  the  close  of 
mine  that  I  must  break  off,  however  reluctant. 

Farewell,  my  faithful  brother  in  Christ  Jesus  !     Farewell ! 

Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  29,  1859. 
MRS.  GEORGE  L.  STEARNS,  Boston,  Mass. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  No  letter  I  have  received  since  my  imprison 
ment  here  has  given  me  more  satisfaction  or  comfort  than  yours 
of  the  8th  instant.  I  am  quite  cheerful,  and  was  never  more  happy. 
Have  only  time  to  write  a  word.  May  God  forever  reward  you  and 
all  yours  !  My  love  to  all  who  love  their  neighbors.  I  have  asked 
to  be  spared  from  having  any  weak  or  hypocritical  prayers  made 
over  me  when  I  am  publicly  murdered,  and  that  my  only  religious 


nAfjfc,  cA^^sidcj^f,  . 

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1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  611 

attendants  be  poor  little  dirty,  ragged,  bareheaded,  and  barefooted 
slave  boys  and  girls,  led  by  some  old  gray-headed  slave  mother. 
Fr  rewell !     Farewell ! 

Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

This  is  the  copy  of  a  letter  that  Mrs.  Brown  brought  from 
Virginia,  and  sent  to  Mrs.  Stearns,  in  a  Bible. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY  PRISON,  VA.,  Nov.  29,  1859. 
J.  Q.  ANDERSON,  ESQ. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  of  the  23d  instant  is  received  ;  but 
notwithstanding  it  would  afford  me  the  utmost  pleasure  to  answer 
it  at  length,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  write  you  but  a  few  words. 
Jeremiah  G.  Anderson  was  fighting  bravely  by  my  side  at  Harper's 
Ferry  up  to  the  moment  when  I  fell  wounded,  and  I  took  no  further 
notice  of  what  passed  for  a  little  time.1  I  have  since  been  told  that 

1  At  this  point  may  be  introduced  the  letter  of  an  eye-witness  of  what 
happened  during  this  "little  time,"  when  the  hero  had  swooned  from  loss 
of  blood  and  pain,  and  was  believed  to  be  dead.  Mr.  Tayleure,  a  South 
Carolinian,  wrote  thus  to  John  Brown,  Jr.,  six  years  ago  :  — 

864  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK,  June  15,  1879. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Duty  took  me  to  Harper's  Ferry  at  the  time  of  the  raid  in  1859  (I  was 
then  connected  with  the  Baltimore  Press),  and  by  chance  I  was  brought  into  close  per 
sonal  contact  with  both  your  father  and  your  brother  Watson.  After  the  assault  I 
assisted  your  father  to  rise,  as  he  stumbled  forward  out  of  the  historic  engine-house  ; 
and  was  able  to  administer  to  your  brother,  just  before  he  died,  some  physical  comfort, 
which  won  me  his  thanks.  Subsequent  to  the  capture  of  the  party,  I  accompanied 
Captain  J.  E.  B.  Stuart  and  the  battalion  he  commanded  to  the  Kennedy  farm ;  and 
there,  by  another  strange  chance,  I  came  into  possession  of  a  number  of  papers  belong 
ing  to  your  father.  These  I  afterwards  delivered  to  Governor  Wise,  upon  his  requisition  ; 
but  there  yet  remains  in  my  possession  an  old  manifold  letter-writer  which  belonged  to 
your  father.  In  this  are  several  letters,  in  .his  handwriting,  entitled  "Sambo's  Mis 
takes,"  written,  apparently,  for  publication,  and  addressed  "To  the  Editor  of  the 
'  Ramshorn. '  "  They  contain  a  satirical  summing  up,  related  in  the  first  person,  of  the 
mistakes  and  weaknesses  common  to  the  colored  people.  This  book,  together  with  a 
common  carpet-bag,  a  red  and  white  check  blanket,  a  rifle,  pistol,  and  pike,  — all  of 
which  I  found  at  the  Kennedy  house,  —  I  kept,  and  yet  have,  I  think,  as  mementos  of 
that  tragic,  affair.  Two  or  three  years  ago  I  read  in  one  of  the  magazines  Owen  Brown's 
relation  of  his  escape  from  the  Ferry,  and  was  minded  to  supplement  it  with  my  narra 
tive  of  the  capture  and  its  incidents,  but  the  many  demands  upon  my  time  prevented 
my  doing  so. 

I  am  a  South  Carolinian,  and  at  the  time  of  the  raid  was  very  deeply  imbued  with 
the  political  prejudices  of  my  State ;  but  the  serenity,  calm  courage,  and  devotion  to 
duty  which  your  father  and  his  followers  then  manifested  impressed  me  very  pro 
foundly.  It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  respect  for  men  who  offer  up  their  lives  in  support 
of  their  convictions  ;  and  the  earnestness  of  my  respect  I  put  upon  record  in  a  Balti 
more  paper  the  day  succeeding  the  event.  I  gave  your  brother  a  cup  of  water  to  quench 
his  thirst  (this  was  at  about  7.30  on  the  morning  of  the  capture),  and  improvised  a 
couch  for  him  out  of  a  bench,  with  a  pair  of  overalls  for  a  pillow.  I  remember  how  he 
•looked,  —  singularly  handsome,  even  through  the  grime  of  his  all-day  struggles,  aud  the 


612  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

he  was  mortally  wounded  at  the  same  moment,  and  died  in  a  short 
time  afterwards.  I  believe  this  information  is  correct ;  but  I  have 
no  means  of  knowing  from  any  acquaintances,  not  being  allowed  in 
tercourse  with  other  prisoners,  except  one.  The  same  is  true  as  to 
the  death  of  one  of  my  own  sons.  I  have  no  doubt  but  both  are 
dead.  Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  29,  1859. 
S.  E.  SEWALL,  ESQ.,  Boston. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  most  kind  letter  of  the  24th  instant  is  re 
ceived.  It  does  indeed  give  me  u  pleasure  "  and  the  greatest  encour 
agement  to  know  of  any  efforts  that  have  been  made  in  behalf  of  my 
poor  and  deeply  afflicted  family.  It  takes  from  my  mind  the  greatest 
cause  of  sadness  I  have  experienced  during  my  imprisonment  here. 
I  feel  quite  cheerful,  and  ready  to  die.  I  can  only  say,  for  want  of 
time,  May  the  God  of  the  oppressed  and  the  poor  in  great  mercy 
remember  all  those  to  whom  we  are  so  deeply  indebted  ! 

Farewell !  Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

CHARLESTOWN,  VA.,  Nov.  30,  1859. 
DR.  THOS.  H.  WEBB,  Boston.1 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  would  most  gladly  comply  with  your  request 
most  kindly  made  in  your  letter  of  the  26th  inst.,  but  it  came  too 
late.  It  is  out  of  my  power.  Farewell :  God  bless  you  ! 

Your  friend,  JOHN  BROWN. 

intense  suffering  which  he  must  have  endured.  He  was  very  calm,  and  of  a  tone  and 
look  very  go.ntle.  The  look  with  which  he  searched  my  very  heart  I  can  never  forget. 
One  sentence  of  our  conversation  will  give  you  the  key-note  to  the  whole.  I  asked  him, 
"  What  brought  you  here?  "  He  replied,  very  patiently,  "Duty,  sir."  After  a  pause,  I 
again  asked  :  "  Is  it  then  your  idea  of  duty  to  shoot  men  down  upon  their  own  hearth 
stones  for  defending  their  rights  ?  "  He  answered  :  "  I  am  dying  ;  I  cannot  discuss  the 
question  ;  I  did  my  duty,  as  I  saw  it."  This  conversation  occurred  in  the  compartment 
^of  the  engine-house  adjoining  that  in  which  the  defence  had  been  made,  and  was  lis- 
/  tened  to  by  young  Coppoo  with  perfect  equanimity,  and  by  Shields  Green  with  uncon 
trollable  terror. 

I  met  at  Pittsburg.  some  years  ago,  Mr.  Richard  Realf  (if  that  is  the  name  ;  he  was 
connected  with  the  "  Commercial "  of  that  city) ;  and  on  relating  my  experience,  he  not 
only  expressed  much  interest  in  it,  but  said  he  thought  the  surviving  members  of  John 
Brown's  family  would  be  gratified  to  hear  what  I  had  to  tell  'Tis  in  remembrance  of 
Colonel  Realf  that  I  obey  the  impulse  to  write  you  now.  I  do  so  with  deep  earnestness 
and  with  respect.  The  war,  in  which  I  took  part  on  the  Southern  side,  eradicated 
many  errors  of  political  opinion,  and  gave  growth  to  many  established  truths  not  then 
recognized.  I  have,  for  my  own  part,  no  regrets  for  my  humble  shai'e  in  the  revolt ;  but 
I  have  now  to  say,  that  I  firmly  believe  the  war  was  ordained  of  God  for  the  extermina 
tion  of  slavery  ;  and  that  your  father  was  an  elected  instrument  for  the  commencement 
of  that  good  work.  1  am,  sir,  with  respect, 

Yours  truly,  C.  V.  TAYLEURE. 

1  This  note  refers  to  the  publication  of  a  photograph  of  Brown,  for  the 
benefit  of  his  family,  — the  same  mentioned  in  the  letter  to  T.  Hyatt. 


1859.1  JOHN  BROWN   IN  PRISON.  613 


John  Brown's  Last  Letter  to  his  Family. 

CHARLESTOWN  PRISON,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA., 
Nov.  30,  1859. 

MY    DEARLY    BELOVED    WlFE,    SONS,    AND    DAUGHTERS,   EVERY 

ONE,  —  As  I  now  begin  probably  what  is  the  last  letter  I  shall  ever 
write  to  any  of  you,  I  conclude  to  write  to  all  at  the  same  time.  I 
will  mention  some  little  matters  particularly  applicable  to  little 
property  concerns  in  another  place. 

I  recently  received  a  letter  from  my  wife,  from  near  Philadelphia, 
dated  November  22,  by  which  it  would  seem  that  she  was  about 
giving  up  the  idea  of  seeing  me  again.  I  had  written  her  to  come 
on  if  she  felt  equal  to  the  undertaking,  but  I  do  not  know  that  she 
will  get  my  letter  in  time.  It  was  on  her  own  account,  chiefly,  that 
1  asked  her  to  stay  back.  At  first  I  had  a  most  strong  desire  to  see 
her  again,  but  there  appeared  to  be  very  serious  objections ;  and 
should  we  never  meet  in  this  life,  I  trust  that  she  will  in  the  end  be 
satisfied  it  was  for  the  best  at  least,  if  not  most  for  her  comfort. 

I  am  waiting  the  hour  of  my  public  murder  with  great  composure 
of  mind  and  cheerfulness;  feeling  the  strong  assurance  that  in  no 
other  possible  way  could  I  be  used  to  so  much  advantage  to  the 
cause  of  God  and  of  humanity,  and  that  nothing  that  either  I  or  all 
my  family  have  sacrificed  or  suffered  will  he  lost.  The  reflection 
that  a  wise  and  merciful  as  well  as  just  and  holy  God  rules  not  only 
the  affairs  of  this  world  but  of  all  worlds,  is  a  rock  to  set  our  feet 
upon  under  all  circumstances,  — even  those  more  severely  trying  ones 
in  which  our  own  feelings  and  wrongs  have  placed  us.  I  have  now 
no  doubt  but  that  our  seeming  disaster  will  ultimately  result  in  the 
most  glorious  success.  So,  my  dear  shattered  and  broken  family,  be 
of  good  cheer,  and  believe  and  trust  in  God  with  all  your  heart 
and  with  all  your  soul ;  for  He  doeth  all  things  well.  Do  not  feel 
ashamed  on  my  account,  nor  for  one  moment  despair  of  the  cause  or 
grow  weary  of  well-doing.  I  bless  God  I  never  felt  stronger  confi 
dence  in  the  certain  and  near  approach  of  a  bright  morning  and  glo 
rious  day  than  I  have  felt,  and  do  now  feel,  since  my  confinement 
here.  I  am  endeavoring  to  return,  like  a  poor  prodigal  as  I  am,  to 
my  Father,  against  whom  I  have  always  sinned,  in  the  hope  that 
he  may  kindly  and  forgivingly  meet  me,  though  a  very  great  way 
off. 

Oh,  my  dear  wife  and  children,  would  to  God  you  could  know 
how  I  have  been  travailing  in  birth  for  you  all,  that  no  one  of  you 
may  fail  of  the  grace  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ ;  that  no  one  of 
you  may  be  blind  to  the  truth  and  glorious  light  of  his  Word,  in 


614  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN   BROWN.  [1859. 

which  life  and  immortality  are  brought  to  light.  I  beseech  you, 
every  one,  to  make  the  Bible  your  daily  and  nightly  study,  with  a 
child-like,  honest,  candid,  teachable  spirit  of  love  and  respect  for 
your  husband  and  father.  And  I  beseech  the  God  of  my  fathers  to 
open  all  your  eyes  to  the  discovery  of  the  truth.  You  cannot  im 
agine  how  much  you  may  soon  need  the  consolations  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Circumstances  like  my  own  for  more  than  a  month  past 
have  convinced  me,  beyond  all  doubt,  of  my  own  great  need  of  some 
theories  treasured  .up,  when  our  prejudices  are  excited,  our  vanity 
worked  up  to  the  highest  pitch.  Oh,  do  not  trust  your  eternal  all 
upon  the  boisterous  ocean,  without  even  a  helm  or  compass  to  aid 
you  in  steering  !  I  do  not  ask  of  you  to  throw  away  your  reason ; 
I  only  ask  you  to  make  a  candid,  sober  use  of  your  reason. 

My  dear  young  children,  will  you  listen  to  this  last  poor  admoni 
tion  of  one  who  can  only  love  you  ?  Oh,  be  determined  at  once  to 
give  your  whole  heart  to  God,  and  let  nothing  shake  or  alter  that 
resolution.  You  need  have  no  fears  of  regretting  it.  Do  not  be 
vain  and  thoughtless,  but  sober-minded ;  and  let  me  entreat  you  all 
to  love  the  whole  remnant  of  our  once  great  family.  Try  and  build 
up  again  your  broken  walls,  and  to  make  the  utmost  of  every  stone 
that  is  left.  Nothing  can  so  tend  to  make  life  a  blessing  as  the  con 
sciousness  that  your  life  and  example  bless  and  leave  others  stronger. 
Still,  it  is  ground  of  the  utmost  comfort  to  rny  mind  to  know  that  so 
many  of  you  as  have  had  the  opportunity  have  given  some  proof  of 
your  fidelity  to  the  great  family  of  men.  Be  faithful  unto  death : 
from  the  exercise  of  habitual  love  to  man  it  cannot  be  very  hard  to 
love  his  Maker. 

I  must  yet  insert  the  reason  for  my  firm  belief  in  the  divine  in 
spiration  of  the  Bible,  notwithstanding  I  am,  perhaps,  naturally 
sceptical,  —  certainly  not  credulous.  I  wish  all  to  consider  it  most 
thoroughly  when  you  read  that  blessed  book,  and  see  whether  you 
cannot  discover  such  evidence  yourselves.  It  is  the  purity  of  heart, 
filling  our  minds  as  well  as  work  and  actions,  which  is  everywhere 
insisted  on,  that  distinguishes  it  from  all  the  other  teachings,  that 
corrmiends  it  to  my  conscience.  Whether  my  heart  be  willing  and 
obedient  or  not,  the  inducement  that  it  holds  out  is  another  reason  of 
my  conviction  of  its  truth  and  genuineness ;  but  I  do  not  here  ornit 
this  my  last  argument  on  the  Bible,  that  eternal  life  is  what  my  soul 
is  panting  after  this  moment.  I  mention  this  as  a  reason  for  endea 
voring  to  leave  a  valuable  copy  of  the  Bible,  to  be  carefully  preserved 
in  remembrance  of  me,  to  so  many  of  my  posterity,  instead  of  some 
other  book  at  equal  cost. 

I  beseech  you  all  to  live  in  habitual  contentment  with  moderate 
circumstances  and  gains  of  worldly  store,  and  earnestly  to  teach  this 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  615 

to  your  children  and  children's  children  after  you,  by  example  as 
well  as  precept.  Be  determined  to  know  by  experience,  as  soon  as 
may  be,  whether  Bible  instruction  is  of  divine  origin  or  not.  Be 
sure  to  owe  no  man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another.  John 
Rogers  wrote  to  his  children  :  "  Abhor  that  arrant  whore  of  Rome." 
John  Brown  writes  to  his  children  to  abhor,  with  undying  hatred 
also,  that  sum  of  all  villanies,  —  slavery.  Remember,  "  he  that  is 
slow  to  anger  is  better  than  the  mighty,"  and  "he  that  ruleth  his 
spirit  than  he  that  taketh  a  city."  Remember  also  that  "  they  being 
wise  shall  shine,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the 
stars  for  ever  and  ever." 

And  now,  dearly  beloved  family,  to  God  and  the  work  of  his  grace 
I  commend  you  all. 

Your  affectionate  husband  and  father, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Nov.  30,  1859. 

MRS.  MARY  GALE  (or  the  writer  of  the  writing).1 

DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  have  only  time  to  give  you  the  names  of  those 
that  I  know  were  killed  of  my  company  at  Harper's  Ferry,  or  that 
are  said  to  have  been  killed;  namely,  two  Thompsons,  two  Browns, 
J.  Anderson,  J.  H.  Kagi,  Stewart  Taylor,  A.  Hazlett,  W.  H.  Lemau, 
and  three  colored  men.  Would  most  gladly  give  you  further  infor 
mation  had  I  the  time  and  ability. 

Your  friend, 

JOHN  BROWN. 


CHARLESTOWN  PRISON,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  YA., 

Dec.  1,  1859. 
To  MR.  JAMES  FOREMAN^ 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  —  I  have  only  time  to  say  I  got  your  kind 
letter  of  the  26th  of  November  this  evening.  Am  very  grateful  for 
all  the  good  feelings  expressed  by  yourself  and  wife.  May  God 
abundantly  bless  and  save  yon  all !  I  am  very  cheerful,  in  hopes  of 
entering  on  a  better  state  of  existence  in  a  few  hours,  through  in 
finite  grace  in  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.  Remember  u  the  poor  that 
cry,"  and  a  them  that  are  in  bonds  as  bound  with  them." 
Your  friend  as  ever, 

JOHN  BROWN. 

1  Written  to  the  sister  of  Charles  Plummer  Tidd,  one  of  those  who 
escaped  with  Owen  Brown. 

2  A  former  apprentice  when  Brown  was  a  tanner  in  Pennsylvania. 


616  LIFE   AND   LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

On  the  day  before  his  death,  when  with  his  wife,  the 
conversation  turned  upon  matters  of  business,  which  Brown 
desired  to  have  arranged  after  his  death.  He  gave  his  wife 
all  the  letters  and  papers  needed  for  this  purpose,  and  read 
to  her  the  will  which  had  been  drawn  up  for  him  by  Mr. 
Hunter,  carefully  explaining  every  portion  of  it. 

JOHN  BROWN'S  WILL. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Dec.  1,  1859. 

I  give  to  my  son  John  Brown,  Jr.,  my  surveyor's  compass  and 
other  surveyor's  articles,  if  found ;  also,  my  old  granite  monument, 
now  at  North  Elba,  N.  Y.,  to  receive  upon  its  two  sides  a  further  in 
scription,  as  I  will  hereafter  direct  j  said  stone  monument,  however, 
to  remain  at  North  Elba  so  long  as  any  of  my  children  and  my  wife 
may  remain  there  as  residents. 

I  give  to  my  son  Jason  Brown  my  silver  watch,  with  my  name 
engraved  on  inner  case. 

I  give  to  my  son  Owen  Brown  my  double-spring  opera-glass,  and 
my  rifle-gun  (if  found),  presented  to  me  at  Worcester,  Mass.  It  is 
globe-sighted  and  new.  I  give,  also,  to  the  same  son  $50  in  cash, 
to  be  paid  him  from  the  proceeds  of  my  father's  estate,  in  consider 
ation  of  his  terrible  suffering  in  Kansas  and  his  crippled  condition 
from  his  childhood. 

I  give  to  my  son  Salmon  Brown  $50  in  cash,  to  be  paid  him  from 
my  father's  estate,  as  an  offset  to  the  first  two  cases  above  named. 

I  give  to  my  daughter  Ruth  Thompson  my  large  old  Bible,  con 
taining  the  family  record. 

I  give  to  each  of  my  sons,  and  to  each  of  my  other  daughters,  my 
son-in-law,  Henry  Thompson,  and  to  each  of  my  daughters-in-law, 
as  good  a  copy  of  the  Bible  as  can  be  purchased  at  some  bookstore 
in  New  York  or  Boston,  at  a  cost  of  $5  each  in  cash,  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  my  father's  estate. 

I  give  to  each  of  my  grandchildren  that  may  be  living  when  my 
father's  estate  is  settled,  as  good  a  copy  of  the  Bible  as  can  be  pur 
chased  (as  above)  at  a  cost  of  $3  each. 

All  the  Bibles  to  be  purchased  at  one  and  the  same  time  for  cash, 
on  the  best  terms. 

I  desire  to  have  $50  each  paid  out  of  the  final  proceeds  of  my 
father's  estate  to  the  following  named  persons,  to  wit :  To  Allan 
Hammond,  Esq.,  of  Rockville,  Tolland  County,  Conn.,  or  to  George 
Kellogof,  Esq.,  former  agent  of  the  New  England  Company  at,  that 
place,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  that  company.  Also,  $50  to  Silas 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  617 

Havens,  formerly  of  Lewisburg,  Summit  County,  Ohio,  if  he  can  be 
found.  Also,  $50  to  a  man  of  Stark  County,  Ohio,  at  Canton,  who 
sued  my  father  in  his  lifetime,  through  Judge  Humphrey  and  Mr. 
Upsou  of  Akron,  to  be  paid  by  J.  R.  Brown  to  the  man  in  person,  if 
he  can  be  found  ;  his  name  I  cannot  remember.  My  father  made 
a  compromise  with  the  man  by  taking  our  house  and  lot  at  Munro- 
ville.  I  desire  that  any  remaining  balance  that  may  become  my  due 
from  my  father's  estate  may  be  paid  in  equal  amounts  to  my  wife 
and  to  each  of  my  children,  and  to  the  widows  of  Watson  and  Oliver 
Brown,  by  my  brother.  JOHN  BROWN. 

JOHN  Avis,  Witness. 

CODICIL. 

CHARLESTOWN,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  VA.,  Dec.  2,  1859. 

It  is  my  desire  that  my  wife  have  all  my  personal  property  not 
previously  disposed  of  by  me ;  and  the  entire  use  of  all  my  lauded 
property  during  her  natural  life  ;  and  that,  after  her  death,  the  pro 
ceeds  of  such  land  be  equally  divided  between  all  my  then  living 
children ;  and  that  what  would  be  a  child's  share  be  given  to  the 
children  of  each  of  my  two  sons  who  fell  at  Harper's  Ferry ;  and  that 
a  child's  share  be  divided  among  the  children  of  my  now  living  chil 
dren  who  may  die  before  their  mother  (my  present  beloved  wife). 
No  formal  will  can  be  of  use  when  my  expressed  wishes  are  made 
known  to  my  dutiful  and  beloved  family.  JOHN  BROWN. 

MY  DEAR  WIFE,  —  I  have  time  to  enclose  the  within  and  the 
above,  which  I  forgot  yesterday,  and  to  bid  you  another  farewell. 
"  Be  of  good  cheer,"  and  God  Almighty  bless,  save,  comfort,  guide, 
and  keep  you  to  the  end  ! 

Your  affectionate  husband,  JOHN  BROWN. 

This  was  undoubtedly  the  last  work  of  the  old  hero  with 
his  pen.  He  had  previously  given  directions  for  an  in 
scription  on  his  tombstone,  and  now  sent  his  wife  this  paper, 
which  was  brought  to  Mrs.  Brown  after  the  execution :  — 

TO    BE    INSCRIBED   ON   THE   OLD   FAMILY  MONUMENT   AT   NORTH    ELBA. 

OLIVER  BROWN,  born ,  1839,  was  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Va., 

Oct.  17,  1859. 

WATSON  BROWN,  born ,  1835,  was  wounded  at  Harper's  Ferry, 

Oct.  17,  and  died  Oct.  19,  1859. 

(My  wife  can  fill  up  the  blank  dates  as  above.) 

JOHN  BROWN,  born  May  9,  1800,  was  executed  at  Charlestown,  Va., 

Dec.  2,  1859. 


618  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

Brown's  frequent  mention  in  these  letters  of  his  oppor 
tunity  to  do  good  by  preaching  the  truth  to  men  who  came 
to  see  him  out  of  curiosity,  or  to  labor  with  him  for  his  sins, 
demands  some  explanation.  Although  fettered  and  guarded 
as  no  man  had  ever  been  in  Virginia  since  the  capture  of 
John  Smith  by  Powhatan  and  his  Indians,  John  Brown  was 
visited  by  the  sachems  and  priests  of  the  tribe  then  domi 
nant  in  Powhatan's  country,  and  by  many  good  men  who 
were  moved  by  his  courage  and  fidelity.  To  such  persons 
Brown  applied  his  touchstone  of  sincerity,  and  treated  them 
as  their  character  deserved,  whatever  their  opinions.  He 
was,  of  course,  often  visited  by  Virginia  clergymen  and 
itinerant  preachers,  desirous  of  praying  with  him  and  of 
converting  him  from  his  errors.  One  of  these  afterward 
said  that  when  he  offered  to  pray  with  Brown  the  old  man 
asked  if  he  was  willing  to  fight,  in  case  of  need,  for  the  free 
dom  of  the  slaves.  Receiving  a  negative  reply,  Brown  said : 
"  I  will  thank  you  to  leave  me  alone  ;  your  prayers  would 
be  an  abomination  to  my  God."  To  another  he  said  that  he 
"  would  not  insult  God  by  bowing  down  in  prayer  with  any 
one  who  had  the  blood  of  the  slave  on  his  skirts."  A  Meth 
odist  preacher  named  March  having  argued  to  Brown  in 
his  cell  in  favor  of  slavery  as  "  a  Christian  institution,"  his 
hearer  grew  impatient  and  replied  :  "  My  dear  sir,  you  know 
nothing  about  Christianity;  you  will  have  to  learn  its  A, 
B,  C;  I  find  you  quite  ignorant  of  what  the  word  Chris 
tianity  means."  Seeing  that  his  visitor  was  disconcerted  by 
such  plain  speaking,  Brown  added,  "  T  respect  you  as  a  gen 
tleman,  of  course  ;  but  it  is  as  a  heathen  gentleman."  J  To 

1  This  "heathen  gentleman"  seems  to  have  left  a  successor  at  Charles- 
town,  —  the  Presbyterian  minister  there  in  1882,  Abner  C.  Hopkins  by 
name,  who  in  that  year  wrote  to  the  English  author  Thomas  Hughes,  cor 
recting  certain  errors  of  fact  concerning  Brown,  and  then  adding,  ex  mero 
motu,  and  by  way  of  certifying  his  own  Christian  spirit  :  — 

"  We  know,  and  records  prove,  that  John  Brown,  after  full  and  fair  trial  before  the 
proper  civil  tribunal,  was  duly  convicted  of  murders,  including  a  negro  slave's.  .  .  . 
The  very  copy  of  the  Bible,  owned  and  used  by  him  in  jail  here,  lies  before  me.  Its 
passages  touching  'oppression,'  etc.,  are  heavily  and  frequently  pencilled,  but  no  pencil 
mark  distinguishes  or  emphasizes  a  single  passage  that  is  distinctively  Christian.  He  was 
religious,  but  not  Christian;  religion  was  the  crutch  on  which  his  fanaticism  walked. 
It  was  the  '  higher  law  '  religion,  under  whose  baleful  influence  many  tears  have  been 
wrung  from  the  innocent,  and  the  buttresses  of  governments  have  fairly  crumbled,  and 


1859.]  JOHN  BROWN  IN  PRISON.  619 

a  lady  who  visited  him  in  prison  he  said :  "I  do  not  believe 
I  shall  deny  my  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ,  as  I  should 
if  I  denied  iny  .principles  against  slavery.  Why,  I  preach 
against  it  all  the  time  ;  Captain  Avis  knows  I  do  ;  "  whereat 
his  jailer  smiled  and  said,  "Yes."  A  citizen  of  Charles- 
town,  named  Blessing,  had  dressed  Brown's  wounds  while 
in  prison,  and  had  shown  him  other  kind  attentions,  for 
which  Brown,  who  was  very  scrupulous  about  acknowledg 
ing  and  returning  favors,  desired  to  make  him  some  acknowl 
edgment.  On  one  of  the  last  days  of  November,  therefore, 
in  the  last  week  of  his  life,  Brown  sent  for  Mr.  Blessing, 
and  asked  him  to  accept  his  pocket  Bible  as  a  token  of  grat 
itude.  In  this  book,  which  was  a  cheap  edition  in  small 
print,  much  worn  by  use,  Brown  had  marked  many  hundred 
passages  bearing  witness  more  or  less  directly  against  hu 
man  slavery,  by  turning  down  the  corner  of  a  page  and  by 
heavy  pencillings  in  the  margin.  On  the  fly-leaf  he  had 
written  this  :  — 

To  JOHN  F.  BLESSING,  of  Charlestown,  Va.,  with  the  best  wishes 
of  the  undersigned,  and  his  sincere  thanks  for  many  acts  of  kindness 
received.  There  is  no  commentary  in  the  world  so  good,  in  order  to 
a  right  understanding  of  this  blessed  book,  as  an  honest,  childlike, 
and  teachable  spirit. 

JOHN  BROWN. 

CHARLESTOWN,  Nov.  29,  1859. 

He  had  written  his  own  name  as  owner  of  the  book  on 
the  opposite  page,  and  immediately  following  it  was  this 
inscription :  — 

the  order  and  stability  of  society  have  been  made  to  tremble  on  your  continent  and  ours. 
It  has  found  further  development  in  assassinations,  —of  the  Czar  in  Russia,  of  the  Em 
peror  in  Germany,  of  your  own  Lord  Lieutenant  and  Secretary  in  Ireland,  and  of  our 
own  President.  There  are  many  points  of  resemblance  between  the  behavior  of  John 
Brown  and  Guiteau ;  both  claimed  to  be  '  God's  man,'  to  be  doing  God's  work,  to  be 
receiving  strength  from  God ;  and  Guiteau  exceeded  Brown  in  the  resolution  with 
which  he  met  death." 

"New  Presbyter  is  but  old  priest  writ  large."  I  will  venture  to  call 
this  priest's  attention  to  one  or  two  passages  "distinctively  Christian." 
"But  the  chief  priests  and  elders  persuaded  the  multitude  that  they 
should  ask  Barabbas  and  destroy  Jesus."  —  Matt,  xxvii.  20.  "Then  cried 
they  all  again,  saying,  Not  this  man,  but  Barabbas.  Now  Barabbas  was  a 
robber."  —  John  xviii.  40. 


620  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

"  The  leaves  were  turned  down  by  him  while  in  prison  at  Charles- 
town.  But  a  small  part  of  those  passages  which  in  the  most  positive 
language  condemn  oppression  and  violence  are  marked." 

Possibly  the  very  last  paper  written  by  John  Brown  was 
this  sentence,  which  he  handed  to  one  of  his  guards  in  the 
jail  on  the  morning  of  his  execution  :  — 

CHARLESTOWN,  VA.,  Dec.  2,  1859. 

I.  John  Brown,  am  now  quite  certain  that  the  crimes  of  this  guilty 
land  will  never  be  purged  away  but  with  blood.  I  hadj  as  I  now 
think  vainly,  flattered  myself  that  without  very  much  bloodshed  it 
might  be  done. 

"Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission 
of  sins."  This  was  John  Brown's  old-fashioned  theology, 
which  the  nation  was  so  soon  to  verify  by  a  fierce  but  salu 
tary  civil  war.  In  my  earliest  serious  conversation  with 
him,  in  January,  1857,  when  he  assured  me  that  Christ's 
Golden  Kule  and  Jefferson's  Declaration  meant  the  same 
thing,  he  said  further  :  "  I  have  always  been  delighted  with 
the  doctrine  that  all  men  are  created  equal ;  and  to  my 
mind  it  is  like  the  Saviour's  command,  'Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself/  for  how  can  we  do  that  unless  our 
neighbor  is  equal  to  ourself  ?  That  is  the  doctrine,  sir ;  and 
rather  than  have  that  fail  in  the  world,  or  in  these  States, 
't  would  be  better  for  a  whole  generation  to  die  a  violent 
death.  Better  that  heaven  and  earth  pass  away  than  that 
one  jot  or  one  tittle  of  this  be  not  fulfilled."  Such  was  the 
faith  in  which  he  died. 


1859.]      DEATH  AND   CHARACTER   OF  JOHN  BROWN.     621 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   DEATH  AND   CHARACTER   OF   JOHN  BROWN. 


prison-life  of  Brown  may  be  inferred  from  his  let- 
ters  ;  but  there  were  sayings  of  his,  during  the  month 
between  his  sentence  and  its  execution,  which  have  been 
reported  by  those  who  talked  with  him  in  his  fetters.  To 
Mrs.  Spring,  of  New  York,  who  obtained  admission  to  his 
cell  November  6,  he  said  :  "  I  do  not  now  reproach  myself 
for  my  failure  ;  I  did  what  I  could.  I  think  I  cannot  better 
serve  the  cause  I  love  so  much  than  to  die  for  it  ;  and  in 
my  death  I  may  do  more  than  in  my  life.  The  sentence 
they  have  pronounced  against  me  does  not  disturb  me  in  the 
least  ;  this  is  not  the  first  time  I  have  looked  death  in  the 
face.  I  sleep  as  peacefully  as  an  infant  ;  or  if  I  am  wake 
ful,  glorious  thoughts  come  to  me,  entertaining  my  mind.  I 
do  not  believe  I  shall  deny  my  Lord  and  Master  Jesus 
Christ,  in  this  prison  or  on  the  scaffold  ;  but  I  should  do  so  if 
I  denied  my  principles  against  slavery.  I  have  been  trained 
to  hardships,"  added  Brown,  "but  I  have  one  unconquerable 
weakness  ;  I  have  always  been  more  afraid  of  going  into  an 
evening  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  than  of  meeting  a 
company  of  men  with  guns."  An  old  Pennsylvania  neigh 
bor,  Mr.  Lowry,  was  permitted  to  see  him  in  prison,  and 
asked  him  about  his  Kansas  campaigns.  "  Time  and  the 
honest  verdict  of  posterity,"  said  Brown,  "  will  approve 
every  act  of  mine  to  prevent  slavery  from  being  established 
in  Kansas.  I  never  shed  the  blood  of  a  fellow-man,  except 
in  self-defence,  or  in  promotion  of  a  righteous  cause."  Dur 
ing  this  conversation  Governor  Wise  was  reviewing  the  Vir 
ginia  militia  near  the  prison,  and  the  drums  and  trumpets 
made  a  great  noise.  His  friend  said  :  "  Does  this  martial 
music  annoy  you  ?  "  "  Not  in  the  least,"  said  Brown,  "  it  is 


622  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

inspiring.  Tell  my  friends  without  that  I  am  cheerful."1 
A  son  of  Governor  Wise  soon  after  accompanied  a  Virginia 
colonel  to  Brown's  cell,  when  the  colonel  asked  him  if  he 
desired  the  presence  of  a  clergyman  to  give  him  "  the  con 
solations  of  religion."  Brown  repeated  what  he  had  said  to 
the  Methodists,  —  that  he  did  not  recognize  as  Christians 
any  slaveholders  or  defenders  of  slavery,  lay  or  clerical ;  add 
ing  that  he  would  as  soon  be  attended  to  the  scaffold  by 
"blacklegs"  or  robbers  of  the  worst  kind2asby  slaveholding 
ministers  ;  if  he  had  his  choice  he  would  rather  be  followed 
to  his  "  public  murder,"  as  he  termed  his  execution,  by 
"  barefooted,  barelegged,  ragged  slave  children  and  their 
old  gray-headed  slave  mother,"  than  by  such  clergymen.  "  I 
should  feel  much  prouder  of  such  an  escort,"  he  said,  "  and 
I  wish  I  could  have  it."  From  this  saying  of  his,  several 
times  repeated,  no  doubt  arose  the  legend,  that  on  his  way 
to  the  gallows  he  took  up  a  little  slave-child,  kissed  it,  and 
gave  it  back  to  its  mother's  arms.8  On  the  same  day  with 
this  interview,  Brown  was  again  questioned  concerning  the 
Pottawatomie  executions,  and  said,  as  he  uniformly  had  done 
since  that  deed,  "  I  did  not  kill  any  of  those  men,  but  I 

1  "A  music  heard  by  thee  alone 
To  works  as  noble  led  thee  on." 

EMERSON'S  Threnody. 

2  "  Virginia,"  said  Wendell  Phillips  at  Brooklyn,  while  Brown  lay  in 
prison,  "is  only  another  Algiers.  The  barbarous  horde  who  gag  each 
other,  imprison  women  for  teaching  children  to  read,  prohibit  the  Bible, 
sell  men  on  the  auction-block,  abolish  marriage,  condemn  half  their  wo 
men  to  prostitution,  and  devote  themselves  to  the  breeding  of  human 
beings  for  sale,  is  only  a  larger  and  blacker  Algiers.  The  only  prayer  of 
a  true  man  for  such  is,  '  Gracious  heaven  !  unless  they  repent,  send  soon 
their  Exmouth  and  Decatur.'"  It  was  not  long  till  Grant  and  Sheridan. 

3  It  was  physically  impossible  that  this  should  have  happened,  for  before 
Brown  left  the  jail  his  hands  were  fastened  behind  his  back,  as  usual  with 
condemned  criminals.  His  jailer,  Avis,  now  dead,  testified  April  25,  1882, 
thus  :  "  Brown  was  between  Sheriff  Campbell  and  me,  and  a  guard  of  sol 
diers  surrounded  him  and  allowed  no  person  to  come  between  them  and  the 
prisoner,  from  the  jail  to  the  scaffold,  except  his  escorts.  .  .  .  The  only 
thing  that  he  said  at  or  on  the  scaffold  was  to  take  leave  of  us,  and  then, 
just  about  the  time  the  noose  was  adjusted,  he  said,  '  Be  quick.'  I  did 
not  think  his  bearing  on  the  scaffold  was  conspicuous  for  its  heroism,  — yet 
not  cowardly." 


1859.]      DEATH    AND  CHARACTER  OF  JOHN  BROWN.     623 

approved  of  their  killing."  He  expressed  pleasure  that  his 
body  was  ordered  by  Governor  Wise  to  be  delivered  to  his 
wife  for  burial  at  North  Elba,  and  requested  his  jailer  to 
assist  Mrs.  Brown,  not  only  in  this,  but  in  getting  together 
the  remains  of  his  sons  and  the  other  farmers  of  North 
Elba  who  had  been  slain  at  Harper's  Ferry,  for  burial  with 
him,  —  expressing  the  wish  that  their  bodies  should  be 
burned,  and  the  bones  and  ashes  conveyed  to  his  Adirondae 
home.1  In  regard  to  his  own  rescue  from  prison  he  had 
previously  said :  "  I  doubt  if  I  ought  to  encourage  any 
attempt  to  save  my  life.  I  may  be  wrong,  but  I  think  that 
my  great  object  will  be  nearer  its  accomplishment  by  my 
death  than  by  my  life.  I  must  give  some  thought  to  this." 
Having  reflected  on  it,  he  said  a  few  days  before  his  death : 
"  I  am  sure  my  sons  cannot  look  forward  to  niy  fate  with 
out  some  effort  to  rescue  me  ;  but  this  only  in  case  I  am 
allowed  to  remain  in  prison  for  some  time  with  no  more 
than  ordinary  precautions  against  escape.  No  such  attempt 
will  be  made  in  view  of  the  large  military  force  now  upon 
guard."  In  fact,  he  had  intimated  to  his  friends  that  he 
did  not  wish  to  be  rescued,2  and  it  soon  became  evident  to 
all,  as  it  was  directly  revealed  to  Brown,  that  his  death, 
like  Samson's,  was  to  be  his  last  and  greatest  victory. 

1  He  did  not  make  this  suggestion  in  regard  to  his  own  remains,  but 
only  of  those  who  had  then  been  dead  six  weeks  ;  nor  did  he  suggest  it  to 
Mrs.  Brown  at  all,  as  she  told  me  in  1882.     She  added  that  the  published 
account  of  her  interview  with  her  husband  the  day  before  his  death  was 
incorrect. 

2  I  was  in  daily  communication  with  Brown's  friends  during  November, 
and  learned  this  with  certainty.    Mr.  Emerson  proposed  that  some  gentle 
men  from  the  North  should  visit  Governor  Wise,  and  urge  upon  him  the 
reprieve  of  Brown,  and  Mr.  Alcott  offered  to  go  on  this  errand.      On  the 
10th  of  November  I  answered  Mr.  Emerson's  suggestion  thus  :— - 

"  There  is  hope  in  every  effort  to  save  Brown,  but  not  much,  as  it  would 
seem,  in  the  representations  of  a  private  gentleman  to  Governor  Wise,  who 
is  in  this  matter  the  servant  of  others.  It  is  the  Bdlua  multorum  capitum 
of  Virginia  that  will  execute  the  sentence  if  it  is  done  ;  and  that  is  perhaps 
implacable.  Escape,  difficult  as  it  seems,  is  probably  Brown's  best  chance 
for  life.  If  a  reprieve,  or  an  arrest  of  judgment  for  another  month  were 
possible,  a  rescue  would  not  be  so  hard  to-  manage.  Brown's  heroic  char 
acter  is  having  its  influence  ou  Ms-  keepers,  as  we  learn;  but  at  present  he 
does  not  ivish  to  escape." 


624  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

"  Living  or  dying,  thou  hast  fulfilled 
The  work  for  which  thou  wast  foretold 
To  Israel,  and  now  liest  victorious 
Among  thy  slain,  self-killed,  — 
Not  willingly,  but  tangled  in  the  fold 
Of  dire  necessity  ;  whose  law  in  death  conjoined 
Thee  with  thy  slaughtered  foes,  in  number  more 
Than  all  thy  life  had  slain  before." 

It  was  perhaps  through  the  Russells,  of  Boston,  the  first 
of  his  personal  friends  to  visit  him,  that  we  learned  his  in 
tuition  concerning  a  rescue.  Judge  Russell  and  his  wife 
hastened  from  Boston  as  soon  as  it  seemed  expedient  for 
any  of  his  Antislavery  associates  to  attempt  the  difficult 
task  of  an  interview  with  Brown,  —  the  former  going  to 
counsel  with  him  as  a  lawyer  in  his  defence,  and  Mrs.  Rus 
sell,  with  a  woman's  instinct,  joining  in  this  journey.  She 
took  her  needle  with  her,  mended  his  torn  and  cut  gar 
ments,  sent  the  guard  out  of  the  room  for  a  clothes-brush, 
and  exchanged  a  few  words  privately  with  the  martyr.  Of 
this  visit  Judge  Russell  says  :  — 

lt  I  was  just  in  time  to  hear  the  sentence  of  death  pronounced  on 
Brown,  and  to  hear  that  magnificent  speech  in  which,  instead  of  as 
suming  that  his  hearers  were  Christians,  and  arguing  on  that  basis, 
he  said  :  '  I  see  a  hook  kissed  here  which  I  suppose  to  be  the  Bible, 
or  at  least  the  New  Testament/  from  which  he  inferred  that  Chris 
tianity  was  not  quite  unknown.  I  then  went  with  Mrs.  Russell  to 
see  him  in  the  jail,  and  found  him  in  the  best  of  spirits.  He  said : 
i  t  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the  manner  of  my  death  ;  the  disgrace 
of  hanging  does  not  trouble  me  in  the  least.  Indeed,  I  know  that 
the  very  errors  by  which  my  scheme  was  marred  were  decreed  be 
fore  the  world  was  made.  I  had  no  more  to  do  with  the  course  I 
pursued  than  a  shot  leaving  a  cannon  has  to  do  with  the  spot  where 
it  shall  fall/  He  was  satisfied  with  what  he  had  done." 

I  pass  over  the  farewell  between  Brown  and  his  wife  the 
day  before  his  death ;  it  was  simple  and  heroic,  in  keeping 
with  the  character  of  both.  They  supped  with  the  jailer  in 
his  own  apartment ;  and  thus,  perhaps  for  the  first  time, 
the  condemned  man  was  allowed  to  leave  his  cell,  after  sen 
tence  and  before  the  day  of  execution.  Upon  that  morn 
ing,  Dec.  2,  1859,  he  was  led  from  his  cell  to  say  farewell 


1859.]      DEATH   AND   CHARACTER   OF  JOHN  BROWN.     625 

toJiis  companions.  Copeland  and  Shields  Green  were  con 
fined  together  ;  Cook  and  Coppoc  were  in  another  cell,  and 
Stephens  by  himself.  To  the  two  faithful  colored  men 
Brown  said :  "  Stand  up  like  men,  and  do  not  betray  your 
friends  !  "  To  Cook,  who  had  made  a  confession,  Brown 
said  :  "  You  have  made  false  statements,  —  that  I  sent  you 
to  Harper's  Ferry :  you  knew  I  protested  against  your  com 
ing."  Cook  demurred,  but  dropped  his  head,  and  replied  at 
last,  "  Captain  Brown,  you  and  I  remember  differently." 
To  Coppoc,  Brown  said :  "  You  also  made  false  statements, 
but  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  have  contradicted  them.  Stand 
up  like  a  man  !  "  He  shook  the  hands  of  all,  and  gave  to 
each  a  small  silver  coin  for  remembrance.  With  Stephens 
his  interview  was  more  intimate ;  for  he  had  greatly  relied 
on  this  stout  soldier.  "  Good  by,  Captain,"  said  Stephens  ; 
"  I  know  you  are  going  to  a  better  land."  "  I  know  I  am," 
was  the  reply  ;  "  bear  up,  as  you  have  done,  and  never  be 
tray  your  friends."  Brown  would  not  visit  the  sixth  pris 
oner,  Hazlett,  —  always  persisting  that  he  did  not  know 
such  a  man.1 

Meantime  the  soldiers  of  Virginia,  more  than  two  thou 
sand  in  number,  were  mustered  in  the  field  where  the  gal 
lows  had  been  erected,  with  cannon  and  cavalry,  and  all  the 
pomp  of  war.  At  eleven  o'clock  Brown  came  forth  from 
his  prison,  walking  firmly  and  cheerfully,  and  mounted  the 
wagon  which  was  to  carry  him  to  the  scaffold.  He  sat  be 
side  his  jailer,  and  cast  his  eyes  over  the  town,  the  soldiery, 
the  near  fields,  and  the  distant  hills,  behind  which  rose  the 
mountains  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  He  glanced  at  the  sun  and 
sky,  taking  his  leave  of  earth,  and  said  to  his  companions : 
"  This  is  a  beautiful  country ;  I  have  not  cast  my  eyes  over 
it  before,  —  that  is,  in  this  direction."  Reaching  the  scaf 
fold,  he  ascended  the  steps,  and  was  the  first  to  stand  upon 
it,  —  erect  and  calm,  and  with  a  smile  on  his  face.  With 
his  pinioned  hands  he  took  off  his  hat,  cast  it  on  the  scaf 
fold  beside  him,  and  thanked  his  jailer  again  for  his  kindness, 

1  One  of  Brown's  prison  guards  says  :  "He  was  a  brave  man,  and  had 
the  utmost  contempt  for  a  coward.  He  did  not  seem  to  care  what  became 
of  him  after  the  capture,  but  his  whole  mind  seemed  to  be  bent  on  saving 
the  men  who  were  taken  with  him  ;  and  he  pretended  not  to  know  them." 

40 


626  LIFE  -AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.  [1859. 

submitting  quietly  to  be  closer  pinioned  and  to  have  the 
cap  drawn  over  his  eyes  and  the  rope  adjusted  to  his  neck. 
"  I  can't  see,  gentlemen,"  said  he  ;  "  you  must  lead  me ; " 
and  he  was  placed  on  the  drop  of  the  gallows.  "  I  am  ready 
at  anytime,  —  do  not  keep  me  waiting,"  were  his  last  re 
ported  words.  No  dying  speech  was  permitted  to  him,  nor 
were  the  citizens  allowed  to  approach  the  scaffold,  which  was 
surrounded  only  by  militia.1  He  desired  to  make  no  speech, 
but  only  to  endure  his  fate  with  dignity  and  in  silence. 
The  ceremonies  of  his  public  murder  were  duly  performed ; 
and  when  his  body  had  swung  for  nearly  an  hour  on  the 
gibbet,  in  sight  of  earth  and  heaven,  for  a  witness  against 
our  nation,  it  was  lowered  to  its  coffin  and  delivered  to  his 
widow,  who  received  and  accompanied  it  through  shud 
dering  cities  to  the  forest  hillside  where  it  lies  buried. 
The  most  eloquent  lips  in  America  pronounced  his  funeral 
eulogy  beside  this  grave ;  while  in  hundreds  of  cities  and 
villages  his  death  was  sadly  commemorated.  The  Civil 
War  followed  hard  upon  his  execution ;  and  the  place  of  his 
capture  and  death  became  the  frequent  JDattle-ground  of  the 
fratricidal  armies.  Not  until  freedom  was  declared,  and 
the  slaves  liberated  as  Brown  had  planned,  —  by  force,  — 
was  victory  assured  to  the  cause  of  the  country. 

I  knew  John  Brown  well.  He  was  what  all  his  speeches, 
letters,  and  actions  avouch  him,  —  a  simple,  brave,  heroic 
person,  incapable  of  anything  selfish  or  base.  But  above 
and  beyond  these  personal  qualities,  he  was  what  we  may 
best  term  a  historic  character ;  that  is,  he  had,  like  Cromwell, 
•a,  certain  predestined  relation  to  the  political  crisis  of  his 
time,  for  which  his  character  fitted  him,  and  which,  had  he 
striven  against  it,  he  could  not  avoid.  Like  Cromwell  and 
all  the  great  Calvinists,  he  was  an  unquestioning  believer  in 
God's  fore-ordination  and  the  divine  guidance  of  human 

1  Among  the  Virginia  militia,  pompously  parading,  who  surrounded  the 
scaffold,  was  John  Wilkes  Booth  (afterward  the  assassin  of  Abraham  Lin 
coln),  who  was  then  an  actor  at  Richmond,  and  left  his  theatre  to  join  Com 
pany  F  from  that  city.  This  fact  is  given  by  the  Virginia  correspondent 
of  the  "New  York  Tribune,"  Nov.  28,  1859.  Booth  assisted,  therefore, 
at  the  two  chief  murders  of  his  time,  —  "  Washington  slaying  Spartacus," 
as  Victor  Hugo  said,  and  Sicarius  slaving  the  second  Washington. 


1859.]      DEATH   AND   CHARACTER   OF   JOHN  BROWN.     627 

affairs.  Of  course,  he  could  not  rank  with  Cromwell  or  with 
many  inferior  men  in  leadership ;  but  in  this  God-appointed, 
inflexible  devotion  to  his  object  in  life  he  was  inferior  to  no 
man ;  and  he  rose  in  fame  far  above  more  gifted  persons  be 
cause  of  this  very  fixedness  and  simplicity  of  character. 
His  renown  is  secure. 

A  few  words  may  be  given  to  the  personal  traits  of  this 
hero.  When  I  first  saw  him,  he  was  in  his  fifty-seventh 
year,  and  though  touched  with  age  and  its  infirmities,  was 
still  vigorous  and  active,  and  of  an  aspect  which  would  have 
made  him  distinguished  anywhere  among  men  who  know 
how  to  recognize  courage  and  greatness  of  mind.  At  that 
time  he  was  close  shaven,  and  no  flowing  beard,  as  in  later 
years,  softened  the  expression  of  his  firm  wide  mouth  and 
positive  chin.  That  beard,  long  and  gray,  which  nearly  all 
his  portraits  now  show,  added  a  picturesque  finish  to  a  face 
that  was  in  all  its  features  severe  and  masculine,  yet  with  a 
latent  tenderness.  His  eyes  were  those  of  an  eagle,  — 
piercing  blue-gray  in  color,  not  very  large,  looking  out  from 
under  brows 

"Of  dauntless  courage  and  considerate  pride," 

and  were  alternately  flashing  with  energy,  or  drooping  and 
hooded  like  the  eyes  of  an  eagle.  His  hair  was  dark-brown, 
sprinkled  with  gray,  short  and  bristling,  and  shooting  back 
from  a  forehead  of  middle  height  and  breadth  ;  his  nose  was 
aquiline  ;  his  ears  large  ;  his  frame  angular  ;  his  voice  deep 
and  metallic  ;  his  walk  positive  and  intrepid,  though  com 
monly  slow.  His  manner  was  modest,  and  in  a  large  com 
pany  diffident ;  he  was  by  no  means  fluent  of  speech,  but 
his  words  were  always  to  the  point,  and  his  observations 
original,  direct,  and  shrewd.  His  mien  was  serious  and 
patient  rather  than  cheerful;  it  betokened  the  "sad  wise 
valor  "  which  Herbert  praises  ;  but  though  earnest  and  often 
anxious,  it  was  never  depressed.  In  short,  he  was  then,  to 
the  eye  of  insight,  what  he  afterward  seemed  to  the  world, 
—  a  brave  and  resolved  man,  conscious  of  a  work  laid  upon 
him,  and  confident  that  he  should  accomplish  it.  His 
figure  was  tall,  slender,  and  commanding;  his  bearing 
military;  and  his  garb  showed  a  singular  blending  of  the 


628  LIFE   AND  LETTERS  OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

soldier  and  the  deacon.  He  had  laid  aside  in  Chicago 
the  torn  and  faded  summer  garments  which  he  wore 
throughout  his  Kansas  campaign,  and  I  saw  him  at  one 
of  those  rare  periods  in  his  life  when  his  clothes  were 
new.  He  wore  a  complete  suit  of  brown  broadcloth  or  ker 
seymere,  cut  in  the  fashion  of  a  dozen  years  before,  and 
giving  him  the  air  of  a  respectable  deacon  in  a  rural  parish. 
But  instead  of  a  collar  he  had  on  a  high  stock  of  patent 
leather,  such  as  soldiers  used  to  wear,  a  gray  military  over 
coat  with  a  cape,  and  a  fur  cap.  He  was,  in  fact,  a  Puritan 
soldier,  such  as  were  common  in  Cromwell's  day,  though  not 
often  seen  since.  Yet  his  heart  was  averse  to  bloodshed, 
gentle,  tender,  and  devout. 

Mr.  Leonard,  already  quoted,  who  knew  him  at  the  age 
of  fifty,  says  :  — 

"It  is  almost  impossible  to  convey  by  writing  his  appearance.  I 
can  see  it  plainly,  —  that  firm,  decided  set  of  the  mouth,  a  certain 
nervous  twitch  of  the  head  ;  but  the  flash  of  his  eye,  who  can  de 
scribe  it  f  It  spoke  the  soul  of  the  man,  and  carried  conviction  to 
every  one  that  he  was  in  thorough  earnest.  In  Redpath's  *  Life ' 
there  is  a  good  engraving  of  the  old  man,  when  he  had  drawn  him 
self  up  into  his  lofty  look,  which  he  sometimes  did  ;  but  generally 
he  earned  his  head  pitched  forward  and  a  little  down,  and  shoved  his 
right  shoulder  forward  in  walking.  And  he  could  look  pleasant, — 
as  I  have  witnessed  many  a  time,  when  I  have  been  bantering  him 
about  something." 

Frederick  Douglass  says  :  — 

"  In  person  he  was  lean,  strong,  and  sinewy  ;  of  the  best  New 
England  mould,  built  for  times  of  trouble,  fitted  to  grapple  with  the 
flintiest,  hardships.  Clad  in  plain  American  woollen,  shod  in  boots  of 
cowhide  leather,  and  wearing  a  cravat  of  the  same  substantial  mate 
rial  ;  under  six  feet  high,  less  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  in 
weight,  aged  about  fifty,  —  he  presented  a  figure  straight  and  sym 
metrical  as  a  mountain  pine.  His  bearing  was  singularly  impres 
sive.  His  head  was  not  large,  but  compact  and  high.  His  hair  was 
coarse,  strong,  slightly  gray,  and  closely  trimmed,  and  grew  low  on 
his  forehead.  His  face  was  smoothly  shaved,  and  revealed  a  strong 
square  mouth,  supported  by  a  broad  and  prominent  chin.  His  eyes 
were  bluish  gray,  and  in  conversation  they  were  full  of  light  and 
fire.  When  on  the  street,  he  moved  with  a  long,  springing,  race- 


1859.]      DEATH  AND   CHARACTER  OF   JOHN  BROWN.     629 

horse  step,  absorbed  by  his  own   reflections,  neither  seeking  nor 
shunning  observation." 

Such  were  his  outward  traits  and  belongings.  The  in 
ward  man  was  of  singular  faith  and  constancy.  Of  his  last 
few  months  in  life  Mr.  Wilder  speaks  thus :  — 

"  Think  of  the  slow  movement  to  the  Kennedy  farm,  the  mystery, 
the  anxiety  about  money,  the  opposition  of  Douglass,  the  resignation 
of  his  leadership  by  Brown,  bad  health,  —  in  that  most  dispiriting 
of  all  diseases,  the  ague,  —  and  yet  the  man  goes  forward  !  What 
courage,  what  faith  !  Common  men  live  for  years  in  despair,  with 
only  ordinary  bad  luck  to  contend  with ;  but  here  is  a  man  abso 
lutely  alone,  exiled  from  family,  among  hostile  strangers,  where  bar 
barism  is  made  popular  by  law  and  by  fashion,  —  yet  never  in  de 
spair.  Why  this  contrast  I  He  believed  in  God  and  justice,  and  in 
nothing  else  j  we  believe  in  everything  else,  but  not  in  God." 

It  is  easy  now  to  perceive  the  true  mission  of  Brown,  and 
to  measure  the  force  of  the  avalanche  set  in  motion  by  him. 
But  to  the  vision  of  genius  and  the  illuminated  moral  sense 
this  was  equally  perceptible  in  1859-60 ;  and  it  was  declared, 
in  words  already  cited,  by  Emerson,  Alcott,  and  Thoreau. 
No  less  clearly  and  prophetically  was  it  declared  by  Victor 
Hugo,  and  by  the  saintly  pastor  of  Wayland,  Edmond  Sears. 
On  the  day  of  Brown's  execution,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
funeral  services  we  were  holding  at  Concord,  Mr.  Sears,  who 
had  made  the  opening  prayer,  wrote  these  lines  in  the  Town 
Hall,1  where  Brown  had  twice  addressed  the  sons  of  those 
yeomen  who  fought  at  Concord  Bridge  :  — 

"  Not  any  spot  six  feet  by  two 

"Will  hold  a  man  like  thee  ; 
John  Brown  will  tramp  the  shaking  earth 

From  Blue  Ridge  to  the  sea, 
Till  the  strong  angel  come  at  last 

And  opes  each  dungeon  door, 
And  God's  Great  Charter  holds  and  waves 

O'er  all  his  humble  poor. 

1  Mr.  Alcott's  Diary  (Dec.  2,  1859)  says  :  "Ellen  Emerson  sends  me 
her  fair  copy  of  the  Martyr  Service.  At  2  P.  M.  we  meet  at  the  Town  Hall, 
our  own  townspeople  present  mostly,  and  many  from  the  adjoining  towns. 
Simon  Brown  is  -chairman  ;  the  readings  are  by  Thoreau,  Emerson,  0. 
Bowers,  and  Alcott ;  and  Sanborn's  '  Dirge '  is  sung  by  the  company, 


630  LIFE   AND   LETTERS   OF   JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

"And  then  the  humble  poor  will  come 

In  that  far-distant  day, 
And  from  the  felon's  nameless  grave 

They  '11  brush  the  leaves.away  ; 
And  gray  old  men  will  point  the  spot 

Beneath  the  pine-tree  shade, 
As  children  ask  with  streaming  eyes 

Where  Old  John  Brown  is  laid." 

On  the  same  day,  from  his  place  of  exile  in  Guernsey, 
Victor  Hugo  thus  addressed  the  American  republic :  — 

"  At  the  thought  of  the  United  States  of  America,  a  majestic  form 
rises  in  the  mind,  —  Washington.  In  this  country  of  Washington 
what  is  now  taking  place  I  There  are  slaves  in  the  South ;  and  this 
most  monstrous  of  inconsistencies  offends  the  logical  conscience  of 
the  North.  To  free  these  black  slaves,  John  Brown,  a  white  man,  a 
free  man,  began  the  work  of  their  deliverance  in  Virginia.  A  Puri 
tan,  austerely  religious,  inspired  by  the  evangel,  '  Christ  hath  set 
us  free,'  he  raised  the  cry  of  emancipation.  But  the  slaves,  unmanned 
by  servitude,  made  no  response;  for  slavery  stops  the  ears  of  the 
soul.  John  Brown,  thus  left  alone,  began  the  contest.  With  a  hand 
ful  of  heroic  men  he  kept  up  the  fight ;  riddled  w-ith  bullets,  his  two 
youngest  sons,  sacred  martyrs,  falling  at  his  side,  he  was  at  last 
captured.  His  trial  ?  It  took  place,  not  in  Turkey,  but  in  America. 
Such  things  are  not  done  with  impunity  under  the  eyes  of  the  civil 
ized  world.  The  conscience  of  mankind  is  an  open  eye ;  let  the 
court  at  Charlestown  understand — Hunter  and  Parker,  the  slave- 
holding  jurymen,  the  whole  population  of  Virginia  —  that  they  are 
watched.  This  has  not  been  done  in  a  corner.  John  Brown,  con 
demned  to  death,  is  to  be  hanged  to-day.  His  hangman  is  not  the 
attorney  Hunter,  nor  the  judge  Parker,  nor  Governor  Wise,  nor  the 
little  State  of  Virginia,  —  his  hangman  (we  shudder  to  think  it  and 
say  it !)  is  the  whole  American  republic.  .  .  .  Politically  speaking, 
the  murder  of  Brown  will  be  an  irrevocable  mistake.  It  will  deal 
the  Union  a  concealed  wound,  which  will  finally  sunder  the  States. 
Let  America  know  and  consider  that  there  is  one  thing  more  shock 
ing  than  Cain  killing  Abel,  —  it  is  Washington  killing  Spartacus." 

standing.  The  bells  are  not  rung.  I  think  not  more  than  one  or  two  of 
Brown's  friends  wished  them  to  be  ;  I  did  not.  It  was  more  fitting  to 
signify  our  sorrow  in  the  subdued  way,  and  silently,  than  by  any  clamor 
of  steeples  or  the  awakening  of  angry  feelings  or  any  conflict,  as  needless 
as  unamiable,  between  neighbors.  The  services  are  affecting  and  impres 
sive,  distinguished  by  modesty,  simplicity,  and  earnestness,  —  worthy  alike 
of  the  occasion  and  of  the  man." 


1859.]      DEATH  AND  CHARACTER  OF   JOHN  BROWN.     631 

A  few  months  later  (March  30,  1860)  Victor  Hugo  wrote 
again :  — 

"  Slavery  in  all  its  forms  will  disappear.  What  the  South  slew 
last  December  was  not  John  Brown,  but  Slavery.  Henceforth,  no 
matter  what  President  Buchanan  may  say  in  his  shameful  message, 
the  American  Union  must  be  considered  dissolved.  Between  the 
North  and  the  South  stands  the  gallows  of  Brown.  Union  is  no 
longer  possible  :  such  a  crime  cannot  be  shared." 

Again,  upon  the  triumph  of  Garibaldi  in  Sicily,  Victor 
Hugo  said  (June  18,  1860)  :  — 

"  Grand  are  the  liberators  of  mankind  !  Let  them  hear  the  grate 
ful  applause  of  the  nations,  whatever  their  fortune !  Yesterday  we 
gave  our  tears;  to-day  our  hosannas  are  heard.  Providence  deals  in 
these  compensations.  John  Brown  failed  in  America,  but  Garibaldi 
has  triumphed  in  Europe.  Mankind,  shuddering  at  the  infamous 
gallows  of  Charlestown,  takes  courage  once  more  at  the  flashing 
sword  of  Catalafirni."  l 

Although  the  course  of  events  in  America  did  not  follow 
the  exact  line  anticipated  by  the  French  republican,  the 
general  result  was  what  he  had  foreseen,  —  that  the  achieve 
ment  and  death  of  John  Brown  made  future  compromises 
between  slavery  and  freedom  impossible.  What  he  did  in 
Kansas  for  a  single  State,  he  did  in  Virginia  for  the  whole 
nation,  —  nay,  for  the  whole  world. 

It  has  been  sometimes  asked  in  what  way  Brown  per 
formed  this  great  work  for  the  world,  since  he  won  no  bat 
tle,  headed  no  party,  repealed  no  law,  and  could  not  even 
save  his  own  life  from  an  ignominious  penalty.  In  this 
respect  he  resembled  Socrates,  whose  position  in  the  world's 
history  is  yet  fairly  established  ;  and  the  parallel  runs  even 
closer.  When  Brown's  friends  urged  upon  him  the  des 
perate  possibilities  of  a  rescue,  he  gave  no  final  answer, 

1  Victor  Hugo's  "  Actes  et  Paroles  pendant  1'Exil "  (1859-60).  In  the 
Edition  Definitive  of  his  complete  works,  which  was  still  going  through  the 
press  at  his  death,  in  1885,  the  author  added  this  note  to  the  passages 
cited  above  :  "  Victor  Hugo  avait,  a  propos  de  John  Brown,  pre'dit  la 
guerre  civile  a  1'Amerique,  et,  a  propos  d(^  Garibaldi,  predit  1'unite  a  1'Italie. 
Ces  deux  predictions  se  realiseivnt."  Hr  had  a  right  to  claim  this. 


632  LIFE   AND  LETTERS    OF  JOHN  BROWN.          [1859. 

until  at  last  came  this  reply,  —  that  he  "  would  not  walk 
out  of  the  prison  if  the  door  was  left  open."  He  added,  as 
a  personal  reason  for  this  choice,  that  his  relations  with 
Captain  Avis,  his  jailer,  were  such  that  he  should  hold  it  a 
breach  of  trust  to  be  rescued.  There  is  an  example  even 
higher  than  that  of  Socrates,  which  history  will  not  fail  to 
hold  up,  —  that  Person  of  whom  his  slayers  said :  "  He 
saved  others  :  himself  he  cannot  save." 

Here  is  touched  the  secret  of  Brown's  character,  —  abso 
lute  reliance  on  the  Divine,  entire  disregard  of  the  present, 
in  view  of  the  promised  future. 

"  For  best  befriended  of  the  God 
He  who  in  evil  times, 
Warned  by  an  inward  voice, 
Heeds  not  the  darkness  and  the  dread, 
Biding  by  his  rule  and  choice  ; 
Feeling  only  the  fiery  thread 
Leading  over  heroic,  ground 
(Walled  with  mortal  terror  round) 
To  the  aim  which  him  allures,  — 
And  the  sweet  heaven  his  deed  secures." 


NOTE.  —  In  Chapter  XV.,  pp.  537  and  548,  John  Brown,  Jr.,  speaks 
of  an  affair  at  "St.  J.,"  in  Missouri,  which  was  ascribed  to  his  father. 
John  Brown  had  nothing  to  do  with  this  gallant  action  of  his  old  friend 
Abbott,  who  had  rescued  Branson  in  1855.  Briefly,  the  facts  were  these  : 
"Dr.  John  Doy,  imprisoned  in  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  for  abducting  slaves  from 
that  State,  was  released  July  23,  1859,  by  Kansas  men,  led  by  Major 
James  B.  Abbott,  now  living  at  De  Soto,  Johnson  County.  They  entered 
the  jail  at  night,  under  pretence  of  wishing  to  confine  a  horse-thief.  The 
rescue  was  admirably  managed,  and  its  moral  influence  throughout  Mis 
souri  and  the  whole  South  was  very  great." 

In  Chapter  XVI.,  p.  576,  the  expression,  "He  was  forced  to  rise  from 
what  was  feared  to  be  his  dying  bed,"  does  not  refer  to  his  attitude  while 
the  indictment  was  read,  but  to  his  presence  in  the  court-room. 


INDEX. 


ABBOTT,  Major  James  B.,  rescues 
Branson,  207,  212 ;  purchases  rifles, 
214;  rescues  Dr.  Doy  632. 

Adair,  Rev.  S.  L.,  188*,  252,  270;  shel 
ters  the  Browns,  275 ;  opinion  of 
Brown,  327  ;  letters  from,  322,  415. 

Adams,  Cyrus,  Border  Ruffianism  de- 
scribed/327-328. 

Adams,  John  Q.,  Journal  quoted,  118. 

Adams,  Henry  J.,  225. 

Aclirondacs,  the,  grave  of  Capt.  John 
Brown,  3;  visit  of  John  Brown,  44; 
pioneer  life  of  Brown,  97;  descrip 
tion  of,  96;  R.  H.  Dana's  impres 
sions  of,  102. 

Akron,  Ohio,  imprisonment  of  John 
Brown  at,  55,  60,  88. 

Aleott,  A.  Bronson,  91;  record  of 
Brown,  504;  Diary  quoted,  629. 

Ailing-ham's  "Touchstone,"  iv. 

Anderson,  Jeremiah,  letter  from,  545. 

Anderson,  Os borne,  556,  611. 

Andrew,  Gov.  John  A.,  quoted,  327, 
500. 

Arago,  Etienne,  120. 

Arms  furnished  for  Kansas,  212-215, 
342,  349,  350,  351,  494. 

Arny,  W.  F.  M.,  352 :  letter  to  Brown, 
3t!2;  testimony  of,  421. 

Articles  of  Enlistment  of  Kansas  reg 
ulars,  287. 

Assing,  Miss  Ottilia,  432. 

AUhison,  David  R.,  advice  to  Missou- 
rians,  164;  speeches  of,  165,  234; 
appeals  to  Missourians.  309;  leads 
attack  upon  Lawrence,  235. 

Atlantic  Monthly,  quoted,  561. 

Austin,  "old  Kill  Devil,"  271;  adven 
tures  of,  285,  286. 

Avis,  Captain  John,  587,  619. 


£  AGE  HOT,  Mr.,  quoted,  470. 

Baker,  Mr.,  threatened  with  death, 
254. 

Baldwin  City,  292. 

Baldwin,  Mr.,  testifies  to  Brown's 
integrity,  87. 

Baptisteville,  276,  301,  309. 

Barber,  Mr.,  murder  of,  218;  his  body, 
243. 

"Beecher  Bibles,"  212. 

Benjamin,  Jacob,  230,  254,  271,  288. 

"Black  Jack,"  244,  291;  battle  of, 
291,  303. 

Blair,  Charles,  contracts  to  deliver 
spears,  377;  letter  from,  378. 

Blanc,  Louis,  120. 

Blessing,  John  F.,  receives  a  Bible 
from  Brown,  619. 

Bondi,  August,  230,  254 ;  story  of  the 
Pottawatoniie  executions,  271;  re 
ports  of,  292,  293. 

Booth,  J.  Wilkes,  at  Brown's  execu 
tion,  626. 

Border  Ruffians,  watchword,  172  ; 
treatment  of  judges  of  election,  173, 
175;  aspect  of,  181.  182;  brutalities, 
206.  225,  238;  anger,  274;  activity, 
312;  burn  house  of  Ottawa  Jones,  323 ; 
met  by  Brown  and  Montgomery,  480. 

Bracket  t,  the  sculptor,  visit  to  Brown  in 
prison,  516;  makes  bust  of  Brown, 
517. 

Branson,  Jacob,  rescue  of,  207;  tells 
story  of,  210. 

Brown,  Anne,  story  told  by,  531. 

Brown,  Ellen,  43,  387. 

Brown,  Frederick,  removes  to  Kansas, 
202,  255;  shot,  317;  death,  325. 

Brown,  Jason,  35,  41;  story  of  oath, 
138 ;  death  of  son,  189 ;  arrested,  238; 


634 


IXDEX. 


sufferings  in  Kansas,  238-242;  ad 
ventures  and  capture,  275,276,277, 
278;  anecdotes  of  campaign,  320;  of 
burning  of  Ottawa  Jones's  house, 
322;  mentioned  by  his  father,  600, 
616. 

Brown,  John,  1st,  weaver  and  citizen 
of  Duxbury,  1 . 

Brown,  John,  2d,  of  Windsor,  birth, 
2;  marriage  and  children,  3. 

Brown,  John,  marriage  of,  2. 

Brown,  Captain  John,  birth,  3;  death, 
3 ;  tomb,  3 ;  tombstone  at  North  Elba, 
114,  375. 

Brown,  John,  parentage,  3,  12;  hatred 
of  slavery  an  inheritance,  10,  11 ; 
his  own  account  of  childhood  and 
youth,  12-17 ;  becomes  converted, 
15,  81;  tenacity  of  purpose,  16;  a 
tanner  and  currier,  16,  32;  marries 
Dianthe  Lusk,  17,  33 ;  visits  Boston, 
17;  guest  of  Mr.  George  L.  Stearns^ 
17;  writes  sketch  of  early  life,  17; 
scanty  education,  19;  relations  to 
his  father,  Owen,  19,  20,  21,  22; 
studies  surveying,  32;  shelters  fugi 
tive  slaves,  35;  children  by  first 
marriage,  35;  death  of  wife,  36; 
kindness  to  colored  servants,  37 ;  ] 
testimony  of  family,  38,  91;  favorite  I 
books,  38;  makes  a  compact  with 
his  sons  to  labor  for  emancipation,', 
39;  conduct  in  family,  40;  devises 
schemes  for  educating  the  Negro,  40, 
41;  in  Randolph  as  tanner,  second 
marriage,  42;  children  by  second 
marriage,  43;  loss  of  infants,  43;  de 
votion  to  children,  44,  45;  growing 
toleration  in  old  age,  53;  a  true 
Yankee.  54;  indorses  for  friend  and 
loses  farm,  55;  in  jail  at  Akron,  55; 
a  bankrupt,  56;  business  integrity, 
56;  a  shepherd  at  Richfield,  58 ;  ad 
vice  to  wife,  61;  becomes  wool-grow 
er  and  dealer,  61,  63;  returns  to 
New  England,  63';  at  Springfield, 
63;  an  agent,  64;  visited  by  Doug-v 
lass,  66;  loses  four  children,  69; 
breeds  race-horses  at  Franklin,  69; 
visits  Europe,  67-70;  delicacy  of 
touch  in  handling  wool,  70; -opin 
ions  of  England  and  of  German 
farming,  71;  of  Napoleon,  71;  visits 


the  Continent,  73  ;  returns  home, 
73 ;  views  on  early  rising,  76 ;  busi 
ness  troubles,  78,  83;  on  "knock 
ing"  spirits,  78;  law-suits,  82,  83, 
84,  87  ;  the  Boston  trial,  79,  83 ; 
again  a  shepherd.  85  ;  advice  to 
son,  85;  probity  of  life,  86;  fam 
ily  government,  91  ;  devotion  to 
his  father,  94  ;  introduces  himself  i 
to  Gerrit  Smith,  97 ;  life  at  North 
Elba,  97-100  ;  interest  in  colored 
people  there,  101,  104;  love  for  the 
region,  105;  carries  tombstone  of 
his  grandfather  to  North  Elba,  114; 
the  task  of  his  life,  116;  method 
for  emancipation,  119  ;  a  Bible 
worshipper,  121;  creed.  122;  ad 
vice  to  League  of  Gileadites,  124; 
points  of  resemblance  to  Franklin, 
131;  concern  for  fugitive  slaves,  131 ; 
opinion  of  the  Negro's  capacity, 
137;  Spartan  mode  of  life,  67,  137, 
138;  home  life,  139,  146;  in  the 
school  of  the  Prophets,  147;  a  far 
mer,  152;  a  disciple  of  Jefferson, 
171;  journey  to  Kansas,  199,  200, 
202;  his  first  campaign,  217;  will  -J 
not  pay  illegal  taxes,  228  ;  visits  pro- 
slavery  camp  as  surveyor,  22J;  tells  - 
story  of  destruction  of  Lawrence, 
236-238  ;  of  events  in  Kansas,  242- 
244;  his  Pottawatomie  executions, 
251,  258,  259,  264;  his  reasons  given, 
270;  results  of  the  deed,  279,  280; 
in  retreat,  294;  meeting  with  1  Jed- 
path,  294,  295;  victory  at  Bhu-k 
Jack,  298,  299,  300,  304;  talk  witli 
Col.  Phillips,  306,  307;  joins  forces 
of  General  Lane,  308;  his  name  a 
terror,  309;  best  known  name  in 
Kansas,  324;  autograph  account  of 
attack  on  Lawrence,  332 ;  in  Chicago, 
341;  esteemed  by  Free  State  settlers, 
366,  417 ;  addresses  L"gislative  com 
mittee,  372;  visits  North  Elba,  374; 
at  Concord,  380;  makes  will,  385; 
receives  aid,  399 ;  expedition  de-  , 
laved,  405;  inaction,  406;  disinter-  ' 
estedness,  407;  Virginia  plan,  418; 
dealings  with  Hugh  Forbes,  432; 
with  Gerrit  Smith,  438,  439  :  pathetic 
letters,  440-444;  personality.  446; 
enjoyment  of  Plutarch,  449 ;  makes 


INDEX. 


arrangements  for  Virginia  plan.  457; 
leaves  Boston  with  money  and  arms, 
464;  Provisional  Constitution,  464, 
469;  alias  Shubel  Morgan,  473;  at 
Fort  Snyder,  474;  his  Parallels,  481; 
retreat  from  Southern  Kansas,  484. 
485,  486;  captures^pursuers,  484;  at 
.Tabor,  488;  at  Grinnell,  489;  his 
friends,  495-518;  relations  with  his 
family,  496;  describes  himself,  511; 
not  actuated  by  revenge,  51'2 ;  in 
Maryland,  527;  rents  Kennedy  farm, 
528;  confers  with  Douglass,  538;  op 
position  to  campaign  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  541;  small  ness  of  force,  546  ; 
musters  followers,  552;  takes  Harp 
er's  Ferry,  553,  554;  wounded  and 
captured,  559 ;  questioned  by  Senator 
Mason  tt  el.,  562-569;  conversation 
with  Governor  Wise,  570,  571  ; 
speeches  at  trial,  572;  pronounced 
guilty,  575;  his  life  in  prison,  576- 
625; sentenced,  583;  last  speech,  584: 
joyful  in  tribulations,  589,  594,  596, 
609;  no  murderous  intention,  604, 
605;  last  letter  to  wife,  605;  to  sis 
ters,  608;  to  family,  613;  last  will, 
616;  preaching  in  prison,  618,  619; 
farewell  to  wife,  624;  no  wish  for 
rescue,  623;  on  the  way  to  scaffold, 
625;  execution,  626;  character.  626 ; 
personal  traits,  627;  his  true  mission, 
629;  secret  of  his  character,  632. 

"Brown,  John,  Jr.,  35,  36;  recollections 
of  Hudson,  34;  statement  as  to 
father's  business  life,  87;  childish 
recollections,  91;  views  of  North 
Elba,  105;  emigration  to  Kansas, 
188;  second  campaign  in  Kansas, 
236;  arrest  and  sufferings,  238,  241; 
testimony  as  to  Pottawatomie  execu 
tions,  260;  resigns  captaincy,  273; 
insanity  of,  273,  274  ;  adventures 
of,  276;  a  prisoner,  310;  Virginia 
plan  confided  to,  450,  451;  organ 
izes  forces  in  Canada,  536. 

Brown,  Mary  Anne  Day,  becomes 
second  wife  to  John  Brown,  42; 
their  children,  43;  invalidism,  106; 
described,  113;  sympathy  with  hus 
band's  plans,  116;  reticence,  408; 
self-sacrifice,  413:  story  of  life,  497. 

Brown,  Mary  and  Priscilla,  9. 


Brown,  Martha,  marries  Peter  Brown, 
2;  their  children,  2. 

Brown,  Oliver,  43,  193,  198,  218.  242, 
293;  with  Mr.  Blair,  415;  in  Mary 
land,  527;  killed  at  Harper's  Ferry. 
579;  bequest  of,  97,  242. 

Brown.  Owen,  the  elder,  removes  to 
Ohio  from  Connecticut,  4;  autobi 
ography,  4;  shoemaking  and  farm 
ing,  4,  5 ;  travels,  5 ;  with  Rev. 
Mr.  Hallock,  6;  marries  Ruth  Mills, 
6;  birth  of  first  child,  6;  at  Nor 
folk,  7;  at  Torrington,  7;  in  Ohio, 
7;  death  of  wife,  8;  marries  Sally 
Root,  9;  their  children,  9;  death  of 
second  wife,  10;  hatred  of  slavery, 
10,  11;  letters  to  his  son,  John 
Brown,  19,  20;  relations  to  son,  20, 
21,  22,  152,  221. 

Brown,  Owen,  35,  238,  242;  adventures 
after  the  Pottawatomie  executions, 
275,  276;  views  of  men  and  things 
in  Kansas,  315;  in  Maryland,  527; 
escape  from  Harper's  Ferry,  611. 

Brown,  Peter,  carpenter  in  Plymouth, 
1;  marriage,  children,  and  death,  2. 

Brown,  Ruth,  recollections,  37 ;  bap 
tism,  37;  marriage  and  life,  7*5.  77, 
81;  reminiscences  of  North  Elba, 
99-104;  of  Mr.  Dana's  visit,  101; 
in  California,  115;  letter  from,  441. 

Bvown,  R.  P.,  225;  his  murder.  281. 

Brown,  Salmon,  26,  30,  42-43,  99,  198, 
206,  261,  290-293,  313. 

Brown,  Sarah,  43,  322,  499. 

Brown,  Watson,  43,  341;  at  Chambers- 
burg,  542;  letters  to  wife,  542,  549; 
wounded  at  Harper's  Ferry,  555; 
death,  579;  story  of  death,  611. 

Buchanan,  James,  a  servant  of  the 
slave-power,  166;  presidential  can 
didate,  and  election  of,  284. 

Buford,  Jefferson,  in  Kansas,  228,  230, 
260. 

Burnell,  Levi,  letter  to  0.  Brown,  135. 


QABOT,  Dr.,  raises  money  for  Kan 
sas,  213 ;  member  of  National 
Kansas  Committee,  352-354;  dies 
in  1885,  vi. 

Canada,  a  refuge,  469;  Brown's  expe 
dition  to,  484,  491. 


636 


INDEX. 


Canton,  or  West  Simsbury,  4,  376. 
Carpenter,   O.   A.,   292;    mission  of, 
293. 

Cass,  General,  as  captain,  20. 

Cato,  Judge,  243,  278. 

Century  Magazine,  Captain  Danger- 
field's  account  quoted,  556. 

Chapin,  the  Messrs.,  testimonial  to 
Brown,  343. 

Chapman,  Chief-Justice,  testimony  as 
to  Brown's  integrity,  87. 

Chase,  Chief-Justice,  letters  to  Brown, 
363. 

Child,  Mrs.  Lydia  Maria,  letter  from 
John  Brown,  580. 

Christian,  James,  story  of  the  Potta- 
watomie  executions,  269. 

Civil  war  in  Kansas,  160-343. 

Circular  of  John  Brown,  63. 

Clay,  Henry,  supports  Fugitive  Slave 
Bill,  123;  advocates  Missouri  Com 
promise,  161. 

Cleveland  and  Titus,  charges  against 
Perkins  and  Brown,  82. 

Clifford,  Miss  Betsev,  anecdotes  re 
lated  by,  146. 

Cochrane^  Ben,  297,  301,  302. 

Code,  Slave,  given  to  Kansas,  177, 
178. 

Coleman,  E.  A.,  statement  of,  258, 
260. 

Coleman,  Franklin,  206. 

Collins,  Samuel,  murdere-1,  206. 

Collinsville,  375,  376. 

Committees  for  Kansas,  344,  355. 

Company,  Emigrant  Aid,  163. 

Congressional  Committee  of  1856, 173. 

Connecticut,  contingent,  3;  slavery 
abolished  in,  11. 

Conway,  Martin  F.,  resigns,  176;  ad 
vice  of,  211;  visits  Reeder,  387. 

Cook,  John  E.,  423;  censured  by  Realf, 
471 ;  by  Brown,  625. 

Copeland,  John  A.,  546,  625. 

Coppoc,  Edwin,  speech  to  Virginians, 
425 ;  at  Harper's  Ferry,  553,  625. 

Coionado,  Vasquez  de*  in  Kansas, 
160. 

Covenant  of  Kansas  Regulars,  287. 

Crandall,  Prudence,  arrested  and 
house  burned,  42. 

Cromwell  and  Brown,  247,  626. 

Cashing,  Caleb,  trial  before.  79.  80. 


!    T)ANA,  RICHARD  H.,  visits  North 
Elba,  102;  describes  Brown,  103, 
104. 

Dangerfield,  Captain,  narrative  of,  556- 

Davis,  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  War  in 
1856,  236;  manifesto  concerning 
Kansas,  284. 

Day,  Mary  Anne.     See  Brown. 
j    Day,  Orson,  236 ;  prisoner,  238. 

Dayton,  Captain,  228,  262. 
j   Delamater,  Mr., story  of  Brown  at  Rich 
mond,  90. 

j    Delahay,  Mark,  184. 
!    De  Soto,  160. 

Deitzler,  G.  W.,  212;  obtains  rifles, 
215,  216. 

Doniphan,  184,  206. 

Douglass,  Frederick,  describes  Brown's 
life  at  Springfield,  66;  "Life  and 
Times"  quoted,  418;  visited  by 
Brown,  433;  confers  with  Brown  at 
Chambersburg,  538;  letters  to  and 
from,  443,  519,  540,  541;  describes 
Brown,  628. 

Dow,  Charles,  murdered,  206,  210. 

Doyles,  the,  230  ;  execution  of,  237,  251, 
264;  antecedents  of,  272. 

Doy,  Dr.  John,  632. 

Dred  Scott  decision,  167,  186. 

Dunlop,  H.  L.,  describes  attack  on. 
Lawrence,  333. 

Dunn,  Charles,  226. 

Dutisne,  160. 

Dutch  Henry,  death  of,  256,  331. 

Dutch  Henry's  Crossing,  206,  252,  255, 
262,  267.  * 

"Dutch  William,"  258,  272. 


"PARLY  Life  of  John  Brown,  12-17 ; 
^  of  John  Brown,  Jr.,  91;  of  Ruth 
Brown,  37,  93. 

Edwards,  Rev.  Jonathan,  Sermon  on 
Slavery,  11. 

Eggleston,  Mary,  marriage  of,  2. 

Epitaphs  written  by  John  Brown,  3, 617. 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  declines  to  write 
Life  of  John  Brown,  18:  welcomes 
Kossuth,  146;  speech  at  Salem.  495; 
a  friend  to  Brown,  500,  501;  quoted, 
116,  170,  180,  500,  502,  507,  623,  632. 

Emigrant  Aid  Company  of  New  Eng 
land,  163 ;  hotel  built  by,  233 ;  arms 


INDEX. 


637 


sent  to  Kansas  by,  214,  344,  -349; 
nature  of,  347. 

Essex  County,  John  Brown's  life  in, 
76 ;  opinions  of,  77. 


"PAYETTE,  Mr.,  sworn  to  secrecy, 
138. 

Flint's  Survey,  32. 

Flovd,  Secretary,  warning  sent  to, 
543. 

Forbes,  Hugh,  Brown's  drill-master, 
388;  his  Manual,  389;  character  of, 
390,  425,  431;  at  Tabor,  399,  422; 
treachery  of,  425,  456,  458;  letters 
of,  426,  460;  letters  to,  429,  432,  459. 

Forbes,  JohnM.,  71,  493;  letter  to, 
493. 

Foray  in  Virginia,  519,  et  seq. 

'Foster,  C.A.,  228,  230. 

Francis,  Dr.,  testimony  as  to  "  Kansas 
Regulators,"  344. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  and  John  Brown 
compared,  131. 

Franklin,  Ohio,  Brown  at,  69. 

Frederick  the  Great,  sword  of,  552,  554. 

Friends  of  Brown,  —  Emerson,  500 ; 
Thoreau,  502;  Alcott^  504;  George 
and  Mary  Stearns,  507;  Theodore 
Parker,  512;  Dr.  Howe,  Colonel 
Higginson,  514  ;  Thomas  Russell, 
512,  624:  F.  B.  Sunboru,  Gerrit 
Smith,  et  «/.,  517. 

Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  enactment  of,  123; 
Brown's  opinion  of,  106. 

p  ARIBALDI,  431 ;  John  Brown  com- 
pared  to,  123. 

Geary,  Governor,  an  upright  Democrat, 
284;  reaches  Kansas,  328;  farewell 
address,  329;  injustice  done  to,  by 
Brown,  333  ;  friendly  feeling  to 
Brown,  338,  339. 

Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  letter  to  John 
Brown,  224. 

Gileadites,  League  of,  124;  resolutions 
of  Springfield  branch  of,  126. 

Gilpatrick,  Dr.,  256,  266. 

Gladstone,  Thomas  H.,  book  quoted, 
175;  views  of  Kansas  Legislature, 
177;  impressions  of  Kansas,  181, 182. 

Glanville,  Jerome,  269,  270. 

Graham,  Dr.,  224.  /    -  *•• 


Grant,  George,  testimony  of,  255,  331. 

Green,  Shields,  539,  625* 

Grimes,   J.    W.,   of    Iowa,   letter  to, 

355. 
Grinnell,  Brown  at,  488. 


J-JALE,  Rev.  Edward  E.,  organizes 
Emigrant  Aid  Company,  163  ; 
quoted,  164;  story  of  the  rifles,  214, 
215. 

Hallock,  Heman,  recollections  of,  32. 

Hallcck,  Rev.  Jeremiah,  5,  11. 

Hand,  Mrs.  Marian,  26;  letter  to,  607. 

Hanway,  James,  pioneer  in  Kansas, 
206,  229;  testimony  of,  250,  257,  266, 
280;  defends  Brown's  course,  331. 

Harper,  Chancellor,  quoted,  167. 

Harper's  Ferry,  Brown's  plan  to  cap 
ture,  450,  451,  539 ;  warning  given, 
543;  origin  of  name,  550;  described 
by  Jefferson,  551;  in  Brown's  pos 
session,  554,  558 ;  scenes  at,  556-569. 

Harpers'  Weekly,  quoted,  569. 

Harris,  James,  testimony  concerning 
Pottawatomie  executions,  265. 

Hawkins,  Nelson,  alias  John  Brown, 
114,  363,  391,  435,  458. 

Hazlitt,  Albert,  546,  554,  556,  615, 
625. 

Heiskell,  W.  A.,  receives  Pate's  agree 
ment,  300. 

Hereford,  Dr.,  484. 

Herald,  New  York,  quoted,  426,  561, 
566. 

Hickory  Point,  298. 

Higginson,  C.  J.,  384. 

Higginson,  H.  L.,384. 

Higginson,  T.  Wentworth,  96  ;  letter 
from  Brown  and  reply,  435-436; 
learns  Brown's  Virginia  plan,  440, 
447;  protests  against  delay,  459  ; 
confers  with  Brown,  463,  464;  rec 
ords  preserved  by,  492,  514. 

Hildreth,  Richard,  163. 

Hinsdale,  widow  Lucy,  10. 

Hinton,  Richard  J.,  423-424,  472. 

Holmes,  James  H.,  288,  391,  392,  394, 
395,  397. 

Hopkins,  Rev.  Abner  C.,  letter  to 
Thomas  Hughes,  618. 

Hopkins,  Dwight,  creditor  of  John 
Brown,  56.  •  ,- .  • 


038 


INDEX. 


Hopkins,  Rev.  Samuel,  D.D.,  de 
nounces  slavery,  11. 

Hotchkiss,  Wealthy,  144. 

Howe,  Dr.  S.  G.,  163;  on  Kansas  com 
mittee,  347;  testimony  before  Ma 
son's  committee,  450;  letter  to  Hugh 
Forbes,  459;  favors  postponement 
of  attack,  463;  withdraws  support 
for  a  time,  490;  letter  to  John  M. 
Forbes,  493;  part  taken  bv,  514. 

Hoyt,  D.  S.,  murdered,  244,* 328. 

Hoyt,  George  H.,  defends  John  Brown, 
575. 

Hubbard,  Gilbert,  business  associate 
of  Brown,  69. 

Hudson,  David,  settlement  in  Ohio, 
34;  an  Abolitionist,  34. 

Hudson,  Ohio,  home  of  Owen  Brown, 
4,  7,  8;  log-house  at,  19;  its  name, 
34. 

Hugo,  Victor,  letter  to  Brown's  widow, 
120 ;  address  to  American  Republic, 
630;  quoted,  631. 

Hull,  General,  at  Detroit  in  1812.  19. 

Hupp,  Philip  and  Miner,  207. 

Humphrey,  Heman,  letter  to  John 
Brown,  602;  Brown's  reply,  603. 

Hunter,  Andrew,  a  Virginia  lawyer, 
570;  his  argument  in  court,  575; 
Brown's  letter  to,  584;  mentioned 
by  Victor  Hugo,  630. 

Kurd,  H.  B.,  Kansas  committee-man, 
348,  352,  357,  358,  359,  367,  369. 

Hutchinson,  Captain  Philip,  207. 

Hutchinson,  William,  letter  from,  366. 


INDIANS  of  Ohio,  12,  13;  of  Kansas, 

X  245,  252,  321. 

Invasion  of  Kansas,  172,  217,  236,  245, 

318,  332. 
Ives,  Lieutenant,  orders  armed  men  to 

disperse,  274. 


JACKSON,  Claiborne  F.,  172. 
Jacobs,  Judge,  278. 

James  brothers,  the,  272. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  Notes  on  Virginia, 
168;  views  of  slavery,  169;  gener 
ous  indignation,  170;  prediction, 
170;  his  fate  if  a  Kansas  settler  in 
1855,  179. 


Jones,  Jonas,  of  Tabor,  400. 

Jones,  Ottawa,  245;  letter  from,  262; 

destruction  of  house,  322. 
Jones,  Sheriff,  209,  231,  234. 


JTAGI,  J.  H.,  423,  409,  472,  474, 
485,  488,  519-523;  at  Chambers- 
burg,  533,  536-542;  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  546,  553. 

Kaiser,  Charles,  290,  296,  301. 

Kansas,  John  Brown's  expedition  to, 
111;  a  skirmish  ground,  160;  ex 
plored  by  Dutisne,  part  of  Louisiana 
and  ceded  to  Jefferson,  160;  Emi 
grants  drawn  to,  164;  first  elections, 
171,  172;  slavery  forced  upon,  173, 
176,  182;  Emigration  of  the  Browns 
to,  188-203 ;  hardships  of  pioneer' 
life  in,  204,  205,  222  ;  settlers  mur 
dered,  210,  225;  Investigating  Com 
mittee,  228;  Civil  war  there,  236- 
246,  285-336;  battles  and  their  value, 
283;  admitted  to  the  Union,  287; 
Indian  Missions  of,  321. 

Kansas  Committees,  344-374,  461-466. 

Kansas  Regulators,  the,  344;  oath  and 
regalia,  345;  Established  by  Lane 
and  Robinson,  346. 

Kennedy,  J.  R.,  account  of  Branson's 
rescue,  207. 

Kennedy  farm,  528,  531,  557,  567. 

Kickapoo  Rangers,  the,  234,  304. 

King,  Rufus,  opposes  slavery  in  Mis 
souri,  161. 

Kline,  wounded  at  Osawatomie,  320. 

Kossuth  in  America,  146. 


J^AFAYETTE,  pistols  of,  552. 

Lane,  James  H.,  General,  resolu 
tions,  183,  308  ;  elected  Senator, 
228;  anecdotes  of,  337,  345,  401; 
letters  from,  401-405. 

La  Salle,  160. 

Laughlm,  Pat,  206. 

Lawrence,  town  of,  public  meeting, 
210;  attack  threatened,  211,  217; 
invasions  of,  217  ;  pillage  of,  224  ; 
occasion  of  third  invasion,  230; 
destruction  of  hotel,  235 ;  of  tOWO, 
236 ;  again  threatened.  332,  335, 


INDEX. 


639 


Lawrence,  Amos  A.,  employs  Brown 
as  agent,  61;  assists  Brown,  111; 
no  knowledge  of  Virginia  plans, 
112;  in  Emigrant  Aid  Company, 
163;  purchases  Sharpe's  rifles,  213  ; 
statements  to  Massachusetts  Histor 
ical  Society,  213 ;  a  friend  to  Kan 
sas,  214;  letters  from,  213,  373.  374, 
410;  raises  money  to  buy  land,  112, 
409,  410. 

Lecompte,  Judge,  231. 
Lecompton,  232  ;  grand  jury  of,  235 ; 
prisoners  at,  238,  310,  314,  325;  ex 
change  of  prisoners  at,  313. 
Lee,  Colonel  Robert  E.,  555,  558 ;  cap 
tures  John  Brown,   560;   views  of, 
560. 

Legate,  J.  F.,  speech  of,  232. 
Leonard,  E.  C.,  anecdotes   of   Brown, 

64,  67,  628. 

Letters  from  John  Brown 
In  1833-1854. 
To  his  family,  51,  58-62,  74-79, 108, 

109-111,    134,    139-146,    148-153, 

154-159. 

To  Frederick  Brown,  26-27,  40-41. 
To  John  Brown,  Jr.,  45-51,  58-59, 

61-62,  72-73,  75-78,  81-86,  105, 

139-141,  143,   144-145,  150,   152, 

156-157. 
To  his  wife,  Marv  Brown,  68,  106, 

107,  108,  109,  132,  146,  153. 
To  his  father,  Owen  Brown,  21,  22, 

23,  24-25. 
To  G.  Kellogg,  56. 
To  Simon  Perkins,  82-83. 
To  "The   Ramshorn"    ("Sambo's 

Mistakes  "),  128-131. 
To      Springfield      fugitive     slaves 

("Words  of  Advice  "),  124-126. 
To  Henry  Thompson,  107,  108,  109, 

110,  154,  158. 

In  1855-1856. 
To    his  family,    191-193,    199-202, 

203-205,   217-221,   222-223,   228, 

236-241,  317-320. 
To  his  wife,  Mary,  193. 
To  N.  Y.  Tribune,  379,  481,  508. 
To  E.  B.  Whitman,  241,  301. 

In  1857-1858. 
To  S.  L.  Adair,  370,  388. 
To  his  family,  406,  410-411,  414-415, 

440-441,  453-456,  478-480. 


Letters  from  John  Brown 
To  John  Brown,  Jr.,  432-433,  437- 

438,  447,  450,  452  (extract). 
To  his  wife,  Mary,  374,  388,  442-443. 
To  John  E.  Cook,  423. 
To  J.  T.  Cox,  521. 
To  H.  Forbes,  389,  432. 
To  J.  H.  Lane,  401-402. 
To  Theodore  Parker,  422,  434-435, 

447-449,  508. 
To  H.  N.  Rust,  376-377. 
To   F.   B.    Sanborn,   113,   398-401, 

408-409,  412-414,   443-445,  456- 

457,  474.  477. 
To  George  L.  Stearns,  368, 406,  408- 

410,  411-412,  511. 
To  Eli  Thayer,  382. 
To  Augustus  Wattles,  391,  393. 
To  E.  B.  Whitman,  402-403. 

In  1859. 

To  George  Adams,  588-589. 
To  J.  Q.  Anderson,  611-612. 
To  E.  B.,  582. 
To   his   family,    489-490,   525-526, 

530-532,    550,    579-580,   585-586, 

596-597,  613-615,  616  (his  will). 
To  John  Brown,  Jr.,  535-536. 
To  his  wife,  Mary,  591-593, 595-596, 

605-606,  617. 
To  his  sisters,  607-608. 
To  Mrs.  L.  M.  Child,  580. 
To  friends  in  NeV  England,  583. 
To  James  Foreman,  615. 
To  Mr.  Gaston,  at  Tabor,  488. 
To  Mrs.  Mary  Gale,  615. 
To  G.  H.  Hoyt,  609. 
To  Rev.  Hernan  Humphrey,  603. 
To  Rev.  Luther  Humphrey,  594. 
To  T.  Hyatt,  606. 
To  J.  H.  Kagi,  522-523,  526,  532- 

533,  536-538. 

To  Rev.  Mr.  McFarland,  598. 
To  Rev.  A.  M.  Milligan,  610. 
To  T.  B.  Musgrave,  693. 
To  Thomas  Russell,  578. 
To  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  612. 
To  Mrs.   R.   B.   Spring,   587,    596, 

599. 

To  Mrs.  Stearns,  610. 
To  Miss  Mary  L.  Sterns,  607. 
To  D.  R.  Tilden,  609. 
To  Rev.  H.  L.  Vaill.  589. 
To  Dr.  T.  H.  Webb,  612. 


640 


INDEX. 


Letters  to  John  Brown 

In  1855-1856. 
From  S.  L.  Adair,  322. 
From  C.  H.  Branscomb,  343. 
From  the  Brown  family  in  Kansas, 

194-198. 
From   John    Brown,   Jr.,   310-311, 

325,  330. 

From  Owen  Brown,  Sr.,  19-20. 
From  J.  R.  Giddings,  224. 
From  Charles  Robinson,  329,  330- 

331. 

From  Gerrit  Smith,  364. 
From  H.  Stratton,  308. 
From  Horace  White,  342. 
From  H.  H.  Williams,  364. 
From  W.  F.  M.  Arny,  362. 

In  1857-1858. 
From  S.  L.  Adair,  415. 
From  Allen  &  Wheelock,  383. 
From  Charles  Blair,  378. 
From  J.  Bryant,  390. 
From  S.  P.  Chase,  363. 
From  Frederick  Douglass,  443. 
From  C.  J.  Higginson,  384. 
From  James  H.  Holmes,   391-393, 

395-396. 
From    James    H.    Lane,    401-402, 

405. 

From  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  373-374. 
From   Massachusetts  Kansas  Com 
mittee,    360-302,    367-368,    384- 

385,  461-462. 

From  William  A.  Phillips,  397. 
From  Richard  Realf,  398. 
From  George  L.  Stearns,  406-407, 

409. 

From  Eli  Thayer,  380,  381,  383. 
From  Ruth  Thompson,  441-442. 
From  Augustus  Wattles,  394,  395. 
From  E.  B.  Whitman,  396-397,  403- 

404. 
From  H.  H.  Williams,  368. 

In  1859. 

From  E.  B.  (a  Quaker  lady),  581. 
From  John  Brown,  Jr.,  534. 
From  Martin  F.  Conway,  484. 
From  Mrs.  E.  A.  Gloucester,  538. 
From  Dr.  Samuel  G.  Howe,  534. 
From  Rev.  Heman  Humphrey,  602, 

603. 

From  F.  B.  Sanborn,  534,  535. 
From  Gerrit  Smith,  364,  524. 


Letters  to  other  persons, 
In  1829-1854. 

From  Salmon  Brown  to  Owen 
Brown,  Sr.,  27-30. 

From  Levi  Buriiell  to  Owen  Brown, 
135. 

In  1855-1856. 

From  Cyrus  Adams  to  —  Adams, 
327. 

From  John  Brown,  Jr.,  to  Jason 
Brown,  311-314. 

From  Owen  Brown  to  Mrs.  John 
Brown,  315;  from  Watson  Brown, 
341. 

From  Amos  A.  Lawrence  to  James 
B.  Abbott,  213. 

From  Massachusetts  Kansas  Com 
mittee  to  J.  W.  Grimes,  355;  to 
Edward  Clark,  368-369 ;  to  Henry 
B.  Kurd,  357,  358;  to  H.  H.  Van 
Dyck,  356;  to  E.  B.  Whitman, 
357. 

From  J.  C.  Palmer  to  Dr.  Webb,  216. 

From  J.  D.  Webster  to  J.  P.  Root, 
341. 

From  Daniel  Woodson  to  Gen. 
Eastin,  216. 

In  1857-1858. 

From  John  Brown,  Jr.,  to  Jason,  105. 

From  T.  W.  Higginson  to  F.  B. 
Sanborn  (extract),  492. 

From  S.  G.  Howe  to  Henry  Wilson, 

-   462. 

From  Massachusetts  Kansas  Com 
mittee  to  H.  B.  Kurd,  358. 

From  F.  B.  Sanborn  to  Hugh  Forbes, 
424-430;  to  T.  Parker,  428;  to 
T.  W.  Higginson,  457-458;  to  H. 
B.  Hurd,  358 ;  to  G.  L.  Stearns, 
113. 

From  Gerrit  Smith  to  F.  B.  San 
born,  458,  466. 

From  G.  L.  Stearns  to  F.  B.  San 
born,  515. 

In  1859  and  later. 

From  J.  G.  Anderson  to  J.  Q.  An 
derson,  545. 

From  John  Brown,  Jr.,  to  J.  H. 
Kagi>  547,  548. 

From  Olhrer  Brown  to  his  family, 
547. 

From  Salmon  Brown  to  J.  Redpath, 
261. 


INDEX. 


641 


Letters  to  other  persons, 

From  Watson  Brown   to  his  wife, 
549. 

From  S.  G.  Howe  to  Hugh  Forbes,  459. 

From  S.  G.  Howe  to  John  M.  Forbes, 
493. 

From  Theodore  Parker  to   K.  W. 
Emerson,  513. 

From  Theodore  Parker  to  Thomas 
Russell,  512. 

From  Edwin  Morton,  to  F.  B.  San- 
born,  437,  467. 

From  F.  B.  Sanljcrn  to  T.  W.  Hig- 
ginson  (extract),  492-493, 524, 525. 

From  Gerrit  Smith  to  F.  B.   San- 
born,  483. 

From  G.  L.  Stearns  toHigginson,520. 

From  H.  D.  Thoreau   to  Harrison 
Blake,  506. 

From  Victor  Hugo  to  Mrs.   John 
Brown  (1874),  120. 

From  Gerrit  Smith  to   F.  B.  San- 
born,  561. 

From  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Stearns  to  F.  B. 
Sanborn,  509-511. 

From  H.  Stratton  to  F.  B.  Sanborn, 
308. 

From    C.    W.    Tayleure    to    John 

Brown,  Jr.,  611. 
Leyburn,  John,  560. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  in  Kansas,  183; 

compared  with  Brown,  185,  518;  in 
terest  in  Kansas,  347. 
Louisiana,  cession  of,  161. 
Lowry,  Grosvenor  P.,  211  ;  testimony 

of/346. 
Lusk,   Dianthe,  birth,   33;   marriage, 

34;  children  of,  35;  death,  36;  an 
cestry,  36. 
Lusk,  Milton,     recollections    of,   33; 

leaves  his  church,  53  ;  a  spiritualist, 

53;  a  colonizationist  at  Hudson,  147; 

excommunicated,  148. 
Lykins  (now  Miami)  county,  172. 


1MACDONALD,  John  (ahorse),  69. 
Malmesbury,  Lord,  Diary  quoted, 
343. 

Manifest  Destiny,  a  political  watch 
word,  163. 

Marais  desCygnes,  251,276;  origin  of 
name,  324. 


Marshall,  Chief-Justice,  letters  of,  147, 
148. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  connection  with 
Oberlin  College,  138. 

Mason,  Senator,  Fugitive  Slave  Bill  of, 
123  ;  interview  with  Brown,  562 ;  his 
investigating  committee,  450,  527. 

Massachusetts,  disgrace  of  its  courts, 
123 ;  subscriptions  to  Kansas  colo 
nists,  349,  354;  Kansas  Committees, 
349,  350,  355-358,  368-373;  their 
purpose,  386 ;  their  relation  to 
Brown's  Virginia  foray,  461-466. 

Maryland.  Brown  in,  527. 

McGee,  Uncle  Jimmy,  232. 

Medal,  gold,  given  to  Brown's  widow, 
120. 

Medford,  visit  of  Brown  to,  17. 

Meeker,  Rev.  Joseph,  brings  first 
printing  press  to  Kansas,  321. 

Mendenhall,  Richard,  228;  letter 
concerning  Brown,  326. 

Merriam,  F.  J.,  546,  548. 

Miles,  Peter,  3. 

Mills,  Ruth,  marries  Owen  Brown,  3 ; 
their  children,  6,  7,  8  ;  death  of,  8. 

Mills,  Dr.  Lucius, sufferings  in  Kansas, 
242. 

Milton,  quoted,  248,  578,  624. 

Missions,  Indian,  of  Kansas,  321. 

Missouri  Compromise,  debated  in 
Congress,  117  ;  declares  Kansas 
free  soil,  161 ;  remarkable  declara 
tions  of  J.  Q.  Adams  and  J.  C.  Cal- 
houn  concerning,  118. 

Moffat,  C.  W.,  425. 

Montgomery,  Captain  James,  325,  474, 
477 ;  fires  on  U.  S.  dragoons,  480. 

Morgan,  Shubel,  alias  John  Brown, 
473. 

Morse,  a  Kansas  trader,  255. 

Morton,  Edwin,  429,  437,  444,  467, 
483,  524,  536. 

Musgrave,  Mr.,  buys  wool  of  Brown, 
68. 

Musgrave,  T.  B.,  letter  from  Brown, 


TVAPOLEON,  Louis,  the  coup  d'etat, 

*  146. 

National  Kansas  Committee,  346,  348 ; 
its  operations,    351;    members  of, 


41 


642 


INDEX. 


352;  repor.  of,  359;  dealings  -with 
Brown,  341,  348,  359,  361,  367,  412; 
criticised  by  Mr.  Lawrence,  373. 

New  England  Emigrant  Aid  Company. 
See  Emigrant  Aid  Company. 

Newby  Dangerfield,  shot,  555. 

Norfolk,  Conn.,  5,  6. 

North  Canaan,  story  of  Parson  Thomp 
son  and  his  slaves,  11. 

North  Elba,  Brown  family  at,  73,  97; 
life  at,  98,  99;  described  by  John 
Brown,  Jr.,  105;  hardships  of  life 
at,  106;  burials  there,  3, 114.  617,026. 

Notes  for  speeches  by  Brown,  242. 


QBERLIN  COLLEGE,  133;  records 
of,    134;     connection    with    Miss 
Martineau,   138. 

Ohio,  journey  of  Owen  Brown  to,  7; 
of  John  Brown,  12  ;  Indians  of,  8. 

"Old  Brown's  Farewell,"  508;  his 
"Parallels,"  481. 

Oread,  Mt.,  seat  of  Kansas  University, 
306. 

Osage  River,  the,  251. 

Osawatomie,  188:  location  of  the 
Browns,  205;  Proslavery  camp  at, 
230;  burning  of,  245;  description, 

.  251;   last  fight  in,  314,  318;   Pro- 
slavery  account,  321 ;  monument  at,    | 
323. 

Osawatomie  Brown,  188,  317,  504,  558. 

Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  opposes  Mis 
souri  Compromise,  161. 

Ottawas,  the,  196,  246. 

Ottawa  Jones.     See  Jones. 

Oviatt,  Captain,  employs  Brown,  58; 
testimony  to  business  character  of, 
67,  86 ;  partner  of  Brown,  69. 

Owen,  John,  3;  marriage,  3. 

Ownership  of  arms  carried  to  Virginia, 
349,  350,  368,  384,  413,  464. 


pALMYRA,  robbed,  238;  camp  at, 
258;  battle  at,  299,  300. 

Paola,  278,  279,  301,  309. 

Parentage  of  Brown,  3. 

Parker,  Mr.,  wounded  by  Border  Ruf 
fians,  245. 

Parker,  Rev.  Theodore,  first  meets 
Brown,  16;  corresponds  about  him, 


428,  459,  513,  515,  517;  letters  from 
Brown,  434,  438,  447,  448;  death, 
492;  a  friend  to  Brown,  511;  letter 
to  Emerson  from  Rome,  513;  letter 
to  F.  Jackson,  517. 

Parsons,  Luke  F.,  statement  respecting 
Kansas,  285;  respecting  book,  471. 

Pate,  Captain,  his  capture  described 
by  Brown,  239 ;  by  Owen  Brown, 
2i)8 ;  his  agreement  with  Brown, 
240,  300;  release  of,  304;  his  con 
duct,  301,  304. 

Perkins  and  Brown,  64;  settlement  of 
affairs,  79,  88,  155,  157. 

Phillips,  W.  A.,  305,  393,  397. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  187,'  514,  622. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  president  in  1856, 
166,  176,  236,  343. 

Pilgrimage  to  Kansas,  189,  191,  202. 

Pioneer  instinct  of  the  Brown  family, 
90,  115. 

Pinckney,  Charles,  161. 

Pinkney,  William,  161. 

Plainfield,  John  Brown  at  school  at, 
31,  32. 

Plymouth  Plantations,  History  of,  2. 

Pottawatomie  Creek,  188.  2ol,  260. 

Pottawatomie  Indians,  196. 

Pottawatomie  executions,  171,  227, 
247,  248 ';  scene  of,  251;  facts  of, 
257,  259,  262,  265,  269,  271 ;  effect 
in  Ottawa  camp,  273;  on  the  Bor 
der  Ruffians,  274,  278,  280;  prosla- 
very  account  of,  331,  332. 


,  quoted,  468. 
Quivira,  the  land  of,  160. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  letter  to  Judge  Hoar, 
249." 


RANDOLPH,  Penn,  42. 

Realf,  Richard,  reports  Brown's 
plan,  136;  sent  to  Brown  as  mes 
senger,  396;  letter  to  Brown,  470. 

Redpath,  James,  biographer  of  Brown, 
18;  mistaken,  261;  describes  Prairie 
City,  292;  meets  Brown,  294,  340, 
471;  report  of  New  York  meeting, 
353. 

Reeder,  Governor  Andrew  H.,  171 ;  re 
moved  by  Pierce,  176;  declarations 
of,  183;  visited  by  Brown,  387. 


INDEX. 


643 


Reid,  General  J.  W.,  leads  attack  on 
Osawatomie,  321 ;  on  Lawrence,  335. 

Richfield,  Brown  a  shepherd  at,  58. 

Richmond,  Brown  at,  90. 

Rively  Pierce,  testimony  of,  226. 

Robinson,  Charles,  letters  of,  171, 
212,  329,  330;  agent  of  Emigrant 
Aid  Company,  212;  defends  Brown's 
share  in  Pottawatomie  executions, 
171,  281;  speech  at  Osawatomie, 
'280,  324;  compares  Brown  to  Christ, 
325 ;  calls  Brown  a  robber  and  mur 
derer,  490. 

Robinson,  Mrs.  Charles,  quoted  from, 
214;  concerning  Black  Jack,  303. 

'.aockville,  Woollen  Co.  of,  55. 

iiloot,  Sally,  marries  Owen  Brown,  9; 
their  children  and  death,  9,  10. 

idussell,  Thomas,  509,  512;  interview 
with  Brown  in  prison,  624. 

Hussell,  Major,  560. 

Jlussell,  William  H.,  a  trustee  under 
Brown's  will  of  1857,  385;  reassures 
Brown,  476. 

Uust,  H.  N.,  orders  pikes,  376;  letters 
to  and  from  Brown,  375,  377. 


llACRAMENTO,  the  old  cannon,  309. 
Sambo's  mistakes,  128. 

Sianborn,  F.  B.,  sonnets  to  John  Brown 
by,  ix;  first  meets  Brown,  17;  Kan 
sas  Committees,  member  of,  347; 
action  taken  by,  348,  355,  368; 
introduces  Brown  to  Legislative 
Committee,  370;  corresponds  with 
Brown,  113,  349,  381,  398,  408,  412, 
435,  440,  443,  456,  474,  520,  534, 
548  ;  Virginia  plan  disclosed  to,  418, 
450 ;  letter  to  Forbes,  429 ;  at  Gerrit 
Smith'-s,  112,  438,  561;  corresponds 
with  Smith  about  Brown's  Virginia 
plans,  458,  466,  483,  514,  524,  535, 
548;  advocates  delay.  460;  in  secret 
committee,  463,  492,  514,  520,  523- 
525;  letter  to  R.  W.  Emerson,  623. 

Schamyl,  compared  with  Brown,  136. 

Scott,  General,  560. 

Sears,  Rev.  Edvnond  H.,  poem  of,  629. 

Shannon,  Governor,  210 ;  proclamation 
of,  216;  Lawrence  treaty,  219;  re 
called,  284;  apprehends  failure,  303, 
304;  superseded,  328. 


Sharpe's  Rifles,  purchased  by  Emi 
grant  Aid  Company,  213,  214,  215; 
by  Dr.  Cabot  for  Massachusetts 
Committee,  349,  358. 

Shawnee  Mission,  176,  210. 

Shermans,  the,  230,  253 ;  execution  of 
William,  265;  his  vile  character, 
255;  death  of  Henry,  331;  he  guides 
the  ruffians  to  Jones's  house,  323. 

Shore,  Captain,  239,  240,  297 ;  at  Pal 
myra,  302. 

Slavery,  American,  its  nature,  167; 
attempts  to  establish  it  in  Kansas, 
161,  176-184. 

Smith,  Mrs.  A.  C.,  corresponds  with 
Sanborn,  514. 

Smith,  Gerrit,  offers  lands,  96,  101; 
interview  with  Brown,  97;  donation 
bv,  194;  generosity  to  Kansas  colo 
nists,  353;  impression  of  Forbes, 
430;  receives  Brown  and  friends, 
438,  467;  Virginia  plan  revealed  to, 
452 ;  chairman  of  secret  committee, 
463;  a  friend  to  Brown,  514,  523; 
gives  public  warning,  544;  letters 
concerning  Brown,  364,  385,  458, 

1  466,  483,  514,  524,  536,  561. 

Smith,  Isaac,  alias  John  Brown,  539. 

Smith,  James,  alias  John  Brown, 
393. 

Socrates,  compared  with  Brown,  631. 

Southampton  Massacre,  the,  34. 

Sparks,  Stephen,  rescue,  225;  testi 
mony  of  wife,  226,  227. 

Speer,  John  and  Joseph,  215;  indict^ 
ment  of,  232. 

Spring,  Mrs.  Marcus,  letters  of  Brown 
to,  591,  599  ;  last  words  to,  621. 

Spring,  Professor,  describes  "  Dutch 
Henry's  Crossing,"  252. 

Springdale,  Iowa,  433,  479. 

Springfield,  Mass.,  removal  of  Brown 
to,  63;  his  life  in,  64;  branch  of 
Gileadite  League,  124;  resolutions 
of  same,  126. 

Spurs,  battle  of,  486. 

Stearns,  Mr.  George  Luther,  hospital 
ities  to  Brown,  17,  18;  aid  given  by, 
111;  chairman  of  Massachusetts 
Kansas  Committee,  349,  350,  384, 
385;  generosity  of,  406,  464,  493; 
owns  the  arms  for  Virginia,  461, 
462;  a  practical  idealist,  507;  letters 


644 


INDEX. 


to  and  from  Brown,  112,  368,  406, 
408,  409,  410,  411. 

Stearns,  Mrs.  Mary  E.,  invites  Brown 
to  Medford,  li;  recognizes  Brown's 
character,  507;  letter  from,  509; 
sends  Mr.  Brackett  to  Charlestown, 
515;  Brown's  letters  to,  509,  610. 

Stearns,  Harry,  letter  from  Brown, 
12;  anecdote"  of.  17. 

Stephens,  alias  Whipple,  48o,  565: 
farewell  to  Brown,  625. 

Stewart,  Charles,  Captain,  194,  439. 

Stuart,  J.  E.  B.,  558,  559,  611. 

Stratton,  H.,  308. 

Stringfellow,  J.  II.,  Letter  to  "Mont 
gomery  Advertiser,"  165;  speeches 
of,  165,  172;  letter,  176;  in  the  at 
tack  on  Lawrence,  325. 

Stubs,  The,  285,  296,  342. 

Sumner,  Charles,  welcomes  Kossuth, 
146;  views  of  Missouri  Compromise, 
161;  speech  in  Senate,  249;  corre 
spondence  with  Hugh  Forbes,  etc., 
427,  430. 

Sumner,  Colonel,  239,  303,  305. 

Surveyor,  Brown  disguised  as  a,  230. 


rfABOR,  Brown  at,  488. 

Tacitus  quoted,  v. 
Tayleure,  C.  W.,  letter  to  John  Brown, 

Jr.,  611. 

Thacher,  T.  Dwight,  186,  499. 
Thayer,  Eli,  163;    letters,    212,    380, 

381 ;  Manager  of  Emigrant  Aid  Com 
pany,  384. 

Thomas,  Thomas,  133,  194. 
Thomson,  Rev.   Mr.,  and  his  slaves, 

11. 
Thompson,    Dauphin,   530,  546,   549, 

552,  579,  596. 
Thompson,     Henry,     marries     Ruth 

Brown,   77;    in  Kansas,   239,   241, 

293,  313,  322;   wounded,  244,  291, 

301. 

Thompson,  Ruth.     See  Ruth  Brown. 
Thompson,  William,  in  Nebraska,  317, 

336 ;  capture  of,  555. 
Thoreau,  verdict  oh  John  Brown,  119, 

185,  503,  506;  diaries  quoted,  502; 

letter  from,  506. 
Titus,  Colonel,  shot,  287;  attack  on, 

311,  319. 


Tombstone  of  Captain  Brown,  3,  114, 
375,  376. 

Topeka,  scenes  near,  307,  485. 

Townsley,  James,  discloses  details  of 
Pottawatomie  executions,  262,  264, 
270,  275. 

Trial  of  Brown  at  Charlestown,  572- 
576. 

Tribune,  New  York,  Brown's  letters 
to,  379,  481 ;  fund  for  Kansas  colo 
nists,  353;  quoted,  426. 

Tubman,  Harriet,  452,  468. 

Turner,  Nat,  his  insurrection,  34. 


"UNCLE  SAM'S  HOUNDS"  on 

Brown's  track,  382,  511. 
United  States  courts,  167,  186,  212,  229, 

231/235. 
United  States  troops  in  Kansas,  224, 

231,   239,   274,    276,    279,   284,   293, 

301,   305,  307,    312,   316,   333,    340, 

480. 

Unseld,  J.  C.,  527. 
Updegraff,  Dr.,  286;  wounded,  319. 


YALLANDIGHAM,  c.  L.,  interview 

with  John  Brown,  563. 

Van  Dyck,  H.  H.,  letter  to,  356. 

Virginia  foray,  519. 

Virginia  plan  disclosed,  418,  452,  453. 

Virginia  punished  for  slavery,  170, 
622. 

Virginia  savages,  618,  622. 

Virginia  soldiers,  625. 

Virginia  slavery  defended  by  Gen. 
Lee,  560;  denounced  by  Jefferson, 
169;  by  John  Brown,  563;  by  Phil- 
lips,  622 ;  by  Victor  Hugo,  630. 

Virginia  statesmen  oppose  slaver}', 
162,  169. 


WAKEFIELD,  John  A.,  mobbed, 

173  ;  house  burned,  175. 

Wakarusa  War,  217-221. 

Walker,  Captain,  cruelly  to  captives, 
279. 

Walker,  R.  J.,  388,  395,  405,  416. 

Walker,  Samuel,  287;  testimony  of, 
280,  336;  anecdotes  by,  337; 'dep 
uty  marshal,  339. 


INDEX. 


645 


Washington,  Colonel  Lewis  W.,  551; 

arrested  by  Brown,  554. 
Washington',  George,  4,  550,  554,  630. 
Washington,  Madison,  133. 
Watson,  Henry,  539. 
Wattles,  Augustus,  391;   on  politics, 

393,  394. 

Watts,  Isaac,  quoted,  180. 
Webb,   Dr.  T.  H.,  216;    letter  from 

Brown,  612. 
Webster,    Daniel,    supports    Fugitive 

Slave  Bill,  123. 
Webster,  General  J.  D.,  letter  from, 

341. 
Western  Reserve,  settlement  of  Owen 

Brown,  4. 

Whedon,  Benjamin,  7. 
Whipple,  alias  Stephens,  486. 
White,  Horace,  letters  from,  341,  354, 

360,  362;  testimony  as  to  rifles,  342; 

report  of,  352;  confidence  in  Brown, 

361. 
White,  Martin,  arrests  Jason  Brown, 

277;  kills  Frederick  Brown,  320. 
Whittield,  Proslavery  candidate,  171. 
Whitman,  Edmund  B.,  241,  301,  330, 

352,  366,  370,  394,  398,  402,  415,  521, 

524;   correspondence   of,    357,    396, 

403,  404. 


Wiener,  T.,  warehouse  burned,  230, 
254;  account  of  Pottawatomie  execu 
tions,  272;  at  Black  Jack,  290,  293. 

Wilder,  D.  W.,  historian  of  Kansas, 
quoted,  183,  207,  629. 

Wilkes,  Warren,  165. 

Wilkinson,  Allen,  230;  killed  at  Pot 
tawatomie,  266;  testimony  of  wife, 
237;  antecedents,  271. 

Williams,  H.  H.,  325;  letter  to  Brown, 
364. 

Wills  of  John  Brown,  385,  616. 

Wilson,  Henry,  460,  466,  515;  letters 
from  Dr.  Howe,  462. 

Winkley,  Rev.  J.  W.,  314. 

Winter  of  1778,  hardships  of,  4. 

Wise,  Governor  of  Virginia,  559;  in 
terview  with  Brown,  569.  570;  tes 
timony  as  to  Brown,  571;  mentioned 
by  Brown,  572,  584,  605 ;  otherwise 
mentioned,  572,  621,  623. 

Wood,  Samuel  N.,  indictment  of,  232. 

Woodson,  Daniel,  216,  284,  328. 

Wright,  Captain,  333. 


VOUNG,   Colonel,   declarations  of, 

L     172. 
Youth  of  John  Brown,  31-35. 


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